By Roberto Pesquera

For the last three years Mexico has been fighting a war against organized crime that has claimed the lives of roughly 10.000 of its citizens. Being a major player in Latin America and having no grave disputes with its neighbors, the biggest threat Mexico faces stems from non-state actors within its borders. Drug cartels are a threat to Mexico’s national security, and undermine its political institutions, security apparatus and society.

Drug cartels have also been eroding Mexico’s alliances with partner states. Sigrid Arzt, former Technical Secretary of Mexico’s National Security Council, explains, “[Drug cartels] create a parallel security service and military gear that challenge the monopoly of the state on the use of force, and has a detrimental impact on the quality of life and the development of the country.”

Arzt, who spoke on organized crime in Mexico at SIPA last February, also highlighted violence against the state as damaging to Mexico’s viability. When law enforcement officials, such as soldiers, judges and public servants, are murdered or kidnapped, criminals are threatening the State. In this context there is a second component: ongoing structural and organizational changes in the highest levels of organized crime that have infiltrated the government, unveiling the weaknesses of state institutions.

Unfortunately, the huge demand for illegal drugs in the US plays a key role in fueling the violence Mexico. In 2008, an estimated 20.1 million Americans used illicit drugs, making the US largest drug market in the world. The State Department estimates that 90 percent of the cocaine entering the United States is transported through Mexico, and estimates of the wholesale illicit drug sale earnings in the US range from $13.6 to $48.4 billion annually.

As the largest exporter of military equipment in the world, the US has also become the biggest supplier of weapons to drug cartels in Mexico, specifically those that operate along Arizona and New Mexico borders.

Overall, the policies and strategies that Mexico has implemented have proven ineffective when it comes to combating the challenges imposed by drug cartels. Yet, some improvements have been made. For the first time, Mexico has unreservedly embarked on fighting organized crime. This is a big step for a government that historically has been slow to tackle this problem and more specifically, that of drug cartels.

Most notably, for the first time in its history, Mexico has approached the United States for technical and economic assistance to fight organized crime. This sort of “omnibalancing” is a bold new step, and one that required Mexico to move past its wariness in requesting support from the US Turning to the United States was also a risk for Mexico’s leadership. While the Mexican government is legitimate and stable, approaching the US could have been interpreted, both internally and externally, as a weakness or as an alignment with the powerful northern neighbor.

Another important development: For the first time both the US Congress and State Department have accepted the United States’s co-responsibility for organized crime and the violent clash of drug cartels in Mexico. Congressman David Price (D-NC), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Homeland Security, recently declared the commitment of DHS to focus on its role in helping to stem the violence, to confront its spillover and to prepare for contingencies.

Mexico’s external alliance with the US will play a crucial role in overcoming its internal conflict. Close cooperation with the United States is in the best interest of both actors. The US seeks to cease the flow of drugs into its territory and have a stable neighbor and partner in their south border. By sharing intelligence, providing training and funds and by limiting the number of guns available to drug lords, the United States could make a difference in winning this war.

Mexico must work to secure its borders and strengthen its municipal governments and police corps. The fight against corruption and reinforcing of the rule of law are also essential steps to winning this war. Structural changes in Mexico’s judicial system are urgent, and tackling the consumption of drugs in its own territory definitely has the possibility of contributing to the fall of violence in Mexico.