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DEA "wanted" poster with members of Arellano Felix cartel
DEA "wanted" poster with members of Arellano Felix cartel

Mexico Drug War Update

It seems like there's a new atrocity every week in Mexico's unending prohibition-related violence. How about guards letting prisoners out of their cells so they can go murder people, then go back to the safety of prison?
Ciudad Juarez
Ciudad Juarez

Mexico Drug War Update

Last Friday, the Juarez Cartel unveiled a frightening tactical innovation: the car bomb. Meanwhile, the killing goes on...

U.S.-Mexico Drug Summit Fails to Acknowledge Obvious Solution to Violent Drug Cartels

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                                                 

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

U.S.-Mexico Drug Summit Fails to Acknowledge Obvious Solution to Violent Drug Cartels

Ending Marijuana Prohibition Would Deal Crucial Blow to Mexican Drug Cartels, Drastically Reduce Border Violence

CONTACT: Aaron Houston, MPP director of government relations …………… 202-420-1031

WASHINGTON, DC — Today, high-ranking officials from the United States and Mexico concluded a three-day conference meant to outline ways the two nations could reduce the illicit drug trade-associated violence that continues to plague the U.S.-Mexican border. Unfortunately, officials concluded their talks without making any reference to the most sensible and guaranteed strategy for reducing that violence: removing marijuana from the criminal market, and depriving drug cartels of their main source of income and strife.

         “The only solution to the current crisis is to tax and regulate marijuana,” said Aaron Houston, director of government relations for the Marijuana Policy Project. “Once again, Mexican and U.S. officials are ignoring the fact that the cartels get 70 percent of their profits from marijuana. It’s time to face the reality that the U.S.’s marijuana prohibition is fueling a bloodbath in Mexico and the United States.” 

         The Obama administration has said it will provide the Mexican government with a $1.4 billion aid package to combat the Mexican drug cartels, in addition to seeking $310 million in its 2011 budget for drug enforcement aid to Mexico. 

         “It is illogical, at best, to continue throwing money at this failed policy,” Houston said. “The government will never eliminate the demand for marijuana, but it can put an end to the monopoly drug cartels currently hold on America’s largest cash crop. Lifting marijuana prohibition would take away the cartels’ largest source of income and the main reason for the horrifically brutal violence perpetrated by rival drug groups.”  

         Last year, the Mexican border city Juarez recorded 2,670 homicides. Among the growing numbers of voices calling for an end to marijuana prohibition in order to stem the violence are former Mexican presidents Vicente Fox and Ernesto Zedillo, as well as the former leaders of Brazil and Colombia.

         With more than 124,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For more information, please visit www.mpp.org.

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DrugSense FOCUS ALERT: #397 The Drug War South of the Border

