El
Narco: Inside Mexico’s Criminal Insurgency
Every
country has their strengths and every country has their weaknesses; some
countries having more problems than others. For the case of Mexico, they have
been faced with challenges in respect to drugs, trafficking, and violence.
However, as the drug industry has expanded, the economy has strengthened. In
effect, governmental leaders have loosened restrictions on drug trafficking on
a confidential note, accepting bribes to permit traffickers to complete their
deals without harm. Officials and police force members have also teamed up with
traffickers, solely for the purpose of generating profit. But it takes work and
effort to build a strong economy off of one business venture. In recent years,
Mexico has dealt with thousands of murders and assassinations over money, gang
territory, and power. If the economy of Mexico is disregarded for a few seconds,
then society will truly notice the countless number of setbacks the drug trade
has placed on the country of Mexico and its surrounding nations. Therefore,
given the history of Mexican criminal organizations and the economic prosperity
brought on by narcotic trafficking, it is extremely unlikely that the
insurgency will soon be suppressed.
The
novel, El Narco: Inside Mexico’s Criminal
Insurgency describes the transformation of the drug-trafficking industry in
Mexico over the past decade. Author, Ioan Grillo presents numerous memories
from when he was on the front line reporting for his journals. He explains how
the cartels in Mexico have radically changed and how they fear nobody, not even
God. Grillo offers his perspective on where the movement will take Mexico
through his analysis of the past, current, and future situations of Mexico. The
history of drugs travels back, long before our existence on Earth. However, the
use and notoriety of drugs have never been as significant as they are today. The
novel begins with the author speaking to Gonzalo, an inmate on the drug war and
how it has affected him. Gonzalo describes his past and how he felt no pain
after killing people and how serious of a business it was. Gonzalo worked for
the mafia for 17 years, but before he was introduced to this way of living, he
had the option for a bright future. However, Gonzalo dropped out of high school
and abandoned his hopes of becoming an NFL quarterback and joined the Police
Force. Gonzalo explained how it was common for the Police force to join the
mafia after a few years on the job and he chose to follow that path. Working
for the police taught him about torturing and the ins-and-outs of kidnapping.
Following the beginning of the novel, the author introduces his first
observance of the Opium poppies. He also speaks with a woman, Matilde on how
the villagers grow and transport the drug. She mentions how industrialization has
helped Sinaloa become an international transporter of drugs through the use of
roads and boats. The next topic mentioned by Ioan Grillo was Marijuana, and how
it has become a popular substance in the United States. In the 1960’s the
Beatles sparked the use of marijuana and the hippies listened and followed in
their footsteps. Following this chapter, Ioan Grillo provided information on
the troubles of reporting on the drug war. With every article journalists publish
on the drug war or on specific cartels, they are risking their lives. The
stories written by journalists are affluent and society will read them,
however, the risk associated with publishing them is significantly high. When
working as a field reporter in Mexico, Ioan Grillo explains how he learned of
multiple reporters who had published stories on cartels and then days later
were reported missing or had been found dead. In effect, reporters have found
ways on how not be killed, so they will take bribes to leave out the names of
cartel members or will include names of the opposing cartel members. Another
topic Ioan Grillo wrote about was the idea of paying in drugs, rather than in
money. When Colombians could not afford to pay with cash, they began paying
couriers in cocaine, which gave them a large mark-up. People who were paid in
drugs would resell them to small markets and make their own cash, but in effect
it would increase profits for the drug lords. Cocaine could be sold for much
more than the valued price in Colombia or Mexico if it were sold outside the
borders, so drug lords were making more money than ever before.
Every
country has its own norms and routines that differentiate it from any other
society. For Mexico, it is the illegal drug trades that take place every day.
In Mexico, a large number of citizens can make their living through selling
drugs and illegal substances because people will pay for them, especially those
living in upper-class regions. Therefore, when selling to Americans, Mexican
dealers can mark up their prices to levels of which people in Mexico would say
is preposterous. A person in Colombia or Mexico can sell a bag of coca leaves
for $80. When the drugs reach the ports, the selling price rises to approximately
$2,200. Then, when the drugs land in the United States, the price will increase
to nearly $35,000. Finally, when the drugs sell to customers in populated urban
areas, the price for this amount of cocoa leaves would be an astounding $120,000.
