CERTIFICATION One of the external political problems facing the Mexican government is that the United States conducts an annual evaluation of some 30 of its trading partners' drug fighting efforts. Eventually a percentage of those funds will be floated back to the political leadership. The activity is ongoing. Mexican Cartels and Their Integration - Customs Corruption.com He proposed a new plan for business with Colombia. (Constantine, 1997). One of the more notable being Yolanda Figueroa who wrote a book on the Gulf Cartel. Vicente Corta, the Executive Secretary of IPAB (the newly created equivalent of the American FDIC), now estimates that the bailout will cost the Mexican government $93.4 billion - nearly 20 percent of the nations' annual gross domestic product. To a great degree, the "Mexican mud" market is a different market than the "China white" market. At the 11th hour however, Mexico capitulated. Jaime Herrera-Herrera, Jr., were arrested in Mexico on drug charges and remain Foolishly, Abrego placed $1.3 billion into an American bank checking account, which only served to bring him to the immediate attention of American law enforcement officials. Sure. How will the cartels in Mexico and the rest of Latin American respond to this initiative? William Rodriguez, son of Miguel, was chosen to run the Cartel. In the past few years, the Mexican military has become more and more aggressive in the border regions, shaking down ethnic Mexicans with impunity, regardless of citizenship and regardless of which side of the border they were on. They arent involved like before but im sure if they need to pull some strings they can. Reuters, "Justice Department investigating Salinas drug money laundering scheme," 5/10/97, internet. When asked by Mexican officials to put a stop to this illegal arms trade, American officials have indicated that the demand for the weapons is on the Mexican end, so they, the Mexicans, should stop it - an interesting bit of international diplomatic hypocrisy that the United States can engage in, because at present it has the biggest stick. At present, it appears that the cocaine trade has dichotomized, with power being shared by Oscar Malherve and the Gulf Cartel in the east, and the Federation in the west. Christian Science Monitor, "Drugs surge from Mexico as U.S. hunts for solution," 2/29/96, p. 1, 10. Five years ago, at a United Nations conference in Naples, participants were warned that if coordinated law enforcement actions were not swiftly undertaken at the international level, the world community would become a slave to organized crime, for the syndicates would be able to control economic conditions worldwide (United Nations, 1995). This figure represented approximately one percent of the Specifically, if a country does not receive certification, the United States government threatens to re-examine its overall trading relationship with the de-certified nation, the de-certified country is barred from receiving American financial aid, and the United States will vote against that country receiving loans from the six international multilateral development banks. The Cartel Jalisco will continue to purge the whole state of Zacatecas of the thieves from Durango and Sinaloa. The accusations presage the tough fight between the Zetas and Sinaloa in Durango. Interestingly, it is estimated that some 90 percent of the weapons toted by cartel members come from the United States. They may in fact, muscle in on small entities who try and develop a domestic drug consumption market and shut them down so as to protect/maintain the passive public sentiment. For the past 70 years, the country has been ruled by a quasi-elected President who serves one, six-year term, and a two house legislative body. These numbers would suggest that the flow is far beyond what the Beta Group can handle. The other leader of this cartel, "El Chapo" (Joaquin Guzman Lora) was arrested and in 1993 was given a 15 year prison sentence. In the short run, the harsh reality is that transnational organized crime in general and the Mexican cartels in particular, are here to stay, and there is likely little that can be done to counter their collective impact for now. Sad state of situation in Mexico, Seems like the new security strategy starting to show results!! Existing international extradition treaties need to be re-written to reflect the dynamics of the contemporary political realities. for chemical input costs and paying the salaries of the workers who produced 10. Travelers' Choice. Mexican presidents have successfully strengthened their office over the course of the last 70 years and now enjoy tremendous power. Newsweek, 3/10/97, p. 36. It is unclear at this point how the military will deal with this new challenge. Many have suggested, on the basis of vast circumstantial evidence though there is still no hard evidence, that this flow of "cannabis cash" reaches up to the office of the Mexican president. His willingness to pump additional oil to ease the winter 2000-2001 energy crisis, and his public support for a reduction and long-term stabilization of oil prices is even more central to American interests. Some very legitimate queries can be aired as to whether they really have the tools necessary to embrace modern democracy. Maintain tight contacts with Mexican government officials. Warning! The disruptive impact of his death is still evident today and investigations are unlikely to ever fully reveal the entire scope of the assassination plot. A strong case has been made by a number of commentators that he was prepared to begin a clean-up in the PRI, and that his death was consequently arranged via an agreement between the cartels and the PRI. AFP, "Ex-AeroMexico chief in Mexico after extradition from Switzerland," 9/24/99, internet. Is that due to the fact that all of the candidates were on the take or was this a relatively clean election? Perhaps the most interesting recent development in the drug wars is that for the first time, officials on both sides of the border have recognized in an official ground-breaking agreement that the drug matter will be "best tackled not just by arresting top traffickers but also by cutting demand" (Reuters, 3/26/98). Recent works have begun to surface which speak to this issues (Morris, 1991; Nadelmann, 1993), though many are in Spanish. B. While many of his proposals have fallen on deaf American ears, his stated human rights agenda in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas and the creation of the Truth Commission is clearly in line with American political philosophy. You are the ones who consume all the drugs!" criminal syndicates such as the Jaime Herrera organization were trafficking They tried to run their organization from prison, but failed. AFP, "U.S. Find out more interesting facts about all the towns in the Municipality of Santiago Papasquiaro (statistics, photos, maps, restaurants) at this link. But Mexican leadership also benefit from this charade, for they use it as a smoke screen to help the cartels with which they have become aligned. Mario Villanueva, a prominent member of the PRI and the former governor of the state of Quintana Roo, is wanted on drug trafficking charges and on charges of accepting a share of $300 million embezzled by the fugitive Mexican banker, Carlos Cabal Peniche.