Research Proposal on "Mexico Illicit Aviation"

Research Proposal 15 pages (4615 words) Sources: 5 Style: MLA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Mexico Drug Trafficking

Mexico, Political Corruption, and Drug Trafficking

In many levels of responsibility, Mexican government authorities are reported to be among the most corrupt in North America. When it comes to its ability to slow the trafficking of narcotics into and through its nation, the Mexican government has failed again and again. Ample evidence and drug-related violence backs up that assertion and yet the drug trafficking situation in Mexico grows worse. First of all as to reasons for the heavy amount of drug trade and drug-related violence, it is a generally accepted fact that Mexican politicians and Mexican local, regional, and national government officials are to some degree -- or fully -- involved in the movement of drugs in and out -- and within the borders -- of Mexico. Data presented in this paper will provide background on the corruption that is apparently rampant in Mexico.

Thesis / Introduction

If it seriously intends to combat these aforementioned illicit activities, Mexico must launch a massive intervention and interdiction campaign, targeting the flow of drugs (cocaine, marijuana, methamphetamines, among others) on land, on sea, and Mexico must begin paying special attention of the movement of drugs and bulk currency through the use of illicit aviation.

How bad is it? Heroin Abuse is Spreading into the Heartland

An article in The New York Times ("In Heartland Death, Traces of Heroin's Spread") published May 31, 2009, points to the fact that Mexican drug cartels have "pushed heroin sales beyond major cities into American's suburban and rural byways" (Archibold, 2009). In fact, Ohio is a state where deaths from the use of heroin used to be very rare, but that is changing due to the greater influence of the Mexican drug cartels. Between 2004 and 2007, heroin-related deaths spread into 18 new counties (Archibold), and the number of deaths in those counties rose from 376 in the period from 2000 to 2003, to 546 deaths between 2004 and 2007.

Federal officials now state that the cartels in Mexico are "the greatest organized crime threat to the United States" -- taking over that dubious distinction from the Colombians and Dominicans (Archibold). In fact, the heroin that is being sold by the Mexican cartels in the U.S. is a "powerful new form" of the drug called "black tar," which has a darker color than previous versions of heroin and is very sticky (Archibold).

The Times' story asserts that illegal immigrants from Mexico are playing a role in the distribution of heroin in the U.S. And Archibold explains that two immigrants (Jose Manuel Cazeras-Contreras and Victor Delgadillo Parra) became part of a cartel's distribution ring when they were "unable to find jobs." Parra, who was sentenced to 16 1/2 years in prison for sale of heroin, told the Times that he at first was fearful of being arrested for selling heroin, but eventually he began doing it "to support his wife and son, as well as relatives in Mexico."

As a sign of how the use of heroin has grown in Ohio, the director of the rehabilitation center known as Maryhaven in Columbus, Ohio, Paul Coleman, told the Times reporter that the percentage of patients hooked on opiates ("principally heroin") grew from 38% in 2002 to 68% in 2008. The DEA agent for the central Ohio region is Tim Reagan, who told the Times that the "cells" that are set up by the cartels consist usually of a few people and they are not the ones who bring in the heroin, they just receive it and distribute it.

People working in the cells get heroin from the Nayarit state, on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, Reagan explained. There a "highly productive form of the poppy" from Colombia is processed in numerous laboratories in Nayarit state -- despite Mexican government efforts to fumigate those poppies. The cells in Ohio and other parts of the U.S. take orders for heroin over "disposable mobile phones," which makes it very difficult for police and DEA agents to trace phone calls. The orders for heroin are delivered by "dispatcher" and "runners" and cell members sell the drugs in busy places like shopping center parking lots, trying to blend in with crowds and activity (Archibold).

The Times also interviewed the arrested cell members about how the heroin actually got into the U.S. And learned that a "coyote" (human smuggler) actually is hired by the cartel to bring the drugs over the border. Then the coyote gets into the back of a Ryder truck and is driven to Columbus where he is trained for two weeks and taught how to deliver the heroin to customers. The "coyote" is told he will make a lot of money taking the risks he takes, but it winds up being $400 to $500 per week, a place to sleep and some food on occasion. Most of the earnings typically go to back to his family in Mexico.

One of the young men who died in Ohio from a heroin overdose, Arthur Eisel, had started on the drug OxyContin, to relieve pain from an injured back. OxyContin is a powerful drug and is available on the street in most cities. But reportedly, when the OxyContin supply ran low in the Columbus area, Eisel's dealer suggested heroin, which was far more readily available, and Eisel became addicted.

How bad is it? Recent Busts & Revelations Show Several Mexican Cartels' Sophistication, Purchasing Power & Reach -- and Use of Aviation

In April 2009, a young woman was arrested while standing guard over an anti-aircraft weapon in Sonora state, near the Mexican -- Arizona border. This is reportedly the first instance of anti-aircraft weaponry seized by authorities in Mexico (Sky News). The weapon is capable of firing 800 rounds a minute and reportedly can penetrate "any type of armor from more than 1,500 meters" (almost a mile away). The young woman was guarding an arsenal of weapons (including a grenade launcher, four heavy weapons, and ammunition) along with two pounds of opium gum and nine and a half pounds of poppy seeds. The arms and drugs were not surprising to find, but the anti-aircraft weapon was something of a shock to law enforcement because it shows the level of sophistication the drug traffickers have gone to in order to bolster their operations. The arrest adds to the fears of law enforcement that the war on drugs may become an air war in the near future. The anti-aircraft weapon is said to have been the property of the Beltran Leyva cartel, Sky News reported (http://news.sky.com).

Three weeks prior to the anti-aircraft weapon seizure, 23 tons of narcotics were rounded up and 750 suspects arrested in the United States, according to a news release from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The release asserts that "Operation Xcellerator" has been gathering evidence for these arrests for 21 months and the money and power behind the seized drugs and the arrested drug dealers is said to come from the Sinaloa Cartel, a major Mexican trafficking organization (DEA).

The Sinaloa Cartel launders millions of dollars from the sale of these drugs, mainly cocaine and marijuana, and markets the drugs through "distribution cells" in Canada and the United States (DEA). The U.S. arrests took place in Minnesota, California, Maryland, Arizona, New York State, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Texas (DEA).

There are stories in news sources that link Americans with various drug cartels, which creates a widening swath of corruption to be investigated by authorities. To wit, the Sinaloa Cartel is alleged to have a fleet of fifty planes that are used in their drug trafficking operations -- four of which were registered in the U.S., according to documents filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida (www.lagunajournal.com). The Laguna Journal alleges that documents reveal the money to purchase those four seized planes was laundered through Dennis Nixon's International Bank of Commerce (IBC), which is owned by Nixon's Bancshares of San Antonio. Nixon has raised up to $300,000 in one night to support the re-election of George W. Bush in 2004, the Laguna Journal asserts.

Incidentally, those 50 planes obtained by the Sinaloa Cartel for drug trafficking were allegedly purchased from U.S. sources by Pedro Alfonso Alatorre, one of the lead financiers for the Sinaloa Cartel, according to an indictment issues by Mexico's Attorney General. A story in the Mexican official Attorney General's Office (translated by Google) Web site states that Alatorre had the money laundered through a Chicago bank in 2007. Apparently the cartels in Mexico have connections in the United States to help launder money, to purchase airplanes for drug transport, and to distribute the marijuana, cocaine and other narcotics among American drug users.

How bad is it? The Government Accounting Office Issues Statement

In August 2007 the Government Accounting Office (GAO) reported on progress (or lack of it) by the U.S. National Drug Control Strategy, linked to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), and the data presented shows how… READ MORE

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