1. 1
The country of Mexico is under siege by drugs, it is a constant battle between good and evil,
right and wrong. Since the escalation of violence in 2008, the country of Mexico has fallen
victim to corruption, disappearances, assassinations, and kidnappings that plague the daily news.
No one is safe as politicians, police officers, and citizens of Mexico are put in harm’s way on a
daily basis. The organized crime syndicates continue to wage war amongst other syndicates,
civilians, and the Mexican government. The violence between the cartels and the government
would bring new bi-products that continue to shape and define the country. As a result of these
dangerous and violent organized crime syndicates, the country of Mexico saw a change in its
culture. Narcoculture would begin to develop with its own form of dress, music, literature, film,
religious beliefs, and practices that would eventually become a part of mainstream fashion. It
would take off and develop its own regional differences within the country and influence the
lower-class youth.
The history of drugs and the subsequent issues following narcotics would begin well
before the rise of Pablo Escobar. This history of drugs and illicit substances was traced back to
as early as the 1520’s, but since the class only covered the nineteenth century, there is no need to
cover this broad era. In 1841, the newly independent Mexico established the Superior Sanitary
Council of the Department of Mexico. This Department would have jurisdiction over all of the
states and would regulate the rules for practicing medicine and pharmacy, controlling the drug
distribution. In 1891, the Federal Sanitary Code was passed which required every medical
substance sold by an authorized pharmacist to be sold in dosages that were strictly regulated and
labeled for medicinal use only. As the increasing restriction on opiates, amphetamines and
marijuana became more difficult, there would still be loopholes allowing illicit substances to
come through the country. In the 1920’s when the Department of Public Sanitation declared a
new law. The law entitled “Dispositions on the Cultivation and Commerce of Products that
Degenerate the Race” banned marijuana, opiates, and cocaine to the entire nation. The new law
would not stop those who saw selling and distributing the drugs illegally as a way of making
money. It was not until the 1980’s however when organized crime would become more heavily
involved in the drug trade.
Mexico would begin its dark descent into the drug world in the 1980s.1 In Colombia,
Pablo Escobar was the cocaine kingpin, shipping narcotics all across the world. The Medellin
and Cali Cartel’s of Colombia held a monopoly on the cocaine industry. The primary shipping
points were in South Florida and the Caribbean, but law enforcement tightened the borders
making smuggling operations increasingly difficult. Seeking additional shipment points,
Colombian organizations reached out to the Mexican smugglers to transport their product from
Mexico to the United States.2 The Mexicans would agree as this would be an easy transition
1 Tim Pagett and Elaine Shannon.2001. “La Nueva Frontera: The Border Monsters.” Time, June 11. Accessed
April 20,2015. http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1000094,00.html
2
Cockburn, Alexander and Clair, Jeffery. 1998. “Whiteout: The CIA, Drugs, and the Press” London: Verso.
Accessed March,26,2015.

2. 2
since heroin and marijuana routes were already established. The effects of cocaine industry
introduced into Mexico was like dropping blood into the ocean, sharks could smell it miles away
and wanted a piece of it. All over Mexico gangs would want a piece of the action in hopes of
becoming rich and powerful.
With the connections from the Colombians and a hefty amount of drugs the gang of
Mexicans would eventually become more and more powerful. The first cartel to reign supreme
in Mexico was the Guadalajara Cartel run by Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo or El Padrino which
translates to the “Godfather”.3 Using his connections with politicians, businessmen, journalists,
and fellow drug lords, he was able to create a nationwide drug trafficking system. The power
and wealth was distributed to local chieftains and when a group needed to pass thru the area, they
were paid. The relationship between the local drug lords was amicable as violence was rarely
used. Gallardo would eventually become involved in torturing and killing DEA agent Enrique
Carmenara. This event would lead to his eventual extradition and conviction in the United
States. Fearing the collapse of his drug empire, he decided to split the regions to different and
respected members of his cartel. The Tijuana region would go to the five Arellano Felix
Brothers, Juarez would go to the Carrillo Fuentes family, Sonora would belong to Miguel
Quientero, Tamaulipas would belong to the Gulf Cartel and Juan Abrego. The final region, the
Pacific Coast would go to Joaquin Loera and Ismael Garcia.4 As a result of the division, the Los
Zetas/Gulf Cartel, Sinaloa, Gulf, Tijuana, and Juarez cartels were born. In 1989, everything
would change as Gallardo was arrested and the Colombians came under attack, the other drug
lords developed their own drug operations from scratch.
