Crime in North America

The presidents of Mexico and the United States met yesterday with the Canadian prime minister in the White House to discuss the topics of economy and security. The meeting underscored the fact that the violent problems in Mexico also impact its neighbors, not only because of their shared responsibility, but also because the consequences are inevitably directed toward the north.

According to President Calderon, if arms trafficking is not curbed, “it would be impossible for the violence in Mexico to stop, and in fact this could threaten the very fabric of American society in the future.”

In fact the violence has already encroached upon the frontiers of the United States, where mayors and state justice departments have had to appeal for federal assistance to control the threats and assassinations. There have also been reports of corruption on the part of authorities, from border patrol agents to American federal officials. Just a week ago, three soldiers were arrested in the United States after the DEA discovered they were moonlighting as mercenaries for a Mexican cartel.

Although the most alarming consequences occur in Mexico, the hard data confirm that the rest of the region suffers as well. The 2011 U.N. International Drug Policy Consortium reports that narco-trafficking alone, as one of the cogs of organized crime, results in 45,000 deaths each year, the highest level on the global index, in the three countries of the North American bloc.

In recent years, Mexico has managed to get the United States to recognize its own fault in the high consumption of drugs as well as the indiscriminate sale of assault weapons in its territory — two factors that fuel the growth of criminal organizations south of the Rio Grande.

But what it has not been able achieve to date is the participation of its neighbors to the north in a spirit of shared responsibility. Before “helping” Mexico, they must combat the corruption within their own borders.

Organized crime these days is transitional and if it is not attacked with the same force in all the countries where it is branches out it will never be eliminated.