The mark-up for drugs is remarkably high and growers, dealers, and cartel
members have discovered that they can continue to increase the price for drugs
and Americans will continue to purchase them. However, with greed comes
trouble. Drugs are confiscated every day from the U.S. and Mexican border.
Cartels are losing money when their drugs are seized and they will not tolerate
their money being taken away, so they have found new ideas on how to breach the
security system. Cartels have taken every day products and turned them into
drug holding containers. For example, laptops, hair brushes, and radios have
been taken apart and stuffed with illegal drugs. However, these items are small
and to make money, drug lords need pounds of drugs to be transported, not
ounces. In result, these cartel leaders have hired drivers who will traffic
drugs to the U.S. border for a rate of $1,000 and it is as much, or sometimes
more than the salary of a person who works in a power plant. Once the drugs
reach the border, the drivers will either pay security workers to permit the
drugs inside the U.S. or they will find a way to get it in. Furthermore, Americans
spend more money on illegal drugs than any other country in the world and this
ensures that a trafficker will not lose business and will not need to fret
about unemployment unless they are in jail. And if that occurs, they will
receive meals and a bed to sleep in, which for some people living in Mexico is
a happier life than what they are currently living in. Death is hard to
comprehend when dealing with drugs and gangs. Assassins are hired to kill people
in a specific manner and they are taught to not feel guilty for their actions. The
gatilleros, or triggermen attack on motorcycles and only use one driver and one
shooter. They close in on the soon-to-be victim with a car and a motorcycle,
and then shoot. Trained to kill and not wound, these assassins are taught to
fire a single-shot to the heart and a single-shot to the head. The main factor
that allows these criminals to get away with trafficking drugs and killing
people is the police. Many of the local officers are connected to the mafia and
they take a portion of the profits to keep their mouths shut and to allow the
gangsters to kill and deliver drugs. However, if the cartels do not pay the
officers, the officers will arrest these mobsters and in effect, they will be
praised by the government and in the eyes of society, they will depict the
positive image of doing ‘good’ for Mexico and its safety. But the truth; these
officers are as corrupt as the drug criminals…they all want their money and
they will do anything to get it. The culture in Mexico has its similarities to
that of the United States and other countries, such as having music, family
celebrations, and much more. However, their differences are different, entirely
different. In America, the music is hardly censored, unless the words are bleeped
out on the radio. In the music produced by drug lords in Mexico, the artists
incorporate drug stories on how they bribe politicians, kill their rival gang
members, and how they make a never-ending amount of money from trafficking. The
popular religion in Mexico is Roman Catholic, however some of the cartel
members believe that they can create their own ‘house’. On tombstones and inside the Mausoleums, pictures of the
deceased are displayed. The government believes the drug lords and cartels are
insurgents attempting to gain power and take control of the government, however
the speakers inside the Mexican drug mobs inform people that they are not insurgents,
terrorists, or violent killers. In my mind, I believe these cartels are
insurgents and in ways, terrorists because they are killing for money and they
are striving to gain power. Terrorists fight to rebel and to receive something
from their efforts. Drug cartels in Mexico are striving to receive money,
notoriety, and respect which all support their label as insurgents and
terrorists.
The
most effective way to take down a drug cartel is to take out the leader.
Mexican and American DEA officials constantly search for hints and clues that
may help them bring down a prominent leader. They have a process for doing so
and it begins with DEA agents transporting drugs for the cartels. After
building a relationship with the cartel members, the undercover DEA officials
will bring them into a deal where they can trap the mobsters and then arrest
them. Smuggling approximately 90 percent of all cocaine and marijuana into the
United States, Mexican cartels have become the biggest exporters of narcotics
to the United States. Mexico’s drug lords have traveled to where the money is
and they have chosen to enter the United Sates. The drug territories set up in
the United States include Arizona, the Great Lakes, and the South. These
regions have been chosen because of the access from Mexico and because of the
markets that will continuously spend money on illegal drugs. Fights, murders,
and mass-shootings have resulted from the self-created territories made by drug
cartels. In the United States and in Mexico, the Zetas have become a noteworthy
ring of criminals because of their extensive measures taken to ensure they
receive their money. They have used many techniques, such as kidnapping,
abducting, raping, and killing. Their process was to follow one or more of the
techniques, ask for money and bribes, and then in return, they would let their
abductees go. Again, these mobsters are depicting the image of terrorists in a
hostage situation, only focusing on money. The novel concludes with an
emotional appeal on how people do want peace in Mexico and how they want safety
for everyone. However, to make a difference and lessen the severity of the
drug-trade, everyone needs to stand up and agree to work for a change.
