Trouble Down South Essay -- US-Mexico Border

Early in our school years we are taught the importance of staying away from drugs and their harmful effects. We live in a nation surrounded by drugs and the culture that surrounds them. Drugs inhabit our everyday lives through the mediums we come in contact with on a daily basis. Most people cannot go through their day without running into a drug reference of some sort on their phones or televisions. However, with all the drugs in our nation, many Americans do not take the time to wonder where they came from or how they got here. The most common answer is the U.S.-Mexico border (Gootenberg 2). As officials worry about the number of illegal immigrants that sneak into the nation, they seem less concerned about the amount of drug content that is smuggled in as well. With high-powered groups such as Los Zetas and the Sinaloans controlling Mexico’s drug world with violence and terrorism, our southern neighbor has a problem that has remained uncontrollable for the past twenty years (Gootenberg 4). Mexico has not always been infested with drugs. The current drug problems stem back to the cocaine boom of the 1980s in Columbia and U.S. efforts to eliminate trades in the 80s and 90s (Gootenberg 1, 2). During the boom, Columbian drug systems were organized in major cities such as Miami and New York. As the mid-80s approached, there were an approximated 22 million cocaine users in the United States (Gootenberg 2). With such success came a rapid expansion of the cocaine market, and it also led to more competition. As this competition rose, the Columbians were forced to insert hit men into the U.S to fight off their Cuban rivals (2). The violence caused by the Columbian markets forced the U.S. president to get involved. Presidents such as Rea... ...iven a broader base in the U.S. President Calderon is visibly unable to control the cartels in his own country, and is in dire need of some assistance. It is a responsibility of the United States to help its’ neighbor before it is too late. Mexican drug cartels have been rising to power since the demise of the Medellin cartel in 1980. They came to power thanks to the blowback effect caused by the United States (Gootenberg 3). With recent U.S. presidential decisions, our nation is doing little to help its neighbor (Kellner and Pipitone 37). Mexico has been left to find its own solution; it will be up to the minds of president Calderon and his fellow governors to find a peaceful way to eliminate the terror that has gripped their nation by the throat. That is, if the competition and hunger for territory and power don’t cause the cartels to destroy each other first.