Mexican Drug Cartels as a Security Threat Essay

Mexican Drug Cartels as a Security Threat - Essay Example question that in recent years Mexican gangs and drug cartels have had a significant impact on the politics of Mexico through the use of political violence. According to Reuters (2010) it is the case that Gunmen working for a mayoral candidate for the PAN Party (Partido Accià ³n Nacional) in Valle Hermoso as the candidate frequently spoke out against drug abuse and the dangers of drug violence. On the other side of the political spectrum it was the case that in Nuevo Laredo in May 2010 hitmen employed by the drug cartels killed two campaigners who worked for a ‘Leftist’ political candidate and then spread printed messages warning all people of the dangers related to supporting that political candidate. According to Ellingwood (2010) the best estimate of the death toll resulting from the Mexican war on drugs is approximately 22,000. With a death toll this high there is little question that the consequences of this war on drugs are severe. It is upon this foundation that the Drug Cartels utilize not only assassination as a direct means of enforcing obedience (Insofar as they simply kill political candidates that oppose them. These drug cartels also go so far as to employ a kind of psychological warfare by using murder as a significant threat to common people for supporting candidates that are against the drug cartels ex. â€Å"Look what happened to those who supported this candidate†¦ this could happen to you!† The former and the latter both represent a kind of terrorism insofar as they are by no means isolated incidents and by completely disregarding non-combatants, and utilizing policies that instill fear into the populous they are indeed committing acts of terror. Moreover the effect is felt across the border in the United States. Much of the drug trade involves smuggling drugs across the border and any intervention from American police forces, drug enforcement agency (DEA) etc. is likely to be met