Trouble Down South: A Crisis of Violence In Mexico

We’ve heard a lot of discussion about Mexico in the news as of late, primarily due to US President Donald Trump intending to construct a large wall across the border between us and our neighbor. What hasn’t been discussed that much is a serious crisis brewing within that country’s borders. Each day, many have died in a series of violent wars between gangs, drug cartels, and the government. In fact, “The report by the Citizens’ Council for Public Security and Criminal Justice found that five out of six of the world’s most violent municipalities were in Mexico, where homicides have risen to historic levels in recent years amid a military-led war against criminal groups (Linthicum, 2019).” Much of the situation stems from when former President Felipe Calderon used force to disrupt the cartels, only to face widespread retaliation from the gangs. With much of the country turned into a war zone, and with citizens fleeing north towards the United States to escape from such destruction, it stands as heartbreaking whenever reports of such horrific acts managed to make their way past the gatekeepers of the American media. But why does such violence happen on so regular a basis? To understand just what is happening in Mexico, it’s important to look at the statistics at just how bad the violence really is, how the cartels are perpetuating it through social media, and the breakdown in US-Mexican relations over the crisis.

Much of the violence can be attributed to attempts by the government to disrupt the gangs. Linthicum pointed out that Calderon’s strategy worked to disrupt some weaker groups, “[I]t also unwittingly spawned new ones who sought to capitalize on the destruction (Linthicum, 2019).” Since then, the violence has only gotten worse; A report from 2018 revealed that “Throughout the Calderón administration, INEGI reported 121,669 homicides, an average of over 20,000 people per year, more than 55 people per day, or just over two people every hour…Over the course of Peña Nieto’s five years in office, there have been 64 homicides per day, or more than 2.6 murders every hour. All told, since the start of the twenty-first century, more than a quarter of a million people have been murdered in Mexico (Calderón, Ferreira, and Shirk, 2018).” The situation has only continued to worsen, as “Tallies produced over the past decade by government, media, academic, NGO, and consulting organizations suggest that roughly a third to half of all homicides in Mexico bear signs of organized crime-style violence, including the use of high-caliber automatic weapons, torture, dismemberment, and explicit messages involving organized-crime groups (Calderón, Ferreira, and Shirk, 2018).” All the while, even with the efforts taken to disrupt the cycle of violence, little headway has been made.

A lot of the violence that the cartels have been committing has increased as a result of increased use in social media. Plevin reports that “In Guerrero, criminal groups create fake accounts and post hit lists on Facebook and WhatsApp, using nicknames and crude language to describe their targets. They also extort people, as they did in late November, when schools across the state closed for a month after criminal organizations threatened teachers over WhatsApp and demanded the instructors hand over a portion of their end-of-year bonuses (Plevin, 2019.)” With such social media platforms becoming increasingly popular, they have now become tools for the gangs to spread further violence. Their desire to control the media so as to continue their reigns also extends into traditional media. Calderón, Ferreira, and Shirk reported that, “Mexican journalists were at least three times more likely to be killed (.7 per 1,000) than the general population (.21 per 1,000) (Calderón, Ferreira, and Shirk, 2018).” In following the traditional pattern of power seekers looking to control the media so as to spread their propaganda, the cartels have sought to do just that by any means necessary. Though social media platforms have tried to ban them, the groups continue their efforts.

Additionally, there has been little, if any headway, in finding proper cooperation with the United States over the issue. “In his first year in office, U.S. President Donald Trump pushed the Mexican government to reinvigorate its counter-narcotics efforts, and placed a heavy emphasis on military-to-military cooperation, including new joint operations between the Mexican Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard. Trump also pledged to increase U.S. security measures along the 2,000-mile Southwest border, inspecting eight prototypes for his proposed border “wall” and sending national guard troops to assist the U.S. border patrol, despite the fact that apprehensions at the border reached a 47-year low in 2017 (Calderón, Ferreira, and Shirk, 2018).” Both sides do wish to resolve the issue, but the distrust over Trump’s recent actions have seemingly put clout over America’s relationship with the Mexican government. While it may be difficult to say whether or not this violence is being allowed to happen as a result of this distrust, it certainly can’t be ruled out as a frighteningly real possibility.

References:

1. Linthicum, K. (March 4, 2019). Five of the six most violent cities in the world are in Mexico, report says. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from https://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-mexico-tijuana-violence-20190314-story.html
2. Calderón, L., Ferreira, O. R., and Shirk, D.A. (April 2018). Drug Violence in Mexico. University of San Diego. Retrieved from https://justiceinmexico.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/180411_DrugViolenceinMexico-12mb.pdf
3. Plevin, R. (March 9, 2019). How Mexican cartels turn social media into tools for extortion, threats, and violence. Statesman Journal. Retrieved from https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/2019/03/09/mexican-cartels-social-media-tools-extortion-violence/3112338002/