The militarizing of Mexico’s police forces adds a new facet to the war against drugs
In Mexico, the war against drug cartels has become more than a question of eradicating illicit substances or capturing criminals; with over 13,000 dead in the last three years, the fight now concerns the future of the country. Earlier this year, a U.S. Joint Forces Command study made headlines when it asserted that Mexico, alongside Pakistan, is on the verge of becoming a failed state. This is of obvious importance to Mexico’s northern neighbor, particularly given that Mexican drug cartels account for at least 70 percent of all drugs that enter the United States. While Mexican officials may dispute that the country is on the verge of failure, weak policing of drug cartels, and the consequent replacing of police with an empowered military, indicate an alarming erosion of Mexico’s public safety institutions, and demonstrate a need for rapid modernization that the United States cannot ignore.
Soldiers as Police
Low salaries, scarce job opportunities, and a longstanding tradition of corruption are powerful factors influencing the performance and loyalties of Mexico’s police officers. One of the most violent and widely known drug factions, Los Zetas, was originally made up of Mexican Special Operations forces and is now the armed branch of the Gulf Cartel. The illegality of drug profits make it difficult to quantify the cartels’ earnings, but estimates range anywhere from $15 billion to $80 billion annually, more than enough to bribe thousands of local and federal officers in exchange of protection, intelligence, and other services.
Working with an incompetent and corrupt police corps, President Felipe Calderon has deployed thousands of federal troops to take over policing duties in several cities around the country. According to the Mexican Department of Defense, from 2006 to 2009 Mexican troops confiscated more than 1,500 tons of marijuana, almost 5 tons of cocaine, and more than 36,000 weapons. They have also detained almost 16,000 criminals involved with the trade, and seized as much as $83 million in cash.
The militarization of Mexico’s security institutions has certainly delivered positive results, but this strategy will not address the underlying causes of the drug war. As professor Anthony Braga of the Harvard Kennedy School told the HPR, “At least in the short term, continued military response to these groups that are highly organized, very well trained, and deadly is probably necessary. But just pursuing that is inherently a one-dimensional strategy and, although they can do a good job doing justice by taking those groups down, it’s not going to fundamentally change the conditions under which those groups thrive.”
Appeal to America
Yet as Mexico juggles a severe economic recession and internal violence, modernizing the police force seems unmanageable. President Calderon has therefore appealed to American counterparts for support in this endeavor. With almost 2,000 miles of shared border and annual trade of over $250 billion, Mexico’s stability and success is of major concern to the United States. Boston Police Department Commissioner Edward Davis, who has had more than 20 years of experience coordinating anti-narcotics efforts, told the HPR, Mexico “needs assistance in the area of policing, and some of the lessons that are being provided to the Iraqi police officials, some of the work that is being done in Afghanistan, some of those strategies could be utilized in Mexico to rebuild trust in the police.”
Already, the U.S. Congress has authorized $1.6 billion in the form of technology, equipment, and training over the course of the next three years, a much-needed boost to Mexico’s war against the cartels. But this is only a start; in Braga’s view, “The Mexican government really needs to make some investments in professionalizing the police, raising the standards for who becomes a police officer, and giving them decent pay, because it is very difficult for police departments that have an unprofessional force that’s very poorly paid to resist corruption.”
Even as Mexico finds itself in a crisis, then, it needs to focus not just on containing violence, but also on major reform of its security forces. Given the tremendous investments the U.S. government makes in fighting drug consumption, assisting reforms in Mexico must be a top priority. The professionalization of Mexican police will prove essential not only to the defeat of the drug trade, but also to the survival of the Mexican state.