Annotated Bibliography On The Calderon's War

Haylie Galvan Barrio Azteca Gang Gang violence in El Paso has been a major issue since the emergence of one particular gang- Barrio Azteca. The streets of El Paso were rapidly becoming a home to violent acts and drug trafficking. The infamous Barrio Azteca gang was formed in the 1980’s in Texas originally as a prison gang. It started as a prison gang before they expanded out onto the streets. Several of the founding members banded together in order to protect themselves from rival Hispanic gangs.

The Sinaloa drug Cartel, is the largest and most powerful drug trafficking organization in the Western Hemisphere. The Sinaloa drug Cartel was founded in the Mid-1980’s and its membership; operatives in seventeen Mexican states and as many as fifty countries with criminal activities like drug trafficking and money laundering. It has grown its reach far beyond the Mexican border and is now believed to be the most powerful and widest-reaching drug importer in the United States. The coalition 's members rely on connections at the highest levels and is led by Mexico 's most powerful drug lord Joaquin Guzman alias “El Chapo” who recently escaped from a maximum security prison in Mexico. The state of Sinaloa has long been a center for contraband

Back in the 1980’s, the drug cartels of Colombia were the cause of chaos all over the world – especially in the United States. In fact, at the height of their power, the Bogotá cartel supplied ninety per cent of Uncle Sam’s cocaine. The cartel was barbaric; assassinating anyone who stood in their way. To add to this, they also had the majority of the law enforcement system on their payroll. And, of course, at the heart of all of this was drug lord Carlos Ruiz and his loyal vice, Pablo Álvarez.

The Mexican cartel first started in the 60s and 70s with the Guadalajara cartel. The Guadalajara cartel got into some issue in the mid-1980s by kidnapping, torturing and murdering a U.S DEA agent Enrique Camarena. This event made the U.S government energized and focused on the Guadalajara cartel, which then led them to arrest and break up the Guadalajara cartel after the U.S government broke up the Guadalajara cartels leader Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo aka El Padrino or The Godfather divided his turf and fiefdom into various sectors. In 1989 Seven months after taking office veteran drug warrior George H.W. Bush made his first televised addressed to the nation “All of us agree that the gravest domestic threat facing our nation today is drugs”.

When analyzing the causes of the Mexican Drug War, one must understand the basics of the Mexican culture and its heritage. Mexico has been under the power of the PRI for almost 80 years, under its control Mexican people have endured social discrimination, censorship, and lack of opportunity. Under the corrupt government, the richer became richer and poor became poorer; thus creating a sense of distrust and impotence among the poor population towards its government. Mexico is one of the richest economies in Latin America, but it is also one of the top countries with the highest number of poor population. This gap can be visualized with the term of horizontal inequalities.

GANG INFLUENCE ON LOCAL BUSINESSES Urban cities often contain areas with high amounts of poverty, and many members of these neighborhoods struggle to find employment and financially support their family. Most of the time, the parents of these families neglect and abuse their children. Desperate for acceptance, these children turn to gangs during their adolescence to find belonging. Once grown up, the kids often mimic the behavior of their parents and attempt to raise a child of their own without the proper finances. As a result, the cycle of unfulfilled potential continues, primarily caused by the street gangs.

Given its geographic location, Mexico has long been used as a staging and transshipment point for narcotics and contraband between Latin America and U.S. markets. Towards the end of the 19th century, using drugs was a very common thing in the United States, due to the fact that drugs were legal back then. Unlike in today’s society where drugs are legally used to treat pain and illness, drugs a hundred years ago had no limitations. So drug users could find them very easily and often the local pharmacy was the provider.

America is a country known for its impregnable environment— one of the essential lures for others to join this melting pot of people. In recent years, the southern border has been left open and vulnerable to contamination, brutality, and economic downfall. From where have these realities catastrophizing our nation arisen? Walking in almost freely, pregnant herds of Mexican illegal immigrants infiltrate the United States by the millions, carrying on their backs a plethora of diseases, including, but not limited to, Malaria, Leprosy, and HIV, along with millions of pounds of cocaine and marijuana each year. The drug war in America grows rapidly and is a strong contributor to the violence seen in the nation today.

The United States war with Mexico continues to be a divisive topic due to the unjust and just reasons being argued. The Mexican & American War was the war between Mexico and the United States began because of disputed territory and Mexico shedding “American blood upon the American soil” although “American blood” wasn’t actually shed on “American soil.” The disputed territory was the area between the Nueces River and the Rio Grande that Mexico and the United States both claimed. It was also the area where 16 American soldiers were killed sparking the idea of the Declaration of War. The war against Mexico was unjustifiable because it went against the constitution, Texas was in the wrong, and the war was based on false pretense.

Mexicans complain about the ignorance of the gringos, they (the Americans) the vast majority believe that cinco de Mayo is Mexico 's independence day; the people in general congratulates paisanos Benito Juárez, asks a Crown with "lime" and says bonachonamente:-Feeliz C 'inco di Maaaahio! Senior American politicians and Mexican Masonic Lodges also celebrate year after year this day, but their reasons are less innocent. The Mexican people believes that a battle occurred in 146 years ago, on May 5, 1862, hundreds of indigenous zacapoaxtlas commanded by General Ignacio Zaragoza defeated the invasive and imperial troops from France who came to invade Mexico ostensibly to collect a debt from you. This is the official version and all Mexican shouts it and celebrate it as if it had happened yesterday and as if some his grandfather would have been defender of the homeland.