By the 1990’s, the chaotic arrangement would begin to take shape as new deals were
made with the Colombians and Mexicans. The Mexican gangs would begin to accept product as
a form of payment instead of cash, taking anywhere from thirty five to fifty percent of each drug
shipment.5 The arrangement would allow the Mexicans to become traffickers, distributors, and
transporters, cutting out the middleman and ending the Colombian monopoly. As revenue
increased for the cartels so did the violence. The old ways of divide and conquer that Gallardo
advocated for were replaced with violence, intimidation, and executions of anyone who stood in
their way.
By 2004, it would become apparent that cartels were serious and posed a threat to the
country and to the people of Mexico. The newspapers began to write about the discoveries of
mass graves and gruesome killings. In the town of Nuevo Laredo, 100 people were murdered in
six months in 2005 alone as a result of the Gulf and Sinaloa cartels fighting for the area.
3 Tim Pagett and Elaine Shannon.2001. “La Nueva Frontera: The Border Monsters.” Time, June 11. Accessed
April 20,2015. http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1000094,00.html
4 Campos, Isaac. 2010. “Degeneration and Origins of Mexico’s War on Drugs.” Journal of Mexican Studies 26.
EBSCOhost (accessed April 1, 2015)
5 Ibid

3. 3
President Vicente Fox would do very little to address the ongoing violence, but everything would
boil over when Felipe Calderon took office in 2006.6
When Felipe Calderon was elected, he would send 6,500 soldiers to the state of Michoan,
on December, 11, 2006.7 The state of Michoan was a hotly contested area amongst the cartels.
This was the first major retaliation making it the official starting point for the war between the
government and the cartels. The presence of the soldiers would do little as cartels would kidnap,
torture, and murder Mexican police and army personal, leaving their decapitated bodies out in
public. As time progressed, Calderon would escalate the anti-drug campaign that would involve
upwards to 45,000 troops working with local and federal police forces.8
In 2008, new allegations were exposed as General Sergio Aponte the man in charge of
the anti-drug campaign made accusations against fellow police forces operating in the area. He
believed the Baja area kidnapping squad was in fact a kidnapping team working for the cartels
and bribed police units were working as body guards for drug traffickers.9 These accusations
suggested progress made against the drug cartels in Mexico had been hindered by bribery,
intimidation, and corruption that was present in police and military units. In the same year,
members of the Sinaloa and Tijuana cartel would begin fighting in the city of Tijuana, Baja
California.10 The increasing violence in the border towns would make the United States
increasingly concerned for the safety of its citizens. The escalation of the war would prompt
both the United States and Mexico to increase the amount of security, funding, and government
soldiers to protect its borders.
The following year, President Calderon would send 5,000 Mexican Army troops to
Ciduad Juarez. In addition, the United States Department of Homeland Security would send
6 Rios, Viridiana. 2013. "Who Started the Mexican Drug War? What Google Taught us about the "Narcos."
Kennedy School Review 13, 18-22. EBSCO MegaFILE, EBSCOhost (accessed April 2, 2015).
7 Ibid
8 Fondevila, G., and M. Quintana-Navarrete. 2015. "War hypotheses: Drug trafficking, sovereignty and the armed
forces in Mexico." Bulletin Of Latin American ResearchScopus®, EBSCOhost (accessed April 2, 2015).
9 Wilkinson, Tracy. 2008. “In Sinaola, the drug trade has infiltrated ‘every corner of life’.” LA Times, December 28.
Accessed March 29, 2015. http://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-mexico-drugwar28-2008dec28-story.html#page=1
10
Tomas Kellner and Francesco Pipitone. 2010. “Inside Mexico’s Drug War” World Journal Policy, 27, 1. MIT
Press, EBSCOhost(accessed March 28, 2015).

4. 4
members of the National Guard to prevent drug violence. The governors of Texas and Arizona
would also request additional National Guard units to help support local law enforcement.11 The
drug war would drag both Mexico and the United States into this long, bloody, and endless
conflict.
Since the collapse of the Medellin and Cali Cartel in Colombia, the Mexican cartels are
the major smugglers and wholesale distributors of cocaine, marijuana, methamphetamine, and
heroin. The Florida cocaine route is now but a distant memory; however Mexico is now the
main route for cocaine increasing the prominence and role of Mexican cartels. They have
gradually overshadowed the Colombian and Dominican criminal groups. Their influence has
become more significant as they have turned the tides of the political scene in Mexico. Today,
the cartels are waging a turf war over disputed areas using hit men and enforcers to spread fear
and intimidation. The Drug Enforcement Administration reports that they are considered to be
the most technologically advanced and sophisticated organized crime group in law enforcement
history. 12
The Mexican Drug War has shaken the country of Mexico. As stated earlier, the war
would take the lives of many people including innocent people. There were many cases in which
reporters would go missing, public decapitations, and many other cases of human rights abuses.
