(Department of Justice, 2009) That is approximately 18,000 kilograms of cocaine per year in the city of Chicago. The Los Zetas were founded in 1999 by the Mexican Army’s elite forces that left the army and joined with another organization (Gulf Cartel). In 2010, the Los Zetas defected from the Gulf cartel and created their own organization. “The U.S. government says Los Zetas is “the most technologically advanced, sophisticated and dangerous cartel operating in Mexico.” (CNN, 2009) In November, 2010 a drug dealer that was supplied by the Los Zetas Cartel was sentenced to 210 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute more than
This generates a market that is unregulated, and in this market, anything can happen. Unlawful organizations like drug cartels and gangs often take advantage of this unregulated market. It is projected that marijuana accounts for around 70% of cartel profits (Pot Economics). Cartels are responsible for many violent crimes. Since 2006, nearly 50,000 Mexicans have died in cartel-related homicides (The Cartel Crackdown).
Legalize It Every year in America billions of dollars are made illegally, thousands of people are imprisoned, and even more people lose their lives to drugs. On a broad level, illegal drugs ruin whole communities by perpetuating the disease of addiction and engulfing neighborhoods in the gang violence that inevitably comes with illegal drug trafficking. On a more personal level, illegal drugs ruin lives by making people turn their backs on loved ones and causing them to throw away their dreams. Most people agree that a problem that is this pervasive and expansive must be dealt with, but few can agree on a solution. There is only one practical solution.
Drug Trafficking in the United States Jason Reed ENG122 English Composition Instructor McKenna September 23, 2012 Drug Trafficking in the United States Over forty years ago, the world declared the war on drugs. Today, after decades of failing to control drug consumption, the drug problem has emerged and allowed violent drug traffickers to expand their networks and corrupt even more Mexican and American government officials. The use of violence by traffickers against authorities and witnesses represents a major challenge to the neighboring countries as the ultimate guarantor of law and order within their borders. This in turn, has allowed drug cartels to move illegal narcotics freely throughout Mexico in an attempt to smuggle them
Colombian and Mexican groups continue to smuggle cocaine to the United States at significant levels, and the result is an increase in the number of both drug distributors and drug users. In particular, gangs such as the Crips and Bloods, Dominicans, and Jamaicans are actively involved nationally in selling cocaine. These gangs are responsible for widespread cocaine-related violence. During the first 6 months of 1995, cocaine prices ranged from $10,500 to $36,000 per kilogram. The heroin market in the United States is dominated by high purity heroin from Southeast Asia.
Jon Roberts who flooded Miami with $2 billion worth of cocaine in the '80s,was one of the drug trafficker and government informant who operated in the Miami area and was an associate of Medellín Cartel during the growth phase in cocaine trafficking. Soon after he hooked up with Medellin Cartel he began using his own method to ship cocaine into the United States. He began orchestrating plane shipments of hundreds of kilos of cocaine a week. He was associated with Mickey Munday who is the last Cocaine Cowboys left alive. He was also involved in the cocaine business during that time.
Nick Crain Comp 1 October 17, 2011 Heroin in America 1960s and 70s During the 1960s and 70s the United States was a turbulent place. Racial tensions grew as Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy were shot down in broad daylight. The Vietnam War was raging and the streets were filled with protests. Gangsters ran rampant throughout the cities. Drug trafficking, heroin in particular, was the choice drug of law enforcement, people and gangsters alike.
In 2010 alone, 25,000 lives have been claimed and the number is still growing steadily (Beaubien). Over the course of the year 2008, more Mexicans perished in the Mexican war on drug cartels than Americans that have died in Iraq since 2003 (Corchado). Bloody scenes such as the 55 bodies pulled out of an abandoned silver mine turned cartel body dumping in Taxco, Mexico, have become all too real for the Mexican people (Corchado). It is estimated that currently in Mexico some 600,000 people are involved in organized crime, whether they be foot soldiers, hit men, marijuana farmers, smugglers, money launders, or kingpins (Corchado). When the Mexican Military decides to get involved in matters of trying to suppress cartel violence, things often get worse: much worse.
Legal Drugs, Deadly Consequences As law-enforcement officials spend $15 billion a year combating the use and trafficking of cocaine, heroin, marijuana and other illegal narcotics, a more urgent crisis is emanating from the nation's pharmacies. According to a report from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), overdoses from prescription drug medication have tripled in the past decade. Deaths from prescription painkillers- a class of drugs that includes hydrocodone, methadone, oxycodone and oxymorphone- have reached epidemic levels. These drugs are widely misused and abused. Every year, nearly 15,000 people die from overdoses involving these drugs.
Drug Trafficking in the United States ENG 122: English Composition II Professor June 18, 2012 Drug trafficking remains the single most important activity for organized criminal groups in the Americas. This includes trafficking of marijuana, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and other synthetic drugs. The trafficking and consumption destabilizes nearly every country that forms part of the production and distribution chain. Some of these countries are facing challenges that are, in some ways, bigger those of their prolonged civil wars. Without the resources or knowledge, the governments of these nations are succumbing to powerful mega-structures that are able to subordinate poorly paid civil servants and buy off large portions of the