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THE TREASURE HUNT
Jonathan
Gonzalez
Lab # 50.406: 5:00 to 6:50 p.m. on Thursday with Dan Childs
Drug Trafficking of Narcotics Between the United States and
Mexico and the DEA's efforts to stop it in the past few years.
Section
I:
The drug trade between the United States and Mexico has intensified during the
past decade. Narcotics have been passing through the border as frequently as
Mexican immigrants seeking a new life in the U.S. It has become easier than
ever before for drugs to pass through borderlines due to NAFTA. The North American
Free Trade Agreement is causing the border between the United States and Mexico
to slowly disappear. NAFTA coupled with the fact that the border between the
U.S. and Mexico stretches for thousands of miles makes the U.S. government's
job even harder. Some traffickers may get intercepted, but there is no way border
officials can shut down every instance of drug trading. The drug of choice in
many cases is Cocaine. Cocaine is a narcotic that has dominated the world's
drug trafficking scene. Scientific advances have created a new form of cocaine
that is undetectable from smell. Discoveries such as these are the DEA's worst
nightmare. Regardless of the situation, the Drug Enforcement Agency is working
hard to eliminate the drug trade and put drug cartels out of business. The amount
of money made through this deadly business make their efforts futile.
Some questions I hope to answer through research of my topic are: How effective
have the DEA's efforts in stopping the drug trade in the past year been? Which
drugs have been trafficked most? Which Mexican drug cartels have been most successful?
Has the DEA had any luck capturing drug cartel leaders? What methods are being
used today to shut down the drug trade between Mexico and the U.S.? The percentage
of drugs that are successfully transported between the U.S. and Mexico on an
average day? What has been the exact effect of NAFTA on U.S. and Mexican borderlines?
The amount of lives that are taken a year due to drug trading activities? The
amount of individuals indicated in the past few years due to drug trafficking?
The main audience I think I will attract with my research will probably be college
age students. College students in America have a fascination with drugs. I think
they will enjoy learning about one of the biggest drug related issues in the
world today.
UNC Library
Catalog
Drugs AND Mexico
Drug Trafficking AND Border
Cocaine AND DEA
Academic Universe Lexis-Nexis
Mexico w/ 5 drug!
North American Free Trade Agreement w/p Mexico AND Drug!
Drug Cartels w/p DEA
Cocaine and Mexico w/s United States AND Drug Trafficking
Search engine on Web <http://www.google.com/>.
Drug Trafficking AND Mexico AND Cocaine
New Methods AND Cocaine AND Mexico AND DEA
Success Rate AND Trafficking AND Cocaine AND Mexico
Arrests AND Drug Cartels AND Mexico
Statistics AND Cocaine AND Mexico AND Trafficking AND 2000
Section
II:
1. U.S. Congress, Senate, Caucus on International Narcotics Control Drug
Trafficking. Drug Trafficking: Following Meth from Mexico to the Midwest:
Hearing before the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control.
105th Cong., 2nd Sess., 14 April 1998. Y 4.3: HRG. 105-497
2. Bailey, John, ed. and Godson, Roy ed. Organized Crime & Democratic
Governability: Mexico and the U.S.-Mexican Borderlands. Pittsburgh:
Pittsburgh Press, 200. HV6812.074 2000.
3. Traffic. Traffic. Directed by Steven Soderbergh. 147 min. USA Home
Entertainment, 2000. Video recording, 65-DVD693.
Section
III: (* Using Lexis Nexis citation)
Weissert, Will. "Mexico Announced Capture of the Brother of Escaped Drug
Boss." Associated Press 8 September 2001: Online. LEXIS-NEXIS® Academic
Universe. [18 September 2001.]
"Mexican Authorities Arrest Top Sincla Drug Cartel Member." Agence
France Presse 8 September 2001: Online LEXIS-NEXIS® Academic Universe.
[18 September 2001.]
Azpiazu, Maria Luisa. "U.S.-Mexico/Congress Fox Presents Proposals on Immigration and Drugs to U.S. Congress." EFE News Service 6 September 2001: Online. LEXIS-NEXIS® Academic Universe. [18 September 2001.]
"Former Mexican Governor Indicated for Drug Trafficking in New York." Agence France Presse 26 May 2001: Online. LEXIS-NEXIS® Academic Universe. [18 September 2001].
Cantlupe, Joe. "Druge Administrator Encouraged by Mexico's Cooperation." San Diego Union-Tribune 11 May 2001: A-8. Online. LEXIS-NEXIS® Academic Universe. [18 September 2001.]
"Total Estimated Arrests and Drug Arrests 1989-1998." From National Drug Control Strategy 200 Annual Report. Office of National Drug Control Policy 2000; p. 138. Online: LEXIS-NEXIS® Academic Universe. [18 September 2001.]
"Drug Type and Purchase Amount, 1991-98". Office of National Drug Control Policy April 1999; p. 4. Online. LEXIS-NEXIS® Academic Universe. [18 September 2001.]
Title of Web
Page: Mexico: Mexican Drug Trafficking, U.S. Drug War are Top Issues.