The cartels have begun to become involved in other illicit activities. One of the most dangerous
and concerning issues is the smuggling of firearms. Since Mexico has a strict policy on gun
ownership, many cartels have begun to smuggle weapons in from the United States, Guatemala,
and other countries by way of boat. One of the most common methods is purchasing a weapon
via straw purchase. This process involves paying a US citizen with a clean background to
purchase a gun legally and then smuggle it into the country. Another source for the firearms is
thru private sales or gun shows, which does not require a background check. The most common
firearms confiscated are AR-15 and AK-47 sporting rifles, FN 5-7 semiautomatic pistols, and a
variety of .50 caliber pistols and rifles.13 There are also reports of hand grenades and grenade
11
Espinosa, Valeria, and Donald B. Rubin. 2015. "Did the Military Interventions in the Mexican Drug War Increase
Violence?." American Statistician 69, no. 1: 17-27. EBSCO MegaFILE, EBSCOhost (accessed April 2, 2015).
12
Miller, Benjamin Kai. 2009. "FUELING VIOLENCE ALONG THE SOUTHWEST BORDER: WHAT MORE
CAN BE DONE TO PROTECT THE CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES AND MEXICO FROM FIREARMS
TRAFFICKING." Houston Journal Of International Law 32, no. 1: 163-199. Academic Search Premier,
EBSCOhost (accessed April 2, 2015).
13
Berrigan, Frida. 2008. "The U.S. Senate: Stalling Hemispheric Arms Control. (Cover story)." NACLA Report On
The Americas 41, no. 2: 18-19. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed April 2, 2015).

5. 5
launchers which have been traced back to American military bases. According to the Alcohol,
Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF), 90% of the guns confiscated have originated from the United
States. From 2005 to 2008, 22,848 guns have come from the US. A good portion of the firearms
have come from Texas, Arizona, and California.14 The cartels have also begun to acquire arms
from other parts of South America. This ongoing problem poses a problem affecting both
Mexico and the United States.
Since the escalation of the drug wars in 2006, there has been a considerable
amount of change in the country. Many of the Mexican citizens have experienced violence or
been witness to the many killings or kidnappings. A majority of the violence occurs in Baja
California, Guerrero, Chihuahua, Michoacán, Nuevo Leon, and Sinaloa.15 Since the escalation
of violence, President Calderon and the regional governors work together with other state and
federal agencies to combat the violence in the listed regions. New travel policies like forcing all
private planes to stop for inspection at the Cozumel airport or Tapachula on the Guatemalan
border has accounted for a small portion of narcotics seized yearly.16 Since they are one of the
most sophisticated syndicates in the world, they have been able to utilize new technology and
methods for smuggling drugs. In 2006, the first narco submarine was seized. The Mexican
Navy was able to detain four smugglers and 5.8 tons of cocaine before it was scuttled. They
have also begun to use other sources of transportation for smuggling including the use of drones
and tunnels. As authorities work tirelessly to quell the violence and presence of cartels, it
appears to be an ongoing, daunting, and dangerous task.
In order to combat corruption in the police, the Comprehensive Strategy Against Drug
Trafficking was established to purge corrupt officers and recruit more police candidates to
reduce dependency on the Mexican military. Even with these new policies set in place, the
cartels continue to outsmart authorities. With the police presence in the disputed regions, the
cartels have fought back using intimidation. To claim their territory and spread fear amongst the
authorities, the criminals broadcast executions on sites like YouTube, throw body parts into
crowded nightclubs, and hung bodies out for public display. The tactics worked as many have
either given into becoming corrupt or executed. The president has worked towards battling
corruption since the beginning of the escalation, using ballistic checks of police weapons.
Calderon’s effort has lead to 284 federal commanders and officers from all thirty one states
being caught for corruption. The government had also been guilty of being involved with the
14 Ibid
15
Campos, Isaac. 2010. “Degeneration and Origins of Mexico’s War on Drugs.” Journal of Mexican Studies 26.
EBSCOhost (accessed April 1, 2015).
16
Fondevila, G., and M. Quintana-Navarrete. 2015. "War hypotheses: Drug trafficking, sovereignty and the armed
forces in Mexico." Bulletin Of Latin American ResearchScopus®, EBSCOhost (accessed April 2, 2015).