Just recently On September 30 an American man was shot while jet skiing with his wife on Falcon lake which is located just between US and Mexican waters by a drug cartel, Just after this incident a Mexican investigator who was searching for this man’s body was found beheaded and was delivered to the Mexican military in a suitcase. These are just a few of the known violent acts carried out by drug cartels recently. The Mexican drug war has been going on since 2006 but recently has been given more publicity. What is the history behind the drug war, the drug cartels, and what is the US is doing to protect its citizens from this war. It is important as Americans that we understand what is taking place so close to home and that can one day affect us directly.

According to Lee and History Guy Media the Mexican Drug War is an armed conflict between drug cartels and the Mexican Government. A drug cartel is defined as an illicit cartel formed to control the production and distribution of narcotic drugs. The mexican govt has attempted to crack down on different drug organizations by arresting leaders in the drug trade. In the CRS report for congress it states that Mexico is one of the highest producers and smugglers of cocaine, marijuana, and heroine due to its location geographically. Annually they make between 13 to 48 billion dollars from the US drug market. Violence is increasing as years go by with 8,500 lives taken this year alone which brings the total to nearly 30,000 lives since the beginning of the war.

There are many known drug cartels in Mexico today. According to the Mexican Government there are seven cartels. The major cartels include the Tijuana, Gulf, Sinaloa, and Juarez. Mexican drug cartels now dominate the wholesale illicit drug market in the US. Many arrests of key leaders have led to increasing drug violence as these cartels fight for trafficking