Mexico’s drug war has dramatically affected the innocence of the American people ever since the development of their well-organized drug operation. The Mexican Cartel has successfully breached U.S. boarders to supply a hungry American society of drug abusers for years. Despite the many efforts of the U.S. government in aiding Mexico in the drug war many people believe that it is and should be solely Mexico’s problem. However, I believe it is crucial for U.S. citizens to realize that the drug war is not just Mexico’s problem, but America’s as well.
The Cartel makes most of their money from selling drugs to Americans. Being that drugs are illegal in the States, the income that the Cartel rakes in from their business is fairly large. This makes the Cartel very powerful. Some believe that by legalizing marijuana, the Cartel will be crippled and have no one to sell to. The fact of the matter is that this idea is completely inaccurate. Even without marijuana as an item on their menu, the Cartel would still remain just as strong from the large production of other illegal drugs that they sell. For example, if weed was to be legalized, then they would simply resort to selling strictly heroin, cocaine, and other strong drugs. I believe the only way for America to rid the addiction of drugs supplied by the Cartel is to realize who and what they are supporting. All of the lives that have been taken in order to sell these drugs to Americans should sway one’s decision when buying drugs imported from the Cartel.
A key reason the Cartel is as powerful as it is would be because America feeds it everything it needs. The drugs they sell and make all their money from are sold in the States. Well, there is the answer right there, right? If America wants to eliminate the oppression of the Cartel, then all we have to do is quit supporting them. This is only partially true. It is very difficult for an elite criminal to turn from a criminal lifestyle and switch to living and making money honestly. Kidnappings for ransom and crime would sky rocket if the Cartel did not have a drug production as a source of income. Well then, how does the government beat the Cartel? I believe Mexico and America should work together to target the leaders of the Cartel and do everything possible to slow them and their production down. But who is to say they’re not? With modern technology and the many new resources our Border Patrol now has, the U.S. and Mexico patrols have worked well together to stop a lot of the smuggling through our borders. Things would be much worse if we did not have the elite Border Patrol that we have.
My mother shared with me a story she heard from a Texas Ranger at Community Bible Church in San Antonio, Texas one Wednesday night. She did not share everything with me but she did tell me he shared the news that our Border Patrol has done a significant amount of damage to the Cartel and their smuggling operation within the last few years. Not only are they smuggling drugs, but now people as well. The scary thing is these are not just Mexican immigrants that are being smuggled in. She told me the Ranger mentioned a patrol catching a group of Pakistani immigrants being smuggled through the border. He said we would be very scared if we knew about everything and everyone being smuggled through our southern border.
To sum it up, I believe that in order to cripple the Cartel, America needs to stop supporting their drug operation, vote against the legalization of marijuana, and support our Border Patrol in every way possible. Remember, this is not just Mexico’s war, but America’s as well.