English 1/Human Geo
Ms. Flath/ Mr. Butler
February 5 2017 On January 1st, 1994, NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) came into place. This was groundbreaking because it was the first time in the history of North America that a trade agreement was enacted. While this was great, this also increased the number of drugs coming across the border from Mexico. If we could update NAFTA and create new guidelines based on polices that have been implemented in the past to stop drug trafficking, then we could put an end to the exchange of illicit substances. One example of a re-written policy could be stationing more troops at the border. Stop the flow of illegal drugs across the American-Mexican border by updating NAFTA. Before …show more content…
For example, if you get a promotion then its most likely because you worked hard, or if you fail a test it is because you did not study. Our world is shaped around the past, including the drug world. The first known written record of the US government trying to put an end to drugs was in 1954 when president Eisenhower created a 5-man cabinet to “stamp out narcotic.” This cabinet did not do much until 1973 when president Nixon created the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration.) In 1975 the DEA turned their attention to Columbia and their cocaine industry. Mexico on the other hand have tried to stop the drug trade but they wanted to use force. They used force by sending 6,500 to go and execute the rival drug gangs in Mexico. After all this the Mexican president, removed 284 Mexican officers from service for being corrupt. After Felipe Calderon removed them he chose a select few to personally go in and shut down some of the major gangs, as a result they successfully arrested some major drug kings. The closest thing that has happened with the drug war was in 2008. In 2008 the Merida initiative came in to place this said that the US would give 1.4 billion dollars to help stop the drug and smuggling industry (Skinner, 7). All of these actions have effected todays drug war heavily. The DEA has created an organization that we can station people out of to stop drug trading. by signing the Merida initiative, we have increased the trust that …show more content…
What this means is that there is less involvement from the government in the trading and customs industries. By updating NAFTA, the US can help stop drug trafficking across the Mexican border. NAFTA was rushed through congress by people that did not look at some of the repercussions. The three main points of NAFTA are one, take away tariffs and taxes on imports and exports. Two, improve the economy of these three countries (Mexico, USA, and Canada.) finally, take government out of the equation of trading. While these points are very valid and helpful, they create a very porous border where it is very easy to cross and smuggle, this is because the lack of government involvement. ”in 2011 only 23% of trucks and other sorts of transportation were randomly selected for a full body check,” written in a report by Mr. C. David Skinner. If we could add a little government involvement to the American-Mexican trade industry we would not only lock down on illegal drugs coming across the border, we would also create jobs for people that would help regulate these issues. Another way we could improve NAFTA is by updating it to today’s standards, NAFTA has not been updated (except for minor adjustments) since it was signed in 1994. Back in 1994 there was not as much of a drug war going on between US and Mexico, the DEA had just started