Narco-Violence after 'El Mencho' Killing: A Manufactured Crisis
The context they conveniently omitted: When figures like 'El Mencho' are removed, the ensuing violence is often framed as an inevitable byproduct of internal Mexican criminal dynamics. This perspective conveniently sidesteps decades of US foreign policy that significantly shaped the current landscape of drug trafficking and state capacity in Latin America. The 1980s saw the emergence of a
militarized drug war, heavily influenced by US initiatives, which inadvertently empowered large-scale trafficking organizations by suppressing smaller, independent operations and creating a power vacuum. This centralization of criminal enterprises directly contributed to the scale of modern cartels. The US government's official statements lamenting the widespread violence in Mexico following such
events often neglect to mention the direct and indirect impacts of its own policies. Consider the fact that between 1999 and 2008, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) budget increased by over 300 percent, yet the flow of illicit drugs into the United States remained largely undiminished, suggesting a tactical failure that simultaneously amplified cartel power. This pattern echoes the
double standard observed in the 1980s, when the US funneled substantial military aid to Central American regimes, ostensibly to combat communism, but simultaneously facilitated clandestine arms-for-drugs operations. The Contra affair, specifically the Iran-Contra scandal unearthed in 1985, revealed how the US government allowed drug shipments to fund illegal paramilitary groups, directly seeding