Abstract
July 21, 2013
The battle between two evils / Sinaloa cartel vs. Los Zetas
Recent history shows the intense efforts by the United States to counter the use of illegal drugs in this country is by no means a new phenomenon. This country has seen drastic changes over the years in the fight of illegal drugs in our country. In the 1914 governmental efforts to ensure that only doctors and pharmacists sold cocaine and heroin based drugs was part of the Treasury Department. It was President Nixon, in 1969 that launched the war on drugs by significantly increasing the budget and bringing in other agencies to help in the drug enforcement effort. In 1973, President Nixon formed the DEA to stop the spread of drug use in the US. The social change that took place in the US between the 1960s and 1980s plus the growing use of cocaine allowed President Reagan to secure an amendment to the Posse Comitatus Act. This amendment allowed the military to assist civilian law enforcement agencies in the war on drugs. We are now in the twentieth century watching our government fight a never ending drug war. The Drug Enforcement Agency is still one of the top agencies combating many evils in the United States as for many outside this country. In the efforts of fighting the drug cartels the United States and Mexico created the Mérida Initiative which is $1.4 billion in assistance to Mexico over four years for the sorely purpose of fighting organized crime . The Mérida Initiative will give the opportunity for the two governments working closely together to eliminate the cartels.
Drug cartels are responsible for bringing about social deterioration in two beautiful countries. We see the impact of drugs in our schools, on our streets, and have heard about it on the news. Why, with all this attention is it such a significant problem in our society? Money is the perfect answer to this question. Mexican drug trafficking is estimated by analysts to be worth $13 billion US a year. Drug cartels not only traffic illegal drugs, they are responsible for billions of dollars a year in