Conflict in MexicoWar on drugs

History of the Mexican Drug War• Major drug producing/distributing/supplier country for illegal drugs

• 90% of cocaine smuggled into the USA is from Mexico- profits range from $13.6-48.4B/year

• Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo- former police agent, founded relationship with Colombian cartels

• Cartels became more powerful after Colombian cartels crumbled in the 1990s

• 3 major Mexican cartels- Gulf, Sinaloa, and Los Zetas

History of the Mexican Drug War• Arrests of key leaders led to increased violence/war/corruption as cartels fight for control

of routes/territory

• 2000-2006- 79,000 arrests, approximately 26,000 deaths in the last 3 1/2 years

• 2005- Mexican government has made efforts to end all corruption

• 2006- Felipe Calderon forced action against cartels in 9 states

• December 2006- Escalation of drug war between government and cartels- Felipe Calderon sent troops into Michoacán to end violence

• Major locations affected- Baja, California, Guerrero, Chihuahua, Michoacán, Tamaulipas, Nuero Leon and Sinaloa

History of the Mexican Drug War

Key Events 1980• Birth of the Mexican drug war• Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo "The Godfather" controlled all illegal drug trade in Mexico and

the trafficking across the Mexico-USA border throughout the 1980s. * Marihuana and Opium • Mexico formed connections with Columbian organizations to transport cocaine through

Mexico into the United States

2006• Felipe Calderon is elected as president on Dec 1st 2006• Mexican government is now focused on destroying the cartels rather than drug trafficking prevention.•Operation Michoacan is launched against the La Familia Michoacana cartel.

Key Events2007• Operation Baja California is launched against the Tijuana cartel: the Government of

Mexico is taking place in Tijuana and the surrounding areas of Baja California.

2008• The government launches the Joint Operation Nuevo León-Tamaulipas in order to eliminate the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas• The Mérida Initiative- a $1.6 US billion security cooperation agreement between the USA and Mexico, was signed into law

2009• Alberto Espinoza Barron is captured and arrested by Mexican authorities- one of the La Familia Michoacana cartel leaders.• The Mexican government launched the Operation Quintana Roo, sending thousands of troops to Cancún.• The Mexican Navy and the United States Coast Guard, confiscated 7 tons of cocaine being transported via waters in the Pacific Ocean.

Key IndividualsMiguel Ángel Félix Gallardo• The "godfather" of Mexican drug trafficking• Had full control over the Mexican drug trade throughout the 1980s. • Delegated his territory • In 1989 he was arrested, and is serving a 40 year sentence for racketeering, drug

smuggling and multiple violent crime

Felipe Calderon•Former President of Mexico (in office Dec 1, 2006-Nov 30, 2012)

• Launched operation Michoacán just 10 days after being elected. This operation was said to have started the war between Mexican officials and drug cartels

• Since the war began, over forty thousand people have been killed

• Put a lot of force into his anti-drug campaigns

Key IndividualsGeneral Sergio Aponte• Head of the anti-drug campaigns in the state of Baja California• Made numerous allegations against police officers and other officials in the region• Ousted from his position after these accusations were made

Joaquín Guzmán Loera• Nicknamed "El Chapo“• Most wanted man in Mexico"• Leader of Mexico's largest cartel: the Sinaloa Cartel• After the arrest of his partner Héctor "El Güero" Luis Palma Salazar he obtained full leadership • Guzmán is wanted by the governments of Mexico and the United States and by INTERPOL

Current Situation• the battle is now essentially between the Sinaloa and Zetas

• Zetas triggered a quadrupling of drug-war killings in the last four years

• 17 major arrests of leaders of Los Zetas over the past year

• Arrest of Marcos Jesús Hernández Rodríguez

• killing of Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano, followed by the theft of his corpse

Current Situation• 90 percent

• more than 50,000 deaths have been attributed to organised crime since president Felipe Calderón

• Enrique Pena Nieto, PRI, was elected president of Mexico, succeeding Mr. Calderón

• negotiation rather than following President Calderón's approach