The Mexican war on drugs

Drugs continue to make their way into the United States from Mexico,and some returning citizens want to see the Mexican government do more at curbing the problem.

Gene Epps, a returning citizen who says she's three years clean since she's been off probation. 

"At one time in my life, I was where some of the Mexican drugs probably ended up," Epps said via email. "Getting involved in drugs got me in and out of jail." 

Epps added that the Mexican government needs to do more at controlling the cartels in Mexico.  That task has been at the forefront of Mexican President Felipe Calderon's agenda.

Just 10 days into his term, on Dec. 11, 2006, Felipe Calderon began his battle with Mexican organized crime by sending 6,500 troops to his home state of Michoacan to battle drug cartels.  Five years later, Calderon has sent over 45,000 Army troops, thousands of navy and marine soilders, and spent in upwards to $46 billion.  His war on drugs and organized crime defined his domestic policy.

Equally, more than 45,000 people have been killed and shows no signs of letting up, although Mexican government eventually stopped giving out figures on the drug war dead when it hit 35,000.

Calderon's initial push was one-dimensional.  He thought if he sent in the military to destroy crops and labs the organizations would shrivel up.  He later ordered the miltary to set up checkpoints and do searches and arrests. In January 2007, he outlined a five-point program that included sending soldiers to reinforce the federal police, increasing his security budget and asking the attorney general for a plan to improve security and prosecution of crime.

Still, the flow of drugs continues unabated in the U.S. while arms and money flows into Mexico.  It's important to note that the U.S. is not the only country Mexico sells to, but the most consistent and lucrative. 

Many say chaos has reigned in an industry that once took place in sporatic locales, has now dominated much of Mexico's landscape.  When cartel leaders were arrested, the gangs dissolved into more violent splinter groups.  These new groups were fighting in areas where corrupt local authorities did not fight back. 

Meanwhile, drugs continue to flow into the United States. According to various U.S. drug reports, cultivation of marijuana and poppies is up. Mexico continues to be a source of 95 percent of all cocaine going into the United States and remains the primary foreign source of marijuana and methamphetamine.  Cartels are getting their drugs into the country by more ellaborate measures, hollowed out vehicles, border crossing mules, and undeground tunnels.

It is unclear what will happen to Mexico's drug war when Calderon leaves office a year from now. All the presumed candidates planning to run for president in 2012 promised to stop the violence and put the military back in its barracks. But to get there, none has proposed anything much different from what Calderon is already doing.

The Woodrow Wilson Institute's Latin American Program/Mexico Institute will have a discussion entitled, "New Strategies for Confronting Organized Crime in Mexico."