Napolitano: Mexico Not A Narco-State "At This Point"

By: Bob Orr
Topics: World Watch

(AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says Mexico is "not at this point" in danger of becoming a failed narco-state. But she says the ongoing drug cartel related violence is a threat to both Mexico and the United States.

Napolitano will be traveling to Mexico City April 1-3 to meet with her security counterparts and attend a conference on arms trafficking. Attorney General Eric Holder will also be there.

Napolitano says the Obama administration is very focused on Mexico and is in the process of increasing security efforts along the border. Additional Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Patrol officers are being deployed, and the administration is still working on a broader plan to deal with potential "spillover violence," though details are not yet available.

Most of the violence involves "cartel on cartel" fighting. So far, Napolitano says, U.S. officials do not see any evidence that cartels are targeting law enforcement or border officials on this side of the border. There has been an increase in the number of kidnappings in the Southwest U.S., but Napolitano says they largely seem to involve drug gangs targeting other drug gangs.

Meanwhile, U.S. officials are bolstering efforts to choke off the flow of weapons heading to Mexico. Various sensors, scales, and license plate readers are being used to identify suspicious vehicles, with some success. For example, 997 firearms were confiscated in one week this month.

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by duncan36 April 15, 2009 5:15 PM EDT: Not a narco-state? What on earth does a narco-state look like if Mexico isnt one? Mexico's number one employer and number one provider of income for Mexicans is the drug trade. This is going on under the nose of the Mexican police and government. But its not that theres a weak government or a weak police force. Its that large swathes of the government and police are working for the drug cartels. Also if the drug trade was totally stopped tomorrow the entire country of Mexico would collapse. Thats the textbook definition of a narco-state.; Reply to this comment


by ramos1129 March 21, 2009 7:03 PM EDT: I am sick and tired about the media saying that Mexico is in danger of collaspsing due to the drug cartels. My company does business in Mexico and my people travel extensively in Mexico. Further, there are thousands of college students on spring break in Mexico and tourism is about the same as 2008 and 2007 but slightly up.

There is a violence problem but it is centered around the major border cities of Juarez, Nuevo Laredo, etc. The rest of Mexico is as safe as much of the USA.

There are two major problems causing this violence problem and the USA bears some responsibility here. How? First, almost all of the major weapons being used by the cartels are being bought here in the US and exported into Mexico by the cartels. The historic emphasis on border control has been to control what comes into the US and not what goes out. Second, the drug market is here in the US. If we could ever control or make a large enough dent in it, the cartels would disappear.; Reply to this comment


by raamonk March 20, 2009 8:50 PM EDT: The War On Drugs, failed? Nah, its still bein' dealt with.

?Operation Xcellerator? Takes 23 Tons of Narcotics Off America?s Streets and Seizes More Than $59 Million in Drug Money
(http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2009/February/09-ag-162.html); Reply to this comment


by krisd999-2009 March 20, 2009 8:53 AM EDT: Lets not forget that until we legalize poppies, we will keep sending billions to the Taliban and AlQaeda keeping the wars going forever. Of course a perpetual war is what the government wants. The Democrats love big government so don't expect much from Obama. He just did a troops surge to Afganistan like Bush did for Iraq.; Reply to this comment


by DoubleHappiness88 March 19, 2009 11:21 PM EDT: America has forgotten its history. Current gang wars are the result of Drug Prohibition. Alcohol Prohibition caused similar gang wars and corruption. If the gang wars are to be ended, Drug Prohibition must be ended. Drugs should be legalized, controlled and taxed.

The alternative is continued gang wars, corruption of The US Justice System and foreign governments.

America can no longer afford the foolish, failed, corrupt and never ending War On Drugs.; Reply to this comment


by DoubleHappiness88 March 19, 2009 11:20 PM EDT: The War On Drugs must come to an end! Such strategy has only increased profitability of drugs, enabling producers and dealers. What is worse, The Drug War has corrupted our police, judges, prisons, The CIA, our military, The Fish and Game Commission and foreign governments. Prohibition and the failed War On Drugs is responsible for the gang wars currently being fought on our border with Mexico.

Misguided intentions of The Drug War have filled our prisons to overflowing and done more harm to the lives of those arrested than the drugs for which they were arrested.

The War On Drugs must be ended in favor of more pragmatic, cost effective methods of dealing with the human tendency to intoxication. Marijuana should most certainly be legalized. Mandatory sentencing should be eliminated.

Government has made a larger problem of drugs than they are. We must recognize our mistake and take corrective measures withou; Reply to this comment


by DoubleHappiness88 March 19, 2009 11:19 PM EDT: The War On Drugs must come to an end! Such strategy has only increased profitability of drugs, enabling producers and dealers. What is worse, The Drug War has corrupted our police, judges, prisons, The CIA, our military, The Fish and Game Commission and foreign governments. Prohibition and the failed War On Drugs is responsible for the gang wars currently being fought on our border with Mexico.

Misguided intentions of The Drug War have filled our prisons to overflowing and done more harm to the lives of those arrested than the drugs for which they were arrested.

The War On Drugs must be ended in favor of more pragmatic, cost effective methods of dealing with the human tendency to intoxication. Marijuana should most certainly be legalized. Mandatory sentencing should be eliminated.

Government has made a larger problem of drugs than they are. We must recognize our mistake and take corrective measures withou; Reply to this comment


by DoubleHappiness88 March 19, 2009 11:15 PM EDT: "Prohibition will work great injury to the cause of temperance. It is a species of intemperance within itself, for it goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation, and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A Prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded." -Abraham Lincoln

Drug Prohibition has failed for the same reason Alcohol Prohibition failed. Prohibition does not work. Prohibition is UN-AMERICAN!

END THE FAILED WAR ON DRUGS!; Reply to this comment


by capua79 March 19, 2009 10:22 PM EDT: preventing a spillover is ridiculous. we need to focus on the people who are gaining the most from it, and that is the poor mexican farmer. the influx of US subsidized corn has resulted in the complete uprooting of thousands of traditional mexican farmers growing corn. now to make ends meet they grow, MJ, coca, and poppy as a result. so as a citizen of the USA how do we fix a problem like this? one answer could be the legalization and regulation of MJ, and yes i do believe that it will start curbing some of the cartel's powers.

Peace and Love; Reply to this comment


by pensacola8-2009 March 19, 2009 10:10 PM EDT: The current Drug Cartel fighting happening in Mexico is the same that the USA had with mafia and gangsters responding to prohibition during the depression of the 1930's.

Some may remember that the only thing that stuck to Al Capone was his conviction for tax evasion which landed him in prison.

The best way to end the fighting and violence is for the Mexican economy to prosper and grow again. The current history of Mexico is almost exactly following the blueprint of the USA during the 19030's. Maybe, they will see an opportunity to seize and capitalize upon.

If Mexico prosperred again, their citizens living here would be happy to return.; Reply to this comment