Mexico’s new President, Claudia Sheinbaum, said this week that her administration will combat drug mafias not with armed force alone but with a focus on the root causes of this crime.
Mexico has traditionally been blamed for not doing enough in The War on Drugs, waged since 1971.
Maybe it hasn’t bled enough
The country has seen more than 431,000 homicides since 2006, when the government declared war on the cartels.
From 2006–2020, 41,034 Mexican soldiers and police were killed in the Mexican drug war.
I don’t know if Mexico is pulling its weight.
One of a few things that is clear in the war is American consumption. Here’s the estimated yearly average of US sales:
Cocaine: Approximately $30 billion annually.
Heroin: Around $20-30 billion annually.
Methamphetamine: Close to $15-20 billion annually.
Synthetic Opioids (e.g., Fentanyl): Roughly $10-15 billion annually.
Ricardo Chavira Chicano 