Criminal Voilence in Mexico

"Blessed are the Peacemakers"

Recent Developments

Mexican law enforcement and the military have struggled to curb crime-related violence. In 2018, theĀ number of drug-related homicidesĀ in Mexico rose to 33,341, aĀ 15 percent increaseĀ from the previous yearā€”and a record high. Moreover, MexicanĀ cartels killedĀ at leastĀ 130 candidates and politiciansĀ in the lead-up to Mexicoā€™s 2018 presidential elections.

While on the campaign trail, then-candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (often referred to as AMLO)Ā proposed several strategiesĀ to combat crime-related violence. After winning the election and assuming office in December 2018, AMLO announced theĀ creation of a new National GuardĀ (a hybrid civilian police and military force) to fight cartels.

Background

In the 1980s, Mexicoā€™s crime groups and drug traffickers becameĀ organized, assigning distinct regional areas of control for each group and establishing networks and trafficking routes. However, as production and distribution increased, the groups beganĀ fightingĀ for territorial control and access to markets, leading to an increase in violence across Mexico. Ā 

The Mexican government officiallyĀ declared war on criminal organizationsĀ in 2006, when former President Felipe Calderon launched an initiative to combat cartels using military force. In 2012, President Enrique PeƱa NietoĀ revisedĀ the Calderon governmentā€™s strategy, shifting efforts away from violent exchanges and toward improving law enforcement capacity and supporting public safety.

However, after the Sinaloa Cartelā€™s Joaquin ā€œEl Chapoā€ Guzman wasĀ arrested in 2014,Ā re-arrested in 2016, and finallyĀ extradited to the United States in 2017, a power vacuum wasĀ createdĀ within the Sinaloa Cartel, resulting in an accompanying increase in violence between rival factions seeking new territory and influence. Moreover, despite an initial decrease in homicides following PeƱa Nietoā€™s reforms, Mexico continued to struggle withĀ corruptionĀ and crime-related violence. By 2016, drug-related homicides hadĀ increased by 22 percent, with more than twenty thousand killed, and in 2017 a mass grave containing the remains of more than 250 victims of crime-related violence wasĀ uncoveredĀ in Veracruz State. Since 2006, crime-related violence has resulted in anĀ estimated 150,000 deaths.

Recognizing widespread assertionsĀ  that the use of military force has only increased the level of crime-related violence in Mexicoā€”and accusations that the military hasĀ committed human rights abusesĀ andĀ carried out extrajudicial killingsā€”thenā€“presidential candidate AMLOĀ promised on his campaign trailĀ to revolutionize the fight against cartels and revert to a civilian-led police force.

Concerns

In 2007, the George W. Bush administration and Calderon government launched the Merida Initiative toĀ improve U.S.-Mexico cooperation on security and rule of law issuesĀ in Mexico, andĀ support for the initiative has continuedĀ under the Donald J. Trump administration. According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, Mexican cartels represent theĀ greatest drug-related threat, supplying heroin, marijuana, methamphetamines, and other drugs, to the United States. Criminal and drug trafficking organizations threaten to undermine the strength and legitimacy of the Mexican government, an important U.S. regional partner, as well as harm civilian populations in both countries.Ā 

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