Research MethodsProfessor McDowell-Smith

Introduction:
We will be studying the illegal drug trade that is happening on the Mexican/US border.
The war on drugs has heightened over the years due to the demand of illegal substances such as
cocaine and heroin. We will be studying how the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) operates and
deals with the circumstances that occur when drugs are illegally trafficked through the country.
The war on drugs is an important topic to study because it has been affecting the United
States for decades. Richard Nixon officially declared the War on Drugs on June 18, 1971, where
he stated to Congress that drug abuse was "enemy number one" ("Richard Nixon: Special
Message to the Congress on Drug Abuse Prevention and Control."). In today's society, Mexican
cartels rule the drug trade that is coming through the boarders of Southern California, Arizona,
New Mexico, and Texas. The DEA is an important addition to our law enforcement because the
amount of drugs that are being smuggled in at it's all time highest and the death toll associated
with the Mexican cartels have sky-rocketed. The DEA is specially trained to deal with situations
involving the use, transportation, and seizing of drugs.
The study of illegal drug trade along the Southwest Border has both a theoretical and
practical significance. For such a long period of time law enforcement agencies from all over
have gained such intelligence that has been forced to grow with todays fast pace society. The
DEA along with the FBI have already put forth so much effort at all levels into attacking all the
possible trafficking and production of these illicit drugs. Following the procedures for the DEA
and FBI, there are officers and detectives working along both sides of the border to make sure
the flow and power of drugs leaving Mexico seizes. There is no other country in the world other
than Mexico that has the biggest impact on the United States drug situation. It is estimated that
approximately 18-39 billion dollars annually is moved from the interior of the U.S. to the
Southwest border on behalf of Mexican and Colombian DTOs."("Drug Trafficking Violence in

Mexico: Implications for the United States") This study on drugs along the Mexican border treats
familiar material in a new way as well as challenges what we already know about the War on
Drugs. We will extend the existing knowledge into more in-depth and expand intelligence on
why exactly this is happening.
Research Question:
With all the effort to stop the war on drugs occurring in Mexico, what are future
implications that the DEA is looking into to eliminate the amount of drugs being trafficked into
the United States?
Literature Review:
Introduction:
Law enforcement (policing) broadly refers to any system by which some members of
society act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discover, deterring, rehabilitating, or
punishing people who violate the rules and norms governing that society. (Law Enforcement
Definition) The war on drugs is an important topic to study because it has been affecting the
relationship between the United States and Mexico for decades. Within President Richard
Nixons term he had officially declared the War on Drugs on June 17, 1971. Nixon stated to
Congress that drug abuse was "enemy number one" ("Richard Nixon's: Special Message to the
Congress on Drug Abuse Prevention and Control."). In today's society, Mexican cartels rule the
drug trade that is coming through the borders of Southern California, Arizona, New Mexico, and
Texas. The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) is an extremely important aspect to law
enforcement, especially when dealing with life and death situations involving illegal drug use.
Massive amounts of drugs that are being smuggled into the United States is at its all-time highest
and the death toll associated with the Mexican cartels have skyrocketed. The DEA is specially

trained to deal with situations involving the use, transportation, and seizing of drugs. The study
of illegal drug trade along the Southwest Border has both a theoretical and practical significance.
The DEA along with the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) have already put forth so much
effort at all levels into attacking all the possible trafficking and production of these illicit drugs.
Agents and officers from the DEA and FBI have been working along both sides of the Mexican
border to make sure the flow and power of drugs leaving Mexico seizes. There is no other
country in the world other than Mexico that has the biggest impact on the United States drug
situation. This study on drugs along the Mexican border treats familiar material in a new way as
well as challenges what we already know about the War on Drugs.
Definitions:
The War on Drugs is still being dealt with in todays society and has become one of the
biggest problems within the United States of America. The War on Drugs is a series of actions
tending toward a prohibition of illegal drug trade. It is a campaign adopted by the U.S.
government along with the foreign military aid and with the assistance of participating countries,
to both define and to end the import, manufacture, sale, and use of illegal drugs. This initiative
includes a set of U.S. drug policies that are proposed to discourage the production, distribution,
and consumption of illegal psychoactive drugs.("War on Drugs Law & Legal Definition")
When it comes to trying to eliminate drugs being brought over the border the Drug
Enforcement Administration (DEA) is a part of the U.S. Department of Justice which regulates
interstate commerce in prescription drugs to prevent them from being used as drugs of
abuse.(DEA) The DEA focuses on finding illicit drugs. Illicit drugs use includes the
nonmedical use of a variety of drugs that are prohibited by international law. These drugs
include: amphetamine- type stimulants, cannabis, cocaine, heroin and other opioids, and MDMA

(ecstasy). Along with the DEA the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) is the domestic
intelligence and security service of the United States, which simultaneously serves as the nation's
prime Federal law enforcement organization. ("About Us").
Drug trafficking generally refers to the sale and distribution of illegal drugs. Under the
federal sentencing guidelines, a "drug trafficking offense as an offense under federal, state, or
local law that prohibits the manufacture, import, export, distribution, or dispensing of a
controlled substance (or a counterfeit substance) or the possession of a controlled substance (or a
counterfeit substance) with intent to manufacture, import, export, distribute, or dispense. ("Drug
Trafficking Law & Legal Definition"). Drug cartels are included with drug trafficking because it
is any criminal organization developed with the primary purpose of promoting and controlling
drug trafficking operations. They range from loosely managed agreements among various drug
traffickers to formalized commercial enterprises. (Drug Trafficking Organizations - National
Drug Threat Assessment 2010). Within the U.S., Mexico, and mostly Central America there are
drug trafficking organizations (DTO) which are complex organizations with highly defined
command-and-control structures that produce, transport, and/or distribute large quantities of one
or more illicit drugs. ((U) Drug Trafficking Organizations))
The Mexican-United States Border is where all illicit drugs are being trafficked through.
It is an international boundary running from Tijuana, Baja California, and Imperial Beach,
California in the west to Matamoros, Tamaulipas, and Brownsville, Texas in the east. It is the
most frequently crossed international boundary in the world, with approximately 350 million
legal crossings being made annually. The total length of the continental border is 1,954 miles
(3,145 km). (Zaanta). The drug route from Colombia to United States is typically made from
the West side of the country, a boat or plane will be used to carry drugs over the Pacific Ocean

into Mexico where different strategies are used to get the drugs into the United States such as
human transportation, underground paths, or hidden compartments in vehicles that cross the
border.
Outline:
When trying to seize the transportation of illicit drugs from one major country to another,
there are four major themes that specifically fit into the war on drugs from Mexico to the U.S