	Drug Trafficking in Mexico

Today Mexico is a major producer and supplier to the U.S. market of heroin, methamphetamine, and marijuana and the major transit country for cocaine sold in the United States. A small number of Mexican DTOs control the most significant drug distribution operations along the Southwest border. More than 5,600 people died in drug trafficking violence in Mexico in 2008, more than double the prior year. He called the increased drug violence a threat to the Mexican state and sent thousands of soldiers and federal police to combat cartels in drug trafficking "hot spots." In 2008, the government's crackdown, and rivalries and turf wars among Mexico's DTOs, fueled an escalation in violence throughout the country, including in northern Mexico near the U.S.-Mexico border. Since coming into office in December 2006, President Calderón has deployed some 45,000 troops and 5,000 federal police along the U.S.-Mexico border and throughout the country's interior. The seven major cartels that once controlled Mexico have reconfigured. It has become independent of the Sinaloa federation and has grown to be one of the most powerful drug trafficking organizations in Mexico, still controlling large areas of the country. The Mexican State v. The DTOs

The growth and dramatic character of the violence, the targeting of civil and law enforcement officials, and the direct battle with police and military units, have led some observers to question the strength of the Mexican government, even characterizing it as potentially a "failing" state. Ciudad Juárez is a strategic location for both drugs and weapons trafficking and it has emerged as a key battleground. President Calderón has demonstrated an unmatched willingness to collaborate with the United States on joint counterdrug measures. He has mobilized tens of thousands of military troops to confront the DTOs in drug trafficking "hotspots." Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano noted in March 2009 congressional testimony that the United States has a significant security stake in helping Mexico in its efforts against the drug cartels and organized crime, with three major roles to play: providing assistance to Mexico to defeat the cartels and suppress the flare-up of violence in Mexico; taking action on the U.S. side of the border to cripple smuggling enterprises; and guarding against and preparing for the possible spillover of violence into the United States. The Mérida Initiative79

The United States and Mexico issued a joint statement on October 22, 2007, announcing a multi-year plan for $1.4 billion in U.S. assistance to combat drug trafficking and other criminal organizations in Mexico and Central America. To date Congress has appropriated a total of $700 million for Mexico under the Mérida Initiative: with $352 million in FY2008 supplemental assistance and $48 million in FY2009 bridge funds, both funded by P.L. Implementation of Mérida

The growth and dramatic character of the violence in Mexico and the potential threat for spillover north of the border has focused concern on the pace of the implementation of Mérida aid in both countries. Later in December, the governments of Mexico and the United States met to coordinate implementation of the Mérida Initiative through a cabinet-level High Level group reflecting the urgency on both sides of the border to address the growing violence in Mexico. Hearings on Increased Drug Violence in the 111th Congress

This compilation of selected hearings, prepared by [author name scrubbed], Information Research Specialist with the Knowledge Services Group of CRS, focuses on increasing violence in Mexico as well as U.S. foreign assistance and border security programs. House
U.S. Congress. Merida Initiative . Law Enforcement Responses to Mexican Drug Cartels .
Drug-related violence in Mexico has spiked in recent years as drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) have competed for control of smuggling routes into the United States. Drug trafficking issues are prominent in Mexico because the country has for at least four decades been among the most important producers and suppliers of heroin, marijuana and (later) methamphetamine to the U.S. market. Today it is the leading source of all three drugs and is now the leading transit country for cocaine coming from South America to the United States. Although previous Mexican governments had accommodated some drug trafficking in the country, when President Felipe Calderón came into office in December 2006 he made battling the Mexican drug trafficking organizations a top priority. He has raised spending on security and sent thousands of troops and federal police to combat the DTOs in states along the U.S.-Mexico border and throughout the country. In response to the government's crackdown, the DTOs have responded with escalating violence.
In recent years, drug trafficking violence in Mexico has claimed thousands of lives and reached a level of intensity and ferocity that has exceeded previous periods of drug-related violence. The government's intensified campaign against the DTOs resulted in changes in the structure of these criminal organizations. The seven major DTOs in Mexico have reconfigured. The fracturing of some of the most powerful drug trafficking syndicates and the reemergence of once powerful DTOs have led to bloody conflict within and among the DTOs. Today a small number of DTOs control the lucrative drug trafficking corridors through which drugs flow north from Mexico into the United States and high-powered firearms and cash flow south fueling the narcotics trade.
President Calderón has demonstrated what has been characterized as an unprecedented willingness to cooperate with the United States on counterdrug measures. In October 2007, both countries announced the Mérida Initiative to combat drug trafficking, gangs and organized crime in Mexico and Central America. To date, the U.S. Congress has appropriated a total of $700 million for Mexico under the Mérida Initiative. The program, which combines counternarcotics equipment and training with rule of law and justice reform efforts, is still in its initial stages of implementation.
The scope of the drug violence and its location—much of it in northern Mexico near the U.S.-Mexico border—has been the subject of intense interest in Congress. The 111th Congress has held more than a dozen hearings dealing with the increased violence in Mexico as well as U.S. foreign assistance and border security efforts. This report examines the causes for the escalation of the violence in Mexico. It provides a brief overview of Mexico's counterdrug efforts, a description of the major DTOs, the causes and trends in the violence, the Calderón government's efforts to crackdown on the DTOs, and the objectives and implementation of the Mérida Initiative as a response to the violence in Mexico. For related information about Mexico and the Mérida Initiative, see CRS Report RL32724, Mexico-U.S. Relations: Issues for Congress, and CRS Report R40135, Mérida Initiative for Mexico and Central America: Funding and Policy Issues. For more information on international drug policy, see CRS Report RL34543, International Drug Control Policy.