The Untold Story of Mexico's Rise and Eventual Monopoly of the Methamphetamine Trade
Abstract
This thesis focuses on the untold story of the rise of the Mexican cartels and their contemporary monopoly of the methamphetamine trade into the United States. The production and use of methamphetamine was primarily an American problem from the 1950s to the mid-1980s. But over the past 15 years, Mexican-based drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) have come to dominate both the cocaine and methamphetamine trade. The current monopolization of illegal drug trafficking in the Americas by the Mexican cartels was facilitated by the focus of U.S. international drug control policy on "source" countries: Bolivia, Peru, and Colombia. Mexico's current dominance of the methamphetamine trade is a direct result of the success of American law enforcement efforts against "mom and pop" meth labs inside the United States. By utilizing their cocaine networks, the Mexican DTOs had a foundation from which to enter and eventually monopolize the methamphetamine trade. This thesis argues that the increase in power of the four main Mexican drug cartels in these drug trades over the past decade has had a number of implications for both the United States and Mexico. First, with billions of dollars available for police and political corruption, Mexican DTOs are increasingly able to function as "States within a State." Second, the violence between the DTOs, coupled with Mexico's inability to effectively deter the cartels and the pervasive police corruption that is a key element in their day-today operations has made the "rule of law" in many areas of northern Mexico irrelevant. Third, with a steady increase in Mexican DTOs operating distribution networks in the United States, the ability of U.S. law enforcement to deter illegal drug sales has been greatly reduced. Fourth, if U.S.-backed foreign anti-drug policy is not changed to combat Mexico's monopoly of the methamphetamine drug trade, and the Mexican Government does nothing, the violence and corruption will only escalate.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 2008
- Accession Number
- ADA483632
Entities
People
- Steven S. Whitworth
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School