Mexico is immersed in a war in which rival cartels, fight against each other for power and control of the drug trade. Over the last four years the violence has escalated in the three northern states of Chilhuahua, Tamaulipas and Sinalo. The United States needs to step in and help fix the problems. Tons of people are killed every day because of the drug wars that are happening just across our border. America and Mexico need to come together to stop the three majors contributors to the war; gun smuggling, police corruption and the economy in Mexico.

The United States is supplying Mexico with the power to let these wars happen by supplying them with firearms. “More than 1,100 guns found discarded at Mexico shooting scenes or confiscated from cartel gangsters were traced to Texas gun merchants in 2007”(“Mexican Drug War Facts”). Right now we are trying to stop the flow of guns across our border but the progress is not enough. A commission lead by three Latin American heads of state has criticized the United States for the failure to stop the drug cartels and the results are pushing Mexico to its breaking point. The United States needs to tighten gun laws on who can purchase guns and impose longer waiting periods especially in Border States. We need to make sure that we are not allowing any weapons to cross our border into Mexico.

Police corruption is a major problem because the cartels do not have to suffer consequences for their crimes. “In the past year, Mexico's civil drug war has claimed some 6,300 lives” (“Mexican Drug War Facts”). People are afraid to help because the police have much less power than the gangs and cartels do. People are scared to talk, the cartels are much more powerful then the police and people can’t take the chance of being killed by the cartel. “Fear prevents many cases from being solved because investigators hesitate to dig too deeply and witnesses refuse to talk” (“Fear Gets in the Way”). Obama recently sent drones over Mexico to try and find information about major cartels. These are unarmed aircraft flying deep into Mexican territory to help find out information about the cartels movements. It seems to be helping but we don’t know if it’s enough. “In Mexico in the recent years the greatest growth has been involvement in gaining intelligence using homeland Security and the American military flying manned aircraft and drones along the United States,”(“Drones Flight Mexican drug trade”).

The war in Mexico is a growing problem and the only solution is a full out effort from the United States and Mexico. Our countries have very different cultures and government rules which can make it difficult to work together. It’s hard to help without breaking some of the laws they have in Mexico. We have been contributing not only time training to improve forensics but millions of dollars to help convict more criminals. The violence is staggering, not just people involved in the crimes are hurt but innocent bystanders. The police in Mexico are a huge problem as well. “The number of bodies pulled from mass graves in northeastern Mexico has risen to 145, officials said Friday, following the arrest of 16 police officers for allegedly providing cover to drug-cartel gangsters suspected in the grisly slayings,”( Tracy Wilkinson). One of America’s number one priorities should be to make sure that the police are the ones stopping the cartels not helping them! We also need to make sure that people start talking to the police and know that they will protect them against the cartels and gangs.

Every day is valuable in the drug war, yet this deeply rooted problem started because many Mexicans don’t have any other way to support themselves so they turn to the drug trade. The demand for drugs in America generates a lot of money, which only helps the cartels become more powerful. Mexican cartels, which control most of the cocaine and methamphetamine smuggled into the United States, bring in 25 billion to 40 billion in their global operations every year”(“Jason Lange”). One way to slow the drug trade down would be to legalize marijuana. If we did this the government could regulate the trade between the two counties and the cartels would have to pay taxes to the Mexican government. This could be helpful to the people of Mexico and weaken the cartels. Another thing that could help to strengthen Mexico’s economy is for the United States to start a stimulus plan to create more jobs.

There is a lot that needs to be done in Mexico to stop the violent drug war. The United States needs to partner with Mexico to help their economy, stop the flow of guns crossing into Mexico from the United States and train Mexican police. Once the people of Mexico can freely walk the streets without fear, a big part of their economy will improve as well as their global image. This will help bring in tourists, which is a source of major revenue and jobs. Once the United States tightens the borders so that weapons do not get into the hands of the cartels, the violence will lessen in Mexico. If we work with Mexican officials to train their police force and investigators it will hopefully lessen the corruption. Homeland Security needs to continue to gather intelligence to help the police convict cartel leaders. With this partnership the cartels will be weakened, and Mexico will hopefully be a safer country.