Mexican Drug Cartels Continue to Evolve

The Mexican drug cartels continue to evolve. They change with the times, transcending their past to ensure a secure future, expanding to meet a growing demand, changing location when necessary, becoming violent, then scaling back again - and, of course, networking. The drug cartels are masters of our modern day phenomena, our 21st century key to success. They know how to integrate the authorities, government officials, and young men looking for a job into their fold - all this takes is money. They work seamlessly with the US weapons market, sliding weapons across borders with ease. How deep their reaches go, nobody really knows, but they are powerful entities, and more and more, looking like unstoppable entities.

The northwestern Mexican state of Durango, traditionally run by fugitive Joaquin Guzman, is now being overrun by competing cartels, such as the Gulf cartel from northeastern Mexico. With 235 deaths this year, the murder rate has gone up by 600%. Durango is asking for more troops, but can Mexico supply them? Basically, when Mexican President Felipe Calderon sends troops to one area, the cartels spread to another area. They would rather fight each other than the army, at least at this point. The military becomes over-extended, and the cost of the drug war increases. This puts Calderon and other leaders of Mexico in a predicament - face this battle head on, or do what they can to appease the cartels, quiet the violence, and let things return to how they were before.

The death toll in Mexico last year was 6,300, this year it is already at 2,300. Right now much of the killing is between the cartels, but Mexico is becoming more and more dangerous for civilians, and the economy is suffering. Don't the people deserve a higher quality of life? That's the question - why has this issue only recently become a major international issue? WIth the casualty numbers dwarfing the US deaths in Iraq in Afghanistan, this is literally a war. But who are the players, and where do interests lie?

Mexican Senator Ricardo Monreal had to step down temporarily for an investigation into ties between his family and the drug rings. 14.5 tons of marijuana were found in his brother's house, according to the Los Angeles Times. This is not surprise to a jaded public, used to corrupt politicians. How else could the drug cartels have risen to such a hight of power? Which brings us back to networking - they have mastered a perfect balance between meeting American demand, supporting the US weapons industry and working with Mexican power-players, that the only real opposition they've ever had, is each other.