Drug Trafficking-Mexico

According to reports by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the international reach of Mexican drug gangs soared in the mid-1990’s.^[1] Mexican traffickers began developing their own smuggling routes when Colombian cocaine cartels began paying with drugs instead of cash to transport their production.^[2]

While Mexican authorities made thousands of arrests, the effort had little effect on stopping drug shipments to the U.S. according to the report.^[3] Mexico’s strategy of targeting cartel leaders caused gang wars over the routes which resulted in many fatalities across the country, including the death of the police chief in Nuevo Laredo.^[4]

Now, Mexican President Felipe Calderon is trying new tactics to fight drug trafficking.^[5] On December 11, Calderon sent 7,000 troops to the state of Michoacán and destroyed 588 acres of marijuana, made over 60 arrests and searched thousands of vehicles.^[6] Additionally, Calderon has assigned 10,000 soldiers to help the federal police fight drug gangs.^[7] The country’s defense minister, interior minister and head of federal police are working together as a joint operation and have arrested several cartel leaders.^[8]

The United States’ Drug Enforcement Administration has asked the Mexican government for authorization to open offices in three cities where drug smuggling is most prevalent — Nuevo Laredo, Matamoros and Nogales.^[9] Here, the Gulf Cartel and a group of former Mexican Army soldiers known as “Zetas” are locked in a deadly battle over the lucrative drug-smuggling routes into the United States.^[10]
If approved, the DEA will have 11 offices in Mexico, the most of any country in the world. ^[11] The DEA has its Mexican headquarters in Mexico City, and has field offices in the states of Jalisco, Sonora, Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Yucatán, Nuevo León and Baja California.^[12]

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[1] Patrick Harrington, Calderon Escalates War on Mexico Drug Cartels, Bloomberg.com, December 29, 2006.
[2] Id.
[3] Id.
[4] Id.
[5] Id.
[6] Id.
[7] Id.
[8] Id.
[9] DEA Wants Office in Nuevo Laredo, Reforma News Agency, (Mark Webber, trans., Laredo Morning Times), January 3, 2007
[10] Id.
[11] Id.
[12]Id.