This essay will argue the three main impacts to Mexico’s sovereignty through drug trafficking. The three main points in this essay will be, the impact of drug related violence, corruption due to drug trafficking and the exportation of drugs out of Mexico. Each point will reflect the problem and the effects of the problem within Mexico. It will also reflect on how the Mexican government tried to combat the problem in close reference to the reign of Felipe Calderon who took presidency in 2006 which is a key element when arguing the impacts of the “war on drugs”. This essay will also highlight the initiatives taken by the Mexican government to ensure the safety of the citizens and analyse the depth in which these impacted the sovereignty of Mexico.
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In the article written by Francisco Gonzales called Mexico’s Drug Wars Get Brutal he quoted, “Given the rising tide of violence and the mounting evidence of drug related corruption at all levels of government, it is probably fair to say that so far, the cartels have managed to take the lead in a physiological war against the Mexican Government” (Gonzales, 2008, p. 72). Drug organisations in Mexico were referred to as DTO’S (Drug Trafficking Organisations) or drug cartels. These were groups of people who were ultimately fighting control over the drug trade and routes to export drugs out of Mexico into the United States. The rivalry between drug cartels created mass violence which impacted the Mexican Sovereignty due to drug trafficking. In the book El Narco by Ion Grillo he explained that considering drug trafficking to be a “war” was no understatement, the battle between cartels created bloody counts which reached an estimated total of 23,000 in the span of three years from 2006 (Grillo, 2011) . The BBC documentary on drug cartels gave a clear view on drug related violence where cartels were sending messages to the public and government murdering people and leaving their bodies on the side …show more content…
Bill McCollum in the book Threat Posed by the Convergence of Organized Crime, Drug Trafficking, and Terrorism described how drug cartels were engaged in corruption of U.S. law government officials as well as the Mexican police (McCollum, 2002). According to the Cooperative Mexican-U.S. Antinarcotics Efforts by Sidney Weintraub corruption through kickbacks and payoffs involving government contracts, especially for infrastructure on the top, emerged into petty corruption of police at the local level (Wood, 2010). Although Stephanie Hanson’s view from the Council of Foreign Relations stated that some analysts say that deploying the army to tackle drug violence has made it vulnerable to the same corruption affecting the police (Hanson, 2008). Which in turn would affect the Sovereignty of Mexico immensely as the military is one of the two most respected institutions in Latin America, corruption of this would create unstable authority and lack of trust in the justice system. In the Council of Foreign Relations report by Brianna Lee which discussed Mexico’s weak judicial and police institutions, as well as proximity to the world 's largest consumer economy, have made Mexico the hub of one of the world 's most sophisticated drug networks (Lee, 2014). Corruption in Mexico wasn’t just about making more money and turning a blind eye, it was also the safety of themselves if they didn’t do so the fear of being killed was
In the article written by Francisco Gonzales called Mexico’s Drug Wars Get Brutal he quoted, “Given the rising tide of violence and the mounting evidence of drug related corruption at all levels of government, it is probably fair to say that so far, the cartels have managed to take the lead in a physiological war against the Mexican Government” (Gonzales, 2008, p. 72). Drug organisations in Mexico were referred to as DTO’S (Drug Trafficking Organisations) or drug cartels. These were groups of people who were ultimately fighting control over the drug trade and routes to export drugs out of Mexico into the United States. The rivalry between drug cartels created mass violence which impacted the Mexican Sovereignty due to drug trafficking. In the book El Narco by Ion Grillo he explained that considering drug trafficking to be a “war” was no understatement, the battle between cartels created bloody counts which reached an estimated total of 23,000 in the span of three years from 2006 (Grillo, 2011) . The BBC documentary on drug cartels gave a clear view on drug related violence where cartels were sending messages to the public and government murdering people and leaving their bodies on the side …show more content…
Bill McCollum in the book Threat Posed by the Convergence of Organized Crime, Drug Trafficking, and Terrorism described how drug cartels were engaged in corruption of U.S. law government officials as well as the Mexican police (McCollum, 2002). According to the Cooperative Mexican-U.S. Antinarcotics Efforts by Sidney Weintraub corruption through kickbacks and payoffs involving government contracts, especially for infrastructure on the top, emerged into petty corruption of police at the local level (Wood, 2010). Although Stephanie Hanson’s view from the Council of Foreign Relations stated that some analysts say that deploying the army to tackle drug violence has made it vulnerable to the same corruption affecting the police (Hanson, 2008). Which in turn would affect the Sovereignty of Mexico immensely as the military is one of the two most respected institutions in Latin America, corruption of this would create unstable authority and lack of trust in the justice system. In the Council of Foreign Relations report by Brianna Lee which discussed Mexico’s weak judicial and police institutions, as well as proximity to the world 's largest consumer economy, have made Mexico the hub of one of the world 's most sophisticated drug networks (Lee, 2014). Corruption in Mexico wasn’t just about making more money and turning a blind eye, it was also the safety of themselves if they didn’t do so the fear of being killed was