The Great Lost War of the US

Forty years ago, then U.S. President Richard Nixon got his country into the longest war in which it has ever been involved: the “war on drugs.” It is a campaign that the great global power, according to all evidence, has lost.

The effects of that defeat have influenced U.S. public opinion: the states of Colorado and Washington have now legalized the use of marijuana for recreational purposes, and 19 other states already allow the consumption of the plant for medicinal purposes. In Mexico, the issue has not even started to be discussed in the legislature.

The problem is that Mexican cartels, which were initially only exporters of drugs, have diversified: their activities now include exploitation of people, extortion and kidnapping as well. And these activities also receive indirect support from the world’s largest consumer of drugs.

According to the United States government itself, seven Mexican cartels operate in the U.S., where they obtain resources through the selling of drugs, as well as weapons to extract rents from the Mexican population. A report by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) states that at least 2,000 police officers from that country are under investigation for alleged links to organized crime.

It is not a new topic that should surprise the neighboring country. During President Obama’s first administration, nearly 130 U.S. immigration and customs agents, as well as agents of the border patrol, were arrested on charges of corruption linked to drug cartels in Mexico. Not until 2009 did the DHS Office of the Inspector General open 839 corruption-related investigations involving immigration and border patrol agents.

The sphere of power acquired by the cartels of organized crime in Mexico would be unthinkable without the active participation of accomplices within U.S. governmental structures. So far, it has been found that this infiltration reaches the level of border county sheriffs. The possibility that these networks have already spread to other powers should be considered.

Under the Manichean argument that corruption affects Mexico only, U.S. representatives have urged their government to reconsider cooperation with its neighboring country regarding the fight against crime, and have even suggested providing essential material and logistical support. They ignore that there is plenty of corruption to fight on American soil, and if it were not for that corruption, the large criminal organizations would not have the power they now possess.