Will the War On Drugs In Mexico Ever End?

            Nicolas Botero’s blog post, The Drug War; from Juarez to Congress, touches very close to home for me. I grew up in Matamoros, Mexico, a city that has been heavily affected by the war on drugs in Mexico. I have seen the violence escalate to a point where people can’t leave their homes to go to work, school, or even to the grocery store because of fear that they will be shot in the crossfire between rival drug cartels and the military. There are often grenade fights that destroy buildings and homes. There have been shootouts on my street and cars blown up a few streets down. This war became very real to me when one of my friends lost his life. He was driving home one night and got caught in a shootout between two rival drug cartel groups. He was shot multiple times and was killed. He was an innocent young man on his way home that lost his life for no reason at all. This war is responsible for the lives of thousands of innocent people.
            I agree with Botero that the United States government hasn’t done enough to help Mexico and to help end the violence that it is enduring. The United States invaded Iraq with no real motive but doesn’t bother to help their neighboring country of Mexico in desperate times. I understand that Mexico is a dangerous country and the lives of U.S. citizens would be at stake but something has to be done. I agree that if marijuana was legalized, it would help decrease the violence and crime in Mexico because there wouldn’t be a high demand for it here in the United States. However, I don’t know if legalizing marijuana here in the United States would end all of the violence that is happening in Mexico. It is true, as Botero points out, that the police and other government officials are very corrupt and are likely allies with many drug cartel leaders. I do not think that marijuana legalization will happen anytime soon in the United States, even with our huge deficit, because our country is very conservative and bases many policies on its morals.
            A recent article in the Huffington Post, titled “U.S. Guns From ATF Operation Fast and Furious Found at Mexico Crime Scenes,” tells of how 122 firearms that were originally part of an undercover U.S. operation have been found at crime scenes in Mexico. Some of these firearms were also found on their way to drug cartels. These guns and weapons were part of an operation that was supposed to track weapons going across the border but the operation went bad. Even worse, some of these weapons were found at the murder scene of the U.S. Border Patrol agent in Arizona last year. This story shows how the United States is being careless when dealing with the war on drugs in Mexico and it is time to step up their efforts. This war is on the border of the United States and may eventually spill onto U.S. soil if the government doesn’t make more of an effort. I think that maybe stricter gun control policies in the United States would help decrease the number of guns and weapons that are transported from the United States to Mexico. There isn't a clear ending in this war for Mexico but hopefully if the United States starts helping out more, the violence and turmoil will decrease.