I think the Mexican drug war is not quite as simple as it seems. There are many quandaries and dilemmas within, making this conflict all the harder to stop. It's interesting how the cartel manages to exist, and thrive even to this day with the help of US, and Mexico. Combined these two countries have more power than the cartel. To understand why this is we need to dig deeper. In the first place, the USA is involved because DTOs(drug trafficking organizations) in Mexico are the largest suppliers of drugs into the USA. By doing this the cartel net tens of millions of dollars. This money plays a huge role in why they thrive. As a result of the money, the cartel can neutralize government opposition, paying off all of those who get in the way. Like judges and police. David Shirk, director of justice in Mexico says, “a network of corruption provides the cartels with protection in exchange for lucrative bribes.” To me, it seems that so far the most successful way to stop the cartel is; to get a group of men from a little town who are willing to fight for and protect their town, because this way there is no corruption, the people dislike the cartel, it's effective, and the cartel will then know that the town is not safe and they will not return there. This results in fewer homicides than when the military and police get involved. Thanks to the help of the US Mexico has been able to crack down on many of the major cartels however, the war is not over yet. As there are still over 60 small cartel gangs. I believe in the upcoming future this war or problem may take a turn for the worst with Trump in office.