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Mexico is estimated to be the world’s third largest producer of opium with poppy cultivation. It also is a major supplier of heroin and the largest foreign supplier of marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine to the U.S. market[1][2]. These drugs are supplied by Drug Trafficking Organizations (DTOs). The U.S. government estimates that Mexican DTOs gain tens of billions of dollars each year from drug sales, only in the U.S.[3].
DTOs are continually battling for control of territory in Mexico used for the cultivation, importation and transportation of illicit drugs[4]. The U.S. government considers groups affiliated with DTOs a significant threat to the safety within the U.S.[2]. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) enforces 'the controlled substances laws and regulations of the US and pursues organizations and members involved in the growing, manufacture, or distribution of controlled substances appearing in or destined for illicit traffic in the U.S.'[5]. The Mexican DTOs that pose the biggest threat to the US, according to the DEA, are the Sinaloa Cartel, Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Juarez Cartel, Gulf Cartel, Los Zetas Cartel and the Beltran-Leyva Organization[4].
In 2007, the U.S. launched the Merida initiative, a bilateral partnership that supports Mexico’s law enforcement, helps to counteract the illegal trade in narcotics and strengthens border security. The four main focuses of this initiative are: disrupting organized criminal groups; institutionalizing the rule of law; creating a 21st-century border, and building strong and resilient communities[6]. More recently, the initiative focused on improving security around Mexico’s southern border and countering the production and trafficking of heroin and fentanyl. Until March 2017, more than $1.6bn has been invested in the Merida initiative[6]. Almost $900,000 was for example spent on protective equipment necessary for the secured demolishing of narcotic labs[7].
In Mexico, the DEA combats operations of DTOs by conducting bilateral investigations with foreign counterparts, providing investigative assistance and leads to DEA domestic offices and other agencies, providing training and technical equipment to 'host nation participants to initiate and carry out complex criminal investigations, providing assistance in developing drug control laws and regulations, and providing training and material support to foreign law enforcement counterparts'[8].
