Drug Trafficking Organizations and Counter-drug Strategies in the U.s.-mexican Context

The proliferation and impunity of organized crime groups involved in drug trafficking in recent years is one of the most pressing public concerns in Mexico and the U.S.-Mexico borderlands. These groups have perpetrated increasingly brazen, spectacular acts of violence that have resulted in thousands of deaths. From 2001 to 2009, there were more than 20,000 killings attributed to drug trafficking organizations (or DTOs), with the extreme levels of violence in 2008 and 2009 contributing to more than half of these. While the vast majority of this violence reflects internecine conflicts between organized crime groups, at least 1,100 police officers and soldiers died in the line of fire from 2006 to 2009. Moreover, while the vast majority of this violence remains concentrated within Mexico, particularly the central Pacific coast and northern Mexico, it has raised very serious concerns among U.S. observers about possible “spillover” into U.S. communities along the border. In response to these trends, Mexico and the United States have taken significant measures to try to address the phenomenon of transnational organized crime. Mexico has relied heavily on the armed forces to combat drug trafficking organizations, particularly during the Calderón administration, which from its outset deployed tens of thousands of troops throughout the country. In terms of efforts to reduce the violence, the militarization of domestic public security in Mexico has brought mixed results, at best. At worst, it has produced a dramatic increase in human rights violations, contributed to corruption and defection among Mexican military personnel, and unnecessarily escalated the level of conflict and violence. Still, given the dysfunctions of civilian law enforcement agencies, Mexican officials appear to be at a loss for any effective alternative strategy. For its part, the United States has sought to assist Mexico by channeling aid, in the form of training and equipment, through the Mérida Initiative. The Mérida Initiative will provide Mexico with $1.4 billion in U.S. equipment, training and