THE DRUG WAR SOUTH OF THE BORDER ********************************************************************** DrugSense FOCUS Alert #397 - Wednesday, 25 February 2009 Headlines from Tuesday and Wednesday morning newspapers alert us. Wave of Drug Violence Is Creeping into Arizona From Mexico, Officials Say http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09.n223.a04.html El Paso Police Investigate Threats Against Juarez Mayor http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09.n223.a06.html A Treaty That Can Help Stem Drug Violence in Mexico http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09.n223.a07.html Colombia's Worry: Looser US Ties http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09.n224.a02.html Mexico Attorney General: We Don't Need U.S. Troops to Intervene in Drug War http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09.n224.a03.html Gov. Perry Wants U.S. Troops Guarding Border http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09.n224.a04.html Mexico Drug War Prompts Federal Contingency Plan http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09.n224.a05.html Today the Los Angeles Times website states that there has been 7,337 drug war related deaths in Mexico since January, 1997 as the newspaper continues it's Mexico Under Siege series http://mapinc.org/find?255 You know the solution as do the former Presidents as reflected in their OPED below. Please write those LTEs as they help shape public opinion. Please also contact the folks who represent you in Congress and President Obama. What you do does make a difference. ********************************************************************** Pubdate: Mon, 23 Feb 2009 Source: Wall Street Journal Copyright: 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Contact: [email protected] Authors: Fernando Henrique Cardoso, CeSar Gaviria and Ernesto Zedillo Note: Mr. Cardoso is the former president of Brazil. Mr. Gaviria is a former president of Colombia. Mr. Zedillo is a former president of Mexico. Cited: The Latin American Commission on Drugs and Democracy http://drugsanddemocracy.org/ THE WAR ON DRUGS IS A FAILURE We Should Focus Instead on Reducing Harm to Users and on Tackling Organized Crime. The war on drugs has failed. And it's high time to replace an ineffective strategy with more humane and efficient drug policies. This is the central message of the report by the Latin American Commission on Drugs and Democracy we presented to the public recently in Rio de Janeiro. Prohibitionist policies based on eradication, interdiction and criminalization of consumption simply haven't worked. Violence and the organized crime associated with the narcotics trade remain critical problems in our countries. Latin America remains the world's largest exporter of cocaine and cannabis, and is fast becoming a major supplier of opium and heroin. Today, we are further than ever from the goal of eradicating drugs. Over the last 30 years, Colombia implemented all conceivable measures to fight the drug trade in a massive effort where the benefits were not proportional to the resources invested. Despite the country's achievements in lowering levels of violence and crime, the areas of illegal cultivation are again expanding. In Mexico -- another epicenter of drug trafficking -- narcotics-related violence has claimed more than 5,000 lives in the past year alone. The revision of U.S.-inspired drug policies is urgent in light of the rising levels of violence and corruption associated with narcotics. The alarming power of the drug cartels is leading to a criminalization of politics and a politicization of crime. And the corruption of the judicial and political system is undermining the foundations of democracy in several Latin American countries. The first step in the search for alternative solutions is to acknowledge the disastrous consequences of current policies. Next, we must shatter the taboos that inhibit public debate about drugs in our societies. Antinarcotic policies are firmly rooted in prejudices and fears that sometimes bear little relation to reality. The association of drugs with crime segregates addicts in closed circles where they become even more exposed to organized crime. In order to drastically reduce the harm caused by narcotics, the long-term solution is to reduce demand for drugs in the main consumer countries. To move in this direction, it is essential to differentiate among illicit substances according to the harm they inflict on people's health, and the harm drugs cause to the social fabric In this spirit, we propose a paradigm shift in drug policies based on three guiding principles: Reduce the harm caused by drugs, decrease drug consumption through education, and aggressively combat organized crime. To translate this new paradigm into action we must start by changing the status of addicts from drug buyers in the illegal market to patients cared for by the public-health system. We also propose the careful evaluation, from a public-health standpoint, of the possibility of decriminalizing the possession of cannabis for personal use. Cannabis is by far the most widely used drug in Latin America, and we acknowledge that its consumption has an adverse impact on health. But the available empirical evidence shows that the hazards caused by cannabis are similar to the harm caused by alcohol or tobacco. If we want to effectively curb drug use, we should look to the campaign against tobacco consumption. The success of this campaign illustrates the effectiveness of prevention campaigns based on clear language and arguments consistent with individual experience. Likewise, statements by former addicts about the dangers of drugs will be far more compelling to current users than threats of repression or virtuous exhortations against drug use. Such educational campaigns must be targeted at youth, by far the largest contingent of users and of those killed in the drug wars. The campaigns should also stress each person's responsibility toward the rising violence and corruption associated with the narcotics trade. By treating consumption as a matter of public health, we will enable police to focus their efforts on the critical issue: the fight against organized crime. A growing number of political, civic and cultural leaders, mindful of the failure of our current drug policy, have publicly called for a major policy shift. Creating alternative policies is the task of many: educators, health professionals, spiritual leaders and policy makers. Each country's search for new policies must be consistent with its history and culture. But to be effective, the new paradigm must focus on health and education -- not repression. Drugs are a threat that cuts across borders, which is why Latin America must establish dialogue with the United States and the European Union to develop workable alternatives to the war on drugs. Both the U.S. and the EU share responsibility for the problems faced by our countries, since their domestic markets are the main consumers of the drugs produced in Latin America. The inauguration of President Barack Obama presents a unique opportunity for Latin America and the U.S. to engage in a substantive dialogue on issues of common concern, such as the reduction of domestic consumption and the control of arms sales, especially across the U.S.-Mexico border. Latin America should also pursue dialogue with the EU, asking European countries to renew their commitment to the reduction of domestic consumption and learning from their experiences with reducing the health hazards caused by drugs. The time to act is now, and the way forward lies in strengthening partnerships to deal with a global problem that affects us all. ********************************************************************** Prepared by: Richard Lake, Senior Editor www.mapinc.org === . DrugSense provides many services at no charge, but they are not free to produce. Your contributions make DrugSense and its Media Awareness Project (MAP) happen. Please donate today. Our secure Web server at http://www.drugsense.org/donate.htm accepts credit cards. Or, mail your check or money order to: DrugSense 14252 Culver Drive #328 Irvine, CA 92604-0326. (800) 266 5759 . DrugSense is a 501c(3) non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness about the expensive, ineffective, and destructive "War on Drugs." Donations are tax deductible to the extent provided by law.

NEW CATO PAPER: Troubled Neighbor: Mexico's Drug Violence Poses a Threat to the United States


Troubled Neighbor: Mexico's Drug Violence Poses a Threat to the United States

by Ted Galen Carpenter

Policy Analysis no. 631
February 2, 2009

Executive Summary


While U.S. leaders have focused on actual or illusory security threats in distant regions, there is a troubling security problem brewing much closer to home. Violence in Mexico, mostly related to the trade in illegal drugs, has risen sharply in recent years and shows signs of becoming even worse. That violence involves turf fights among the various drug-trafficking organizations as they seek to control access to the lucrative U.S. market. To an increasing extent, the violence also entails fighting between drug traffickers and Mexican military and police forces.

The carnage has already reached the point that the U.S. State Department has issued travel alerts for Americans traveling in Mexico. U.S. tourism to cities on Mexico’s border with the United States, where the bloodshed has been the worst, has dropped sharply. Even more troubling, the violence is spilling across the border into communities in the southwestern United States.

