Despite the diversity in Los Angeles, any Angeleno would agree that traffic sucks. It's quite possibly the only part of an Angeleno's day that makes he or she think that LA isn't a city of perfect weather and beautiful people, but instead, one big, loud, parking lot.
In Mexico, traffic might be perceived a little bit differently. Drug trafficking is another problem that not only negatively affects Los Angeles—due to its closeness in proximity to Mexico—but also all of the United States of America. The recent increase in civil instability in Mexico is also affecting our country in several ways; including the drug trafficking as well as the multiple U.S. government and private authorities and elements that are involved with the drug cartels and highly unequal distribution of wealth in Mexico. The drug cartels in Mexico, namely the Sinaloa Cartel, are very successful and brutal businesses, who believe that their power is derived from their products, money, and military-style weaponry.
However, the main source of power that these cartels maintain comes from its top consumers: Americans. The drug dependency of our great American citizens is what helps these cartels thrive.
The violence that has inundated the streets of Mexico is increasing as Mexican authorities augment their anti-drug agencies. Although these ruthless cartels are killing people in record numbers, America must understand that much of the illegal drugs purchased here come from these cartels. By purchasing these drugs, Americans are fueling the narcos with funding and worst of all, weapons. Since December of 2006, Mexican President Felipe Calderon has built up police and military forces alike to stand against all Mexican drug cartels. Since then, over 9,000 people have lost their lives due to the cartels pushing back against the government. This is everyday life in towns like Tijuana and Culiacan. As more and more Americans buy drugs this risk of this violence spilling into American border cities increases. It is up to our government to protect its people from this seemingly uncontrollable violence. It seems as if the Obama Administration will have one more problem with which to concern themselves. All Americans must do is decide whether obtaining their drugs is as important as the horrific violence.
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Apparently the US consulate in Tijuana reports no recent significant increase in crime against US tourists. But that of course begs the question, what percent of crimes are formally reported or legitimately accounted for in some of these southern border towns?
ReplyDeleteI think the response that Clinton had on her return from Mexico was unexpected.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/25/AR2009032501034.html
Usually this situation is blamed on Mexico themselves, but we do have some ownership that needs to be addressed. I am not normally a Hillary fan, but respect what she had to say and hope that she puts her words to action and actually does something about it. We'll see...
This is exactly correct. Too many Americans don't make the connection between American drug use and the funding of the horrific violence occurring in Mexico. While i am glad that Mexico has finally stepped up and starting fighting the cartels that have taken over the country, America needs to get our drug addiction under control. When we stop buying the drug then the cartels will go out of business. The real question is how do we get Americans to stop using drugs. I guess that's a question for another time.
ReplyDeleteIn order to escape or overcome drug dependency some individuals may request VIP treatment in an inpatient rehabilitation program.
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