Gray or Failed State: Mexico and the United States Facing Drug Trafficking
Diego Martín Velázquez Caballero
The narrative of the fight against drug trafficking has been a recurring theme in the relationship between Mexico and the United States. However, reality suggests that both countries have failed to address the problem effectively. US intervention in Mexico has focused on regulating the drug phenomenon, but not on limiting it or reducing the flow of psychotropic drugs into the country. Meanwhile, Mexican cartels have continued to operate with impunity, and violence in the country has reached unprecedented levels. The recent departure of drug trafficking leaders to the United States to negotiate with the White House is an indication that the balance of power between the cartels has spiraled out of control.
Some analysts suggest that the US government's intention is to weaken the cartels and impose its hegemony in the region. However, this hypothesis is difficult to understand in a context where violence in Mexico continues to increase. The flight of major drug trafficking groups to the United States is not unprecedented, and one might wonder whether the use of intelligence by the Americans will protect them from possible acts of defense or violence on U.S. soil. Rafael Loret de Mola's novels had already presented scenarios in which the Americans intervened in Mexico to capture the political class linked to crime, but the reality is more complex. What would happen if the war between the cartels also spread to the United States? This has happened with mafias in other countries and even with fights between fundamentalist or terrorist groups.
The relationship between Mexico and the United States has become a vicious cycle, in which drug trafficking and violence feed off each other. Canceling visas and confiscating capital and materials have not been effective in other Latin American countries, and they likely won't be in Mexico. The question is, what can be done to break this cycle of violence and corruption? The response of some intellectuals, such as Sabina Berman and Juan Carlos Monedero, has been to question whether US intervention has been effective in other countries. However, the experience of Panama, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Honduras after the US intervention suggests that these intrusions have been positive.
In this context, it is important to analyze the relationship between Mexico and the United States from a critical perspective. The official narrative regarding the fight against drug trafficking obscures the true intentions of both countries. The United States seeks to maintain its hegemony in the region, while Mexico is incapable of addressing the structural problems underlying drug trafficking. Cooperation between the two countries is an illusion, and the reality is that both are trapped in a labyrinth of violence and corruption. The reality is that both Mexico and the United States are failed states and gray areas in their own right, incapable of addressing the structural problems underlying drug trafficking. However, the nearly fifty million Mexicans living illegally in the United States should be asked whether they would like Mexico to be a protectorate or the 52nd state of the American Union. Berman and Monedero skew their interpretation and overlook this dynamic between Mexico and North America, which, fortunately, beyond politicians, intellectuals, and international organizations, presents an independent path.