U.S. officials, alarmed at the growing power of the Mexican drug cartels, have pressured the government of Felipe Calderón to wage a more vigorous anti-drug campaign. Calderón has responded by giving the army the lead role in efforts to eliminate the drug traffickers instead of relying on federal and local police forces, which have been thoroughly corrupted by drug money. Washington has rewarded Calderón’s government by implementing the initial stage of the so-called Mérida Initiative. In June 2008, Congress approved a $400 million installment modeled on Plan Colombia, the anti-drug assistance measure for Colombia and other drug-source countries in the Andean region. That program, now in its ninth year, has already cost more than $5 billion, without significantly reducing the flow of drugs coming out of South America. The Mérida Initiative will likely cost billions and be equally ineffectual.

Abandoning the prohibitionist model of dealing with the drug problem is the only effective way to stem the violence in Mexico and its spillover into the United States. Other proposed solutions, including preventing the flow of guns from the U.S. to Mexico, establishing tighter control over the border, and (somehow) winning the war on drugs are futile. As long as the prohibitionist strategy is in place, the huge black market premium in illegal drugs will continue, and the lure of that profit, together with the illegality, guarantees that the most ruthless, violence-prone elements will dominate the trade. Ending drug prohibition would de-fund the criminal trafficking organizations and reduce their power.

The full text of this paper is available here.


Ted Galen Carpenter, vice president for defense and foreign policy studies at the Cato Institute, is the author of eight books, including Bad Neighbor Policy: Washington's Futile War on Drugs in Latin America.

Cato Institute
1000 Massachusetts Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20001

Freedom of speech (except about legalization)?

[Courtesy of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition] 

Dear friends,

When I learned that the mayor of El Paso vetoed a resolution calling for a national discussion on drug legalization after it was passed unanimously by his city council, I was ready to help my neighbors. The city council had shown the good sense to vote 8-0 to show support for their sister city of Juarez, Mexico, which is overrun with drug war violence.  By calling for an open debate on ending drug prohibition, the El Paso city council took a big step in the right direction, and I knew they could use the support of cops who've been on the front lines of the failed "war on drugs."

Emboldened by their research and public comments, the city council members called for an override of the veto, spurring a week-long debate on whether there should be a national discussion about drug legalization.  A debate about debating, if you will.

On the southern side of the border, lawmakers are talking about the El Paso debate as well.  Juarez lawmaker Victor Quintana, who proposed the Chihuahua State Congress initiate a similar debate in 2008, said, "I don't think it hurts anyone to initiate this debate, because the drug war has failed all over the world."

You can be part of the debate by sending a strong message to your member of Congress in support of a national discussion on drug policy.

Unfortunately, the El Paso city council's override vote ended in a tie, and Mayor John Cook's veto of the unanimously-passed resolution was upheld.  It wasn't as if the city council members changed their minds on calling for a national debate; rather, four of the eight council members who originally supported the resolution ultimately reversed their votes under significant federal pressure, with three council members specifically citing two letters: one from U.S. Congressman Silvestre Reyes, and one from the El Paso's state legislative delegation.  The letters threatened El Paso with the loss of state and federal dollars if the council voted to override the veto and pass the resolution.

I attended the meeting, and you can view my testimony before the council here.  Also in attendance was an aide to Congressman Reyes, who articulated the threats to the council should the resolution pass.

City Rep. Beto O'Rourke, who championed the council resolution, summed it up best: "It's a sad day in America when you are threatened for wanting to have an open debate on an issue that is affecting our country and our region."

As you know, prohibition will never curb border violence related to the illegal drug trade, nor will it ever reduce any of the devastating consequences associated with illegal drugs.  The only way to reduce illegal drug-market violence is to legalize and regulate drugs, putting the cartels out of business.

I'm outraged at this blatant use of federal pressure to silence an open discussion, and I hope you are too.  Drug prohibition is an issue that profoundly affects our country, and for our elected officials to resort to threats in order to prevent such a necessary debate contradicts the very core of democracy.

When confronted by the Huffington Post, Congressman Reyes said that he is not opposed to a debate on legalization; he only opposed the 'timing,' as it would coincide with President Barack Obama's meeting with Mexican President Felipe Calderon and Congress's debate of the economic stimulus package.  Reyes said, "If it's still an issue [after the stimulus passes], I'm not opposed to perhaps even entertaining a hearing.  I can look at that if they want to pursue it."

Take action now!  Visit http://www.DrugWarDebate.com to ask YOUR federal and state representatives to support a blue ribbon commission reviewing the efficacy of drug prohibition.  Please help us hold Congressman Reyes to his pledge!

You know you can trust LEAP to make sure the failed "war on drugs" is "still an issue" until the day it ends. Please support LEAP by making a tax-deductible contribution.  Your generosity is what sustains LEAP, allowing our speakers to further extend our mission of education and outreach on the failure of drug prohibition.

Thanks for your support,
Terry Nelson
Law Enforcement Against Prohibition

P.S. Please help LEAP with a monthly pledge or as generous of a donation as you can afford if you want to see us continue our efforts to get policymakers to take this issue seriously.

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