Drug-Related Violence in Mexico

11/12/10
Latin America and the Caribbean
  • Last Friday, November 5th, Mexican military forces and members of the Gulf Cartel in Matamoros violently clashed in a two hour long shootout operation involving nearly 650 marines, 3 helicopters, and 17 military vehicles. At least 20 were left dead, including one reporter. Most prominent among the dead was the leader of the Gulf Cartel Antonio ‘Tony Tormenta’Cardenas-Guillen. At face value, the killing of this top drug cartel leader may be interpreted as a victory. The operation was the result of six months of intelligence work, and will undoubtedly disrupt the Gulf Cartel’s drug supply chain. On the other hand, others, such as Bloomberg Financial, speculate that violence may escalate in northeastern Mexico as rival drug cartels, namely Los Zetas, fight to control shipping routes to the United States and disputed turf. The Houston Chronicle ran a good article on Tuesday that explains the nuances of the potential for a Zetas-Gulf Cartel turf war. NPR published an article entitled, “Drug Lord’s Death Brings Hope, Fear to Mexican City”, which highlights both possible scenarios.
  • Following the weekend, the number of drug-related homicides to date in 2010 in the border city of Ciudad Juarez reached 2,756, surpassing the 2009 total of 2,635. Ciudad Juarez is a strategic drug trafficking point on the route between Mexico and the United States, and therefore has experienced the brunt of the overall violence.
  • On Monday, the mayor-elect from Veracruz was killed along with three companions. Reuters notes that the reports did not link the homicide to drug cartel violence. Gregorio Barradas Miravete, a member of Mexican President Felipe Calderon’s National Action Party, is just one of several mayors targeted in the last few months.
  • On Tuesday, the Office of the Inspector General in the U.S. Justice Department released a report detailing the weaknesses of “Project Gunrunner”- the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) main initiative to combat arms smuggling over the Southwest Border. Reuters highlighted the fact that the report criticized ATF for focusing too greatly on gun dealers and “straw purchasers,” and not focusing enough efforts on targeting higher-level traffickers, smugglers, and the “ultimate recipients of the trafficked guns” in Mexico. Following last Friday’s shootout, President Obama stressed Washington’s continued support for ending impunity for the drug cartels in Mexico. Such statements highlight the shared responsibility between the United States and Mexican governments in fighting the “drug wars” of Mexico, which puts greater pressure on agencies like ATF to pull their weight. The Washington Post ran an article on Wednesday commenting on the US military’s heightened role in training combat forces and intelligence operatives in Mexico to combat organized crime and the drug cartels. According to the article, counter-narcotics funding from the Pentagon has tripled from $12.2 million in 2008 to more than $34 million in 2010.
  • On Wednesday, Mexican authorities announced that the La Familia drug cartel signed a letter offering to dissolve itself in exchange for government protection of the citizens of Michoacana, the western state where the cartel is based. Government authorities cannot confirm the origin or authenticity of the letter. A McClatchy article questions the intentions of the cartel, and analyzes the extent to which the offer to disband is genuine should be taken seriously. Regardless of the intentionality of the letter, the spokesman for the Attorney General’s office has stated that: “Regardless of whether the message is authentic or not, the federal government does not make deals or negotiate with drug cartels.”
  • On a more analytical note, there is renewed focus and concern over Mexico’s ni nis, the large sect of the youth population that neither works nor studies. Time published an editorial entitled, “Generation Narco”, which documents the plight of Mexico’s youth and the vulnerability of the young population to turn to illicit activity as a result of a lack of economic and social opportunity. The article forecasts an endless supply of disenfranchised youth to continually serve as foot soldiers in Mexico’s narco-wars, due to the allure of drug trafficking life, despite the known dangers:
  • “It is only them [the cartels] that are coming to these kids and offering them anything….They offer them money, cell phones, and guns to protect themselves. You think these kids are going to refuse? They have nothing to lose. They only see the day to day. They know they could die and they say so. But they don’t care. Because they have lived this way all their lives.” Overall, the past week in Mexico was violent, as has been increasingly characteristic as the government’s offensive on the drug wars, which has claimed nearly 30,000 lives since 2006, continues. This post was written by CIP intern Allison Gilchrist.