Death toll in Mexico’s drug war reaches 9,728

An explosive drug war that the LA Times reports has killed 9,728 people, has taken center stage in Mexico, becoming a dangerous threat to US national security. Drug cartels are heavily involved in the transporting of drugs, guns and humans into the US, and will stop at nothing to accomplish their mission.

Cartels and their underlings -known to locals as “narcos”- have seized control of many regions of Mexico, leaving a path of destruction and death in their wake. Regulation of the violent drug trade is nearly impossible due to a web of deceit in which politicians and law makers have joined forces with the cartels. Money is the driving factor, and there’s plenty of it. Recently, law enforcers stumbled upon $26 million in cash in the home of a notorious cartel member. Other cartel members have been found living in lavish homes with exotic accessories, such as pet jaguars and panthers.

Casualties related to the drug war include women, children, US border patrol agents and Mexican police officers. Many slayings are brutal and occur via mass homicide by machine guns or explosives. The narcos are fueled by power, money and a disregard for human life, killing anyone who steps in their path. They are, at the same time, savage and highly advanced. Technologically speaking, they have amazed law enforcement officials with elaborate drug tunnels, burrowing under neighborhoods and highways that straddle the border. Some tunnels cost upwards of 1 million dollars, and are equipped  with elevators, rail cars and high-tech telecommunications equipment.

The concern doesn’t rest within the confines of Mexico, as a steady influx of drugs, weapons and illegals continues to pour over the border. Mexican drug cartels are so heavily armed, that they can often out-man and outgun even the most well-equipped border patrol agents. In fact, the narcos can usually overpower the Mexican military, who has grown hesitant to interfere. Additionally, smugglers taking more circuitous routes, often enter the US unnoticed by trespassing on private land, such as Arizona ranches. It has not been uncommon for smugglers to kill ranch workers, out of fear that they will be reported to law officials.

As critical as national healthcare and outreach to the Muslim world may be, let’s hope President Obama comes to a full realisation of just how powerful and dangerous the current state of Mexico has become. The war on drugs in the US has rarely seen this level of devestation. Unless we find a way to secure the border, and keep the drugs out, it will soon be our problem to deal with.