Throughout
reading this book, I was able to connect what I had read to what we have and
will continue to learn in class. Although our class has not learned about
Mexico yet, I still managed to connect the book to China, the United States,
and the United Nations. The book first connects to China in respect to Mao
Zedong’s “little red book”. La Familia, M Mexican drug cartel created a
Pensamientos, or Thoughts book that was similar to Mao Zedong’s “little red
book”. The book teaches about moral
lessons and is given to members of the cartel and to prisoners who they wanted
to gain support from. Mao Zedong’s book consisted of inspirational political
and military speeches and writings. The Chinese Communist Government strongly
supported the book and informed everyone to read and be able to recite the
book. This connects to the Mexican drug cartels in that these members are very
communists in respect to wanting money and power. The second way in which El
Narco relates to our class is that the United Nations has set up treaties that
are demanding countries who sign the treaties to pursue prohibitionist
policies. In class, we have discussed how Russia has decided not to join the
United Nations and how Vladimir Putin was striving to be powerful and to not
give up power and rights to the United Nations. In respect to Mexico, they have
been a part of the United Nations since 1945, but the cartels do not agree with
being a part of them because the United Nations has implemented policies to
stop drug trafficking. Essentially, Russia and Putin do not want to give up
their power or rights and in Mexico, the cartels do not want to be stopped from
trafficking drugs. My third and final observation on how El Narco relates to what
we have learned in class is how Mexico has placed a censorship on the music
played. The government restricts any music created by cartel members or anyone
who includes information on drugs or their stories associated with becoming
powerful and successful because of drugs. This relates to what we learned in
class about China and speaking out against the government. In China, the
government has restricted its citizens from publishing information that may be
detrimental to the government or expressing ideas and thoughts that display the
corruption of the government. Essentially, El Narco offers information on
Mexico that can be compatible with the situations and information of other
countries that we have learned about inside of our own classrooms.
After
reading El Narco, I discovered why Mexico is a country that will be in the
trench hole for years to come. I realized how deep Mexico has dug itself and
how difficult it will be to get out and fill it in before they fall back in.
The drug industry in Mexico reached America years ago and it has expanded far
beyond. The corruption inside of Mexico’s government with officials and
politicians taking profits from the cartels to allow them to traffic illegal
substances is more corrupt than any other possibility imagined. If the leaders
of a country are involved in the corruption, then the entire country will
become corrupt. The only way that Mexico can escape their troubles is to
replace their entire government and find new members that are honest and find
those who will not fall in because of money. To be completely honest, this is
not an efficient or practical plan because it would never work. In effect
Mexico will have to gradually make changes to enforce restrictions on the drug
trade and will need to cooperate with not only the United States, but with
other countries that have been permitting the transporting of illegal drugs.
However, with Colorado voting to legalize marijuana and other states closing in
on decisions, enforcing restrictions on illegal drugs may turn out to be
worthless. Just recently, Uruguay legalized marijuana and other countries are
seeking to follow their decision. Another reason on why Mexico will not be able
to suppress the illegal drug trade is the constant violence. Every country has
their own violence conflicts, however Mexico has problems within its own
military. There was a situation in which four boys were driving to a birthday
party and the military informed them to slow down, but the music was too loud.
The military fired from one side and when shots fired back, they thought the boys in the car were shooting
back, but in actuality, the soldiers on the other side were shooting at them on
accident. In effect, four innocent children died and two soldiers were killed.
On several occasions, these forms of incidences have been noted before. Another
supporting fact to my argument on why the drug trade will not be destroyed is
because drug trafficking is Mexico’s leading industry, followed by the oil
exporting industry. Furthermore, the money from the drug wars has helped the
peso. In result, other countries trust Mexico’s dollar and its value, so they
are confident when trading. Having illegal drugs regulate the economy explains
how corrupt the government is and how heavily the people are depending on drugs
to provide a living for themselves. In addition, the citizens of Mexico are
going into the drug war for the purpose of work, which means it will only keep
growing and it will only keep the war thriving.
-Austin McClain Baker
Austin Baker
Twitter: @ABakerPresident
Email: DreamsDriveDetermination@gmail.com
