Smuggling to U.S. Border Opium Cocaine Marijuana Connections - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

The e Strug uggle gle with th Drug ug Cart rtels els

 Geographic location always

made Mexico a valuable center for transportation of narcotics.

 Cartels have become more

powerful since the demise of the Colombian Cartels in the 1990’s

 Wholesale earnings from

drugs range from 13- 48 billion dollars.

Miguel l Ángel l Félix ix Gallard lardo

• (El Padrin

ino)

• )

 Smuggling to U.S. Border

 Opium  Cocaine  Marijuana

 Connections made him point man for Pablo Escobar.  Privatized the Mexican Drug business.  Arrested on April 8 1989

• Gulf Cartel: oldest
• rganized crime group

now operating (1970- present

The War on Drugs: Felipe Calderon

 2006

• December 1: Calderon assumes presidency &

declares war on drug traffickers

• Operation Michoacana is launched against La

Familia Michoacana cartel

 2007

• Popular singer Sergio Gómez is kidnapped

and killed

• Entire police force in Baja California stripped
• f weapons due to suspicion of collaboration

with cartels.

• Drug related death reached 2,477

 2008

• Death Toll: 6,290

 2009

• Death Toll: 7,724

 2010 & 2012

• Estimated Death Rate: 15,000 each year

 Highest Level Cartels

• Sinaloa

 Most powerful cartel in Mexico today  Proximity to border  Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman

• Others:

 Pacific Cartel  Knights Templar  Zetas

 Role of Drug Lords

• Set prices
• Track shipments
• Manage employment
• Handle pay-offs

Operation of the Drug Cartels

 Use of Violence to Protect

Territory

• Over 34,000 deaths since 2007
• Kidnappings and hostage

situations

Operation of the Drug Cartels

[ [

“There are no codes. There are no

• boundaries. There are no limits. There is

a high degree of impunity. That’s the big worry of all of us that live in Mexico. There were limits in the past; now there are no limits.”

• Security Consultant Carlos Seoane,
• n kidnappings by drug cartels.

Factors Driving Mexico’s Drug ug Poli licy cy

 Government corruption

• Ranked 2nd most corrupt police force in

the world

• Many upper level officials have faced

corruption charges

 U.S. pressure to curb the

illegal drug trade

 Vast crime and violence from

the drug cartels

 Voter dissatisfaction triggered

by the violence Mexican Government’s War on Drugs

Govern vernmen ent t comba bati ting ng poli lice ce corru rupti tion

• n

 August 2010: Mexico fired 10% of

federal police force.

 The anti-cartel operations begun by

President Calderón in December 2006 included ballistic checks of police weapons

 Proposed creation of a national

criminal database and a department to oversee coordination among police forces and anti-corruption efforts.

 An extra 1,800 federal agents sent

into battle with drug cartels

The Government’s War on Drugs

Mexico’s fight against drug cartels

 2006: roughly 36,000

troops deployed to work with the federal police

 2008 constitutional reform

merges the Federal Preventive Police (PFP) and the Federal Agency of Investigation (AFI),.

 2011 Calderon's

administration ordered troops and federal police to a Gulf coast state where gunmen dumped 35 bound bodies on a busy avenue.

"This is not 'the government's war against drugs,' but the fight of all Mexicans to build an authentic security, based

• n the rule of law and

justice.” -National Security Spokesman Alejandro Poire

The Government’s War on Drugs

• October 22, 2007- US and Mexico issued a statement

announcing the start of the initiative

• Eventually signed into law on June 30, 2008 by G.W. Bush
• Overall agreement to expand bilateral and regional

counternarcotic and security cooperation in Mexico and in Central America

• Goal: Reduce $12-15 billion yearly ash flow of drugs

between the US and Mexico

• It is a multiyear plan for US assistance in

Mexico and Central America

• Predicted to cost about $500 million in Mexico

and $50 million in Central America

• Mexico was the area in need of the most aid-

Mexican military and law enforcement

• Mexico: to enhance and complement US and

Mexican efforts against drug, human and weapons trafficking

• Central America: to strengthen the capacity of

the government to find and destroy unauthorized drugs, goods, arms and people

• Mexico: $500 million for planes, parts, training,

expansion of the immigrations agency database and verification system, securing communications systems, law enforcement training, etc.

