The AP reports that many universities are advising students not to travel to Mexico for spring break ("Students warned on spring break in Mexico," Austin American-Statesman, February 27, 2009).
Universities around the country are warning college students who plan to go to Mexico for spring break that there has been a surge in drug-related mayhem south of the border.
More than 100,000 high school- and college-age Americans typically travel to Mexican resort areas during spring break each year. Tourists generally haven't been targeted in the drug violence, though there have been killings in the spring-break resorts of Acapulco and Cancun.
The University of Arizona in Tucson is urging its approximately 37,000 students not to go to Mexico. Other universities — including Texas A&M, Penn State, Notre Dame, the University of Colorado and the University at Buffalo — are calling students' attention to a travel alert issued Feb. 20 by the U.S. State Department.
President Calderon of Mexico denies that Mexico is losing the War on Drugs and is sending 5,000 troops to Ciudad Juarez to combat warring drug cartels. Over 6,000 people were killed in Mexico last year in drug related violence. That is more than were killed in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, or the number of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq (President denies Mexico losing drug wars, thestar.com, February 27, 2009).
MEXICO CITY–President Felipe Calderon yesterday rejected U.S. fears Mexico is losing control of its territory to drug cartels.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Calderon said his government has not "lost any part – any single part – of the Mexican territory" to organized crime. He also called "absolutely false" the idea that Mexico is in danger of becoming a failed state if the violence continues.
Earlier yesterday, Mexico's top prosecutor said more than 1,000 people have been killed in drug violence this year, but that he believes the worst is nearly over.
Attorney General Eduardo Medina Mora said 6,290 people were killed last year – about double the 2007 toll.
Medina Mora said the world's most powerful drug cartels are "melting down" as they engage in turf wars and fight off a countrywide crackdown.
The government, meanwhile, is sending up to 5,000 new troops and federal police to Ciudad Juarez, where law and order is on the brink of collapse in a war between drug gangs. The army said yesterday the deployment could take the number of soldiers and federal police to more than 7,000 in the city located across the U.S. border from El Paso, Tex.
Associated Press, Reuters
The war on drugs directly costs Mexico in resources that must be used to combat cartels, and indirectly through the loss of tourists' dollars.
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The war on drugs also costs Mexico time they could spend improving other areas of their country. I can't help but wonder, though...since they have such a huge drug problem, I wonder what their GDP would be if the income from drugs could be calculated into the GDP...
ReplyDeleteThe problem is that the demand curve for drugs is inelastic. Even in the long term, if the curve were to shift to the left as addicts stopped relying on Mexican drugs, it would probably result in a right shift of the demand curve for other drugs. Addiction is a tenacious beast.
ReplyDeleteThis on going drug war is something that is going to keep going just as long as there is the demand for drugs. There for the drug cartels will continue to produce and ship out their "goods" to the United States which is their leading demander for the product. Their have been several ideas on how to possibly bring down the violence such as making marijuana legal and having a tax on it. There really isnt no real solution to this problem and so the war will continue. I believe the US must help out Mexico as they contribute to the problem as well being the consumer.
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