Bureaucracy in Both the U.S. and Mexico Impedes War on Drugs

Mexico is now the main conduit of illegal drugs entering the U.S., says a new report released last week by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). Importantly, the report adds, efforts to combat the problem are hampered by the failure of key U.S. agencies to cooperate and coordinate with their Mexican counterparts.

Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R.-Iowa), who commissioned the report, strongly chastised the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. The agency "needs to realize that we're in this fight together, and it's foolish to think we can implement an effective plan to stop the flow of drugs from Mexico on our own," Grassley said in an e-mail to The Washington Post.

According to the report, rising U.S. demand for illegal drugs is spurring the rapid increase in drug flow through Mexico. Of the drugs crossing the border, methamphetamines have registered the fastest growth, while 90% of the cocaine reaching the U.S. comes from other countries through Mexico. The report states that the Mexican drug cartels combined generate more revenue than at least 40% of the Fortune 500 companies.

While Mexican government corruption has traditionally been an impediment, the report praises Mexico President Felipe Calderón, who has shown a serious commitment to battling drug crime since he took office 10 months ago. Calderón has deployed 27,000 troops and police officers to combat cartels in eight Mexican states; he has taken sweeping measures to remove police officers and administrators who may have drug ties; and is taking steps to develop a more transparent judicial system to help minimize trial corruption. Both the U.S. and Mexico are stepping up efforts to prevent money laundering.

According to The Washington Post, U.S. Congressional aides hope the report will help spur greater U.S. coordination with Mexican efforts.

If so, support will come at a key time. Mexico's death toll from organized crime is nearly 2,000 for the year to date, many of these police officers. Last Thursday-the day the GAO report was released-gunmen shot and killed the state police chief of Hidalgo while he drove with a friend. It was the second high-profile killing in a week-on September 13, gunmen murdered the chief of police of the state of San Luis Potosí. Both killings are thought to be the work of drug cartel hit men.

Making a rare public comment on the incident, the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, Tony Garza, deplored the killing, saying the slain police chief was "yet another victim in Mexico's fight against organized crime."

The majority of the deaths in Mexico due to organized crime have taken place in areas near Mexico's international borders (at the northern and southern ends of the country) - where drugs in transit enter and leave the country.

Best Regards,

Suzan Haskins
Editor, Mexico Insider
International Living

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