• Central America: $16.6 million spread throughout the 7

countries

• Expenditures
• support for the CA Fingerprinting Exploitation (CAFÉ),
• technical assistance on firearms tracing and destruction, border

security

• anti-gang efforts

• Training is included in a $24 million proposal which also

covers logistics and spare parts

• 4,500 federal police have already completed training
• Taught by law enforcements professionals from other

countries

• Millions for canine training

• Skills learned
• criminal investigative techniques, evidence collection, crime scene

preservation and ethics

• How to view contents of rail cars using Railroad, Vehicle, and Cargo

Inspection Systems

• How to detect weapons and drugs in cars, trains and many types of

containers

• How to hold, transport and classify prisoners

• A US Secretary Firm Instructor in

Mexico was accused of teaching city police officers “enhanced interrogation” techniques

• Line between “enhanced

interrogation” and torture not always clear

Upgrading Capabilities of Mexican & Central American Governments

• The US helps to train police, prosecutors and defenders
• Support from the US is helping to develop correction systems
• The Mexican government has used funds to establish a

corrections academy to train federal correctional staff.

• Similar efforts in Guatemala, El Salvador & Costa Rica

Equipment Exchange

• Eight Bell helicopters to the Mexican Army/Air Force
• Three UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters to the Federal

Police

• Three UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters to the Mexican

Navy

Security Cooperation: Drones

Orbiter Mini UAV

Secretary of State Clinton involved

Solutions towards Security Cooperation

Embedded U.S. Security Forces:

• Trust: Information can be compartmentalized
• Training: Experts can give on the job training
• Equipment: U.S. forces can have access

to American technology

• Laws: Small teams can take advantage of loopholes
• Funding: Cost effective compared to pure funding

B

Criticisms of Merida

• The Mérida Initiative is called "Plan Mexico" by

critics, to point out its similarities to Plan Columbia

• In "Plan Columbia", U.S. has heavily funded the

Colombian military, yet cocaine production has steadily increased and registered a 27% rise in 2007, before declining in 2008 and 2009.

• Comparison casts doubt on return for investment
• n Merida
• Concern over potential compromise of personal

privacy

Challenges to Cooperation:

• Lack of Trust
• Criminal Gangs have infiltrated the security

Mexican security forces

• Mexicans do not trust the U.S. government
• Poor Training
• Tactical, Criminal, Judicial
• Bad Equipment
• Restrictive Laws
• Who is in charge?
• Gun smuggling
• Limited Funding

A

Security Cooperation: Fast and Furious

• Operation by U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms,

and Explosives (ATF)

• Encouraged gun sellers to provide guns to suspicious

buyers

• Gunwalking ("letting guns walk")
• Over half of the 2,000 guns were lost
• Many recovered at crime scenes too late
• U.S. border agent (Brian Terry) killed with guns from

Fast & Furious

• ATF attempted to hide the scandal
• Used the increase in violence from rifles as evidence it

needed stronger gun laws it had long wanted.

• Shattered trust and charges of U.S. recklessness

E

Security Cooperation: Political Pressure

• 2012 is an election year for Mexico and the U.S.
• Mexican electorate threatening change
• Fear of corruption and violence
• Increasing role of the U.S.
• Barack Obama on defensive over Fast & Furious
• Drugs are still crossing the border
• Violence could spill over
• Lobbyists preventing changes to gun laws

F

 Monterre

rrey y attacks; s; August st 26, 2011 2011

 Alternat

rnativ ive Proposals sals

• Legali

lization ation of Marijuan ana

 Cartels’ greatest source of income  Analysts suggest as best solution  Attack as a business, not just a crime.  Encourages other forms of crime?

• Truce or Accom
• mmod
• dation

ation

• Negotiate a ceasefile with cartels
• Amnesty

 Issue

ue in 2012 Mexica ican n Preside sident ntial ial Campaig aign n

Drug related ted violence lence conti tinues nues

 Will

l the e drug ug prob

• blem

lem be hand ndled led diff fferently erently?

• Corruption and bribery
• Strict rules for the cartels.
• Crime and corruption, but violence

kept off the streets