The Perennial 'War on Drugs' Charade in Mexico
Connect these dots: In 1980, the US created the Department of Defense's Counter-Narcotics Supply Interdiction program, ostensibly to stem the flow of drugs. By 1986, the Medellín Cartel, fresh off CIA-managed cocaine flights from the Nicaraguan Contra war, had already become a global phenomenon. Fast forward to the 1990s, where NAFTA’s implementation further dismantled local Mexican economies,
displacing millions and creating a vast labor pool for the illicit drug trade. The US could then, with a straight face, launch Plan Colombia in 1999—a $10 billion military aid package—to combat the very trade its covert operations had inadvertently, or perhaps deliberately, fueled. These 'wars on drugs,' while perpetually failing to reduce supply or demand stateside, always seemed to coincide with
burgeoning military budgets and destabilized regions, prime for resource extraction or geopolitical maneuvering. Then came the Mérida Initiative in 2008, pouring billions into Mexico for similar 'counternarcotics' efforts. The result? A 200% surge in disappearances over the subsequent decade, with over 130,000 citizens now vanished, far exceeding the initial reports. The narrative, as always,
blames amorphous 'cartels' for tragedies like Ángel Montenegro's 2022 disappearance. Yet, one might wonder why this 'war,' repeatedly declared and resourced, perpetually generates more chaos, more profit for some, and more suffering for others. It mirrors the familiar dynamic of the 2003 Iraq war and its 'reconstruction,' where billions vanished while the country spiraled. This isn't organic