Publication

Mar 2011

The most dangerous threat to the United States and its allies in the Western Hemisphere is the growth of powerful transnational criminal organizations that threaten law, order and governance in Mexico and the seven states of Central America. Over 35,000 Mexicans have died in drug-related violence since 2006 when Mexican President Felipe Calderón began to crack down on the cartels; in 2010 more than 3,100 have died in Ciudad Juarez alone. In neighboring Guatemala, the government declared an official “state of siege” along its northern border with Mexico to permit its military to fight the los Zetas cartel. Unfortunately, efforts to counter cartels and drug trafficking have largely failed thus far.

Download English (PDF, 6 pages, 360 KB)
Author Bob Killebrew, Matthew Irvine
Series CNAS Policy Briefs
Publisher Center for a New American Security (CNAS)
Copyright © 2011 Center for a New American Security (CNAS)
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