Drug Trafficking

Term Paper # 115924

Criminology > Drugs Enforcement
Latin-American Studies > Post-Modern (1960 on)

Drug Trafficking

A look at some of the issues concerning drug trafficking across the U.S. and Mexican borders.

5,488 words () | 15 sources | MLA | 2009 United States

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how the violence that has occurred because of drug trafficking has hit grotesque proportions - with beheadings, kidnappings, and gun fights, threatening the security of two nations - Mexico and the U.S. and how few parts of the United States are immune to drug-trafficking organizations beginning in Mexico. The paper examines the roots of the problem which stem from the free trade agreement between the US and Mexico set up by NAFTA in 1994. The paper also looks at attempts to crackdown on Mexican drug cartels such as the militarization of the United States-Mexico border.

From the Paper:

"Some Mexicans, that is, the Mexicans who can afford it are now going to great lengths to protect themselves from the drug cartels. In a New York Times article, author Marc Lacey reveals that bodyguards are becoming more and more common among regular people in Mexico. It would seem that the movie "Man on Fire" starring Denzel Washington as a bodyguard hired to protect a young Dakota Fanning in Mexico City is a reality of the lengths parents will go to protect their children. Kidnappings are common in Mexico, especially kidnappings of children from upper class families; families who can afford to pay to get their children back. In Mexico, having wealth comes with a very high price tag: the constant fear of being killed for that money."

Sample of Sources Used:

BBC News. "Mexico drug gang killings surge". 2008, December 9. Retrieved on December 10, 2008 from, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7772771.stm
Castillo, E. Eduardo. "Mexico says gang killings more than double in 2008." Associated Press. 2008, December 8. Retrieved on December 10, 2008 from, http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081209/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_mexico_violence
Christian Science Monitor. "Mexico's plea to Obama: Curb drug use". 2008, December 3. Retrieved on December 10, 2008 from, http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/1203/p08s01-comv.html
Danelo, David. "Mexico's bloody drug war". L.A. Times. 2008, December 10. Retrieved on December 10, 2008 from, http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-danelo10-2008dec10,0,3196285.story
Dougherty, Jon E. The Imminent Threat Posed by Our Unsecured U.S.-Mexico Border. Thomas Nelson: 2004, February 12.