Web Address: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n626/a06.html
Description:
This site is a page on a website that examines drug related issues that are
prevalent in our country. The Media Awareness Project's goal is to educate and
inform people of the grave dangers of drugs. This particular page looks at how
President Bush and Vicente Fox are trying to solve the drug trafficking problem
between the U.S. and Mexico.
Source of the Website: Media Awareness Project
Title of Web Page: Drugs and Crime
Web Address:
http://virlib.ncjrs.org/DrugsAndCrime.asp#G
Description: This page contains statistics that range from the average
use of crack in 2000 to all the types of drugs that are heavy in the drug trade.
It also talks heavily about teen abuse and gives statistics covering teen use.
It is a useful tool for helping me answer my question about the types of drugs
being trafficked and how much of it is being used.
Source of Website: National Criminal Justice Reference Justice Service
Title of Web
Page: DEA: Drug Enforcement Administration
Web Address: http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/
Description: This website basically has everything a person would want
to know about the drug trade. The site talks about programs the DEA has geared
toward stopping drug trafficking fugitives. It also talks about current drugs
on the market and new measures the DEA is using to stop traffickers. This site
answered a lot of my questions about drug trafficking.
Source: US Dept of Justice
Title of Web
Page: Drug Cartels
Web Address: http://gomexico.about.com/cs/drugcartels/?once=true&
Description: This page is an index of the top drug dealers and trafficking
cartels in Mexico. It supplies vital information and the names of the drug trafficking
cartels who are some of the most dangerous in Mexico.
Source: About.com
Title of Web
Page: The Impact of NAFTA on Drug Smuggling.
Web Address: http://www2.siliconv.com/siliconv/trade/tradepapers/drugs.html
Description: This site outlines what NAFTA has done to the U.S./Mexico
border. It discusses how the landscape of the border is changing, and how it
is becoming easier to smuggle drugs through Mexico and the U.S. It explains
the NAFTA situation perfectly.
Source: Reform Party of California.
Section
V:
Stuck in Traffic
Political obstacle hinder, but do not discourage, government from halting
drugs
(1) "This has worked for years and will continue to work for years. NAFTA
makes things more difficult for you. The border is disappearing… Let me
be the first to tell you, your government gave up this war a long time ago."
This line is from a movie titled Traffic. In the scene, a drug trafficker is
talking to two DEA agents. His words, regretfully, are close to the truth. The
aforementioned scene and the rest of the movie make a point that federal agents
do not want to hear. No matter how hard the government tries, the amount of
money revolving around illegal narcotics makes the war on drugs a difficult
one to win.
Thanks to NAFTA, drug gangs expanded into many legitimate businesses, which
could be used for smuggling. Many of these businesses include trucks and buses
coming from Mexico, which NAFTA allowed fifty percent more of to cross. More
trucks mean more vehicles that the border police cannot possibly check. This
equals more undetected dope in the United States.
With all the changes going on in drug flow between the States and Mexico, there
has been one thing that has stayed constant, and that is the influence of the
mighty Mexican drug cartels. Cartels such as the Juarez, Tijuana, and Gulf are
very prominent in the drug scene that exists between the United States and Mexico.
Regardless, the Drug Enforcement Agency presses on to fight the war on drugs.
Over the past ten years, the DEA's domestic arrests have steadily gone up and
so have their Meth Lab seizures. Furthermore, the DEA has made some key arrests
in the past year, including (2) "a former Mexican governor who was indicted
for drug trafficking in New York".
While there are many encouraging signs, the U.S. Government's dream of winning
the war on drugs is far from a reality. There is just too much money out there,
and too many crooked officials in Mexico, and the U.S., who want to be part
of the paper chase. The movie Traffic ended with an officer losing a partner
and a chance to nail the bad guys. But it also displayed the officer's willingness
not to give up despite the odds. Although the U.S. Government may never win
the war on drugs, it should never give up either.
Notes:
(1) Traffic, dir. Steven Soderbergh, 147 min., USA Home Entertainment,
2000, video recording.
(2) "Former Mexican Governor Indicated for Drug Trafficking in New York."
Agence France Presse, 26 May 2001.
Web sites:
Title of Web
Page: The Impact of NAFTA on Drug Smuggling.
Web Address: http://www2.siliconv.com/siliconv/trade/tradepapers/drugs.html
Description: This site outlines what NAFTA has done to the U.S./Mexico
border. It discusses how the landscape of the border is changing, and how it
is becoming easier to smuggle drugs through Mexico and the U.S. It explains
the NAFTA situation perfectly.
Source: Reform Party of California.
Title of Web
Page: Drug Cartels
Web Address: http://gomexico.about.com/cs/drugcartels/?once=true&
Description: This page is an index of the top drug dealers and trafficking
cartels in Mexico. It supplies vital information and the names of the drug trafficking
cartels who are some of the most dangerous in Mexico.
Source: About.com
Title of Web
Page: DEA: Drug Enforcement Administration
Web Address: http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/
Description: This website basically has everything a person would want
to know about the drug trade. The site talks about programs the DEA has geared
toward stopping drug trafficking fugitives. It also talks about current drugs
on the market and new measures the DEA is using to stop traffickers. This site
answered a lot of my questions about drug trafficking.
Source: US Dept of Justice
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