Peter Lacerenza
Art Director
On September 30th, David Hartley was jet skiing on Falcon Lake, Texas with his wife, Tiffany. Straddling the United States-Mexico border, Falcon Lake seemed like a relatively innocent place to spend the afternoon, despite the ongoing turmoil in Mexico.
However, David and Tiffany were shot at, resulting in David’s death. The perpetrators were Mexican pirates and cartel members who feared that Hartley and his wife were spies for enemy cartels. It was those same cartels that ended up killing the case’s investigator, Rolando Flores, and delivering his decapitated head to the Mexican military in a suitcase.
While these murders have captured headlines for nearly a month, drug cartel brutality abounds in Mexico: the drug wars that ended Flores and Hartley’s lives have ended the lives of 28,000 others.
Despite the fact that Hartley was an American citizen, the United States’ approach to his murder is reflective of its attitude toward the ongoing Mexican drug wars: the country is letting Mexico take charge, despite the challenges that limit it from doing so.
The largest challenge is, of course, the aforementioned drug cartels. In the past, the Mexican government effectively managed the various narcotics groups, but that is no longer the case: the prominent Sinaloa, Gulf, and Tijuana cartels have come to control over half of the country’s territory. These cartels are not only at war with the government, but with each other as well. This has resulted in a complicated and bloody civil war, and has put citizens in the crossfire. What is of great concern is that most of the fighting occurs along the United States border.
Regardless of the concern, the United States has given a mere $1.4 billion to help the Mexican government through the Merida initiative. Even if our country has found this allotment to be substantive, it is only a fraction of the $357 billion spent on the War in Afghanistan. Both conflicts are definite threats to national security, but this perception of Afghan priority and precedence is naive.
Unlike Afghanistan, Mexico is not miles, oceans, and worlds away. Because of its proximity, the threats and consequences of war-torn Mexico are all too real. The border may give the United States a sense of comfort, but encroaching violence is very likely. In this day and age, it is quite obvious that the barriers we construct are only so capable of keeping things out. The fact that cartel affiliates have found a niche in the black markets of almost every major metropolitan area in the United States just serves as proof.
While there has been no event on par with 9/11 to show Americans the perils of Mexico, we have too much to lose by focusing all of our attention in the Middle East. Mexico is one of our largest trading partners, and is part of the North American Free Trade Agreement. While Mexico is a rapidly industrializing country, violence hampers growth, and scares away foreign investors.
Also, the Mexican drug wars raise a question of human rights. The living situation in Mexico has often been described as “unlivable” because of violence. Not only that, but the issue of drugs has permeated into Mexican the population. More and more people are falling into drug habits; rampant heroine, crack cocaine, and glue use has been extremely detrimental to the function of society.
In order to escape these worsening conditions, many flee the country to get to the United States, where they are ostracized by those ignorant of the situation at hand. If our country is to pursue such a charitable and engaged foreign policy, why have we let Mexico fall through the cracks? In our country, Mexico serves as a butt of jokes rather than a cause for concern. It is this passive and mocking point of view that disengages us from the real issues. If it were any other country, would the United States take a different course of action?
Many citizens have died in the crossfire, and many more will die if the situation is ignored. 8400 people have died in this year alone, which is almost four times more than the number of NATO casualties in the nine-year War in Afghanistan. Not only that, but the wars are matter of economics and security, and will lead to bigger problems ahead. Lastly, we are failing Mexican-Americans; as they represent an increasingly important facet of our society, action should at least be taken on behalf of the innumerable friends, family and loved ones that remain south of the border.
