Luis+Aguila,+Mexican+Drug+Wars

=**INTRO**= Mexico was once a calm and peaceful country filled with a rich colorful culture. That all changed in December 2006 when Mexican president Felipe Calderon declared war on drugs. Mexico has become the drug trafficking central of the Americas. The people who sell and distribute these drugs are well funded organized crime syndicates that are called cartels. The cartels pass the drugs from person to person until the drugs finally get across the US border where they are taken to border cities like San Diego and El Paso where they are then distributed to there dealers and sold. Not only do they have carriers for the drugs but lately they have been getting cleaver and putting the drugs into unsuspecting cars that pass through the US border and have even been building underground tunnels that go into the US and distribute the drugs from there. =CONTEXT = These drug cartels are spread thought Mexico and they are very violent. They not only kill rival gang members but they kill innocent bystanders as well and some of the cartels even put up decapitated heads with messages to taunt police and put fear into the people, “[|drug traffickers use severed heads as a tool of terror, leaving them with notes to taunt police and one another]”. One of the most violent cartels is the infamous Zetas, the original 31 members who started the gang where once apart of the Mexican military but then went rouge to protect a rising drug lord, as said by an ISN jounalist“[|31 special forces soldiers abandoned the Mexican military to protect a young, upcoming leader of the gulf cartel, Osiel Cardenas Guillen]”. The Mexican government states that over 40,000 people have been killed since Calderon declared the war on drugs and 15,237 of those deaths happening last year alone, “[|the government says that more than 40,000 people have been killed since president Felipe Calderon took office in 2006 and threw the federal police and military at the cartels, with the toll of 2010, 15,237, the heaviest yet]” Even the innocent are being targeted by these cartels. People are vanishing and bodies are being found almost every week. On September, 16, 2009 (Mexican independence day) people were gathered in the city of Morelia’s town square celebrating the famous holiday when someone threw a grenade out into the middle of the crowed 7 people died and many others were severally injured, “[|twin grenade attacks on the dense, celebrating crowd, on a major holiday and the Mexican presidents home town killed at least seven people, wounded scores and sowed panic in a among a population already unnerved]”. A lot of these gang’s leaders have either been captured or killed by the military but the remaining people in the gangs start to fight over territory and go after their rivals and even innocent people. Mexican people and even some United States citizens are dying due to these violent cartels and both governments are doing so little to stop the murders from happening. == =CONCLUSION = The only thing that the Mexican government is doing is putting military into crime hotspots but still the killings go on, “[|about 3,000 troops arrived here after President Felipe Calderon launched an all out offensive against drug traffickers, yet the killings have soared].” The citizens of Mexico don’t know if the violence will ever stop. In reality the situation can only go a certain number of ways. One way would be that the cartels just kill each other off. That would stop some of the violence but it there would still be people to take over these drug gangs and just start the violence right back up. Another way is if the Mexican government can sit down and make and come up with a better plan for taking back its country. One of the most popular ways that people seem to think will stop most of the violence is the legalization of some of the drugs that the cartel smuggle. In fact, some people on the American side think that because of the US drug laws, it gives gangs like the cartels something to make money off of, therefore creating the violence, as police officer Niell Franklin said “[|Many voters recognize that our prohibition laws don’t do anything to reduce drug use but do create a black market where cartels and gangs use violence to protect there profits].” (nytimes). With the legalization of the drugs it would take out a huge chunk of profit away from the cartels and they would bleed out because of insufficient funding and that would definitely put an end to most of the violence! “[|every year tens of thousands of people are murdered by gangs battling over drug turf in American cities, Canada and Mexico. It is time to reduce the violence by taking away a vital funding source from organized crime]…” The only other way to end this drug war is for more US involvement in the crisis. The United States is helping by sending CIA operatives along with military personnel into Mexico were they aid Mexican officials in gaining info on cartels and helping plan military operations. “[|In recent weeks, small numbers of CIA operatives and American civilian military employees have been posted at a Mexican military base, where, for the first time, security officials from both countries work side by side in collecting information about drug cartels and helping plan operations]”. By sendng military into American soil we would be greatly helping mexico, our troops are far better trained than mexicos military We are more organized and have more recourse. If the us doesn’t do something about it soon more violence will spill over the border eventually forcing us to take action, so we should send in troops as soon as we can. The faster the US reacts the less people will be killed.

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