Transcript The Drug Trade in Mexico - California State University, Los Angeles

The Drug Trade in Mexico
Adrien A. Lopez & Esby Rosas
Economics 465
Professor Castillo
En 23 Segundos, In 23 Seconds
 http://projects.latimes.com/mexicodrug-war/#/multimedia-gallery/7
Mexican Drug Cartels
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The Sinaloa Cartel
The Juarez Cartel
The Tijuana Cartel
The Gulf Cartel
Los Zetas-an informal paramilitary regime that battles the
above cartels for their own drug smuggling.
 Their tactics include:
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Kidnappings
Assassinations
Money Washing/ Laundering
Drug and Human Trafficking/ Smuggling
The Arellano Felix Cartel
 Also known as the Tijuana Cartel
 Located in Baja California
 Founding leader is Ramon Arellano
Felix died February 10, 2002 in a
gunfight with Mexican Authorities
 Traffic
Cartels and Pop-Culture
 Narco-Corridos
 Fashion
 Automobiles
 Laura Zuniga, Miss Sinaloa 2008 was
arrested in the state of Jalisco, with
illegal possession of firearms.
 Former School Teacher
Current Drug History
 90% of cocaine entering the United
States passes through Mexico
 Mexican Cartels launder between $18
Billion to $39 Billion Dollars Annually
 20% of Sinaloa’s GDP is drug related
Mexican Drug Informality
 60,000 suspicious transactions in a 12month period…
 Only 300 of these transactions go
through litigation
 Banking controls are laxed
 Inefficient Legal System due to the
consequential life threatening fear
Drug Related Deaths
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January 1, 2007- December 19,
2008
Chihuahua- 1,725
Sinaloa- 989
Baja California- 741
Districto Federal- 461
Jalisco- 224
Nayarit- 6
Campeche- 5
Greater deaths coincide with close proximity
to United States/Mexico Border
Reasons for Drug Trade
Illegal immigration continually dropping
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
2005
2006
2007
2008
Reasons Continued
 Decrease in remittances
 18% of population live in poverty
 Income distribution
Reasons Continued
 Higher wages then formal jobs
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Year
2000
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
Unemployment rate (%)
2.5
3.3
3.2
3.6
3.2
3.7
Reasons Continued
 Crimes viewed as local and not Federal
 High corruption within legal system
Reactions to Increased Drug Trade
and Violence
 U.S has issued a travel warning
 Canada has also issued a travel warning
 Tourism brought in $13.29 billion in 2008
Distribution of Mexico's $1.143
Trillion GDP
Agriculure
Industry
Service
34.1%
62.2%
Reactions to Increased Drug Trade
and Violence Cont.
 President Calderon dispatched 5,000
additional soldiers to most violent areas
 Cleaning offices
 Business owners, journalists, other potential
targets seeking U.S asylum
Currently in Mexico
 Legal reform
 Price of drugs have doubled
 Battle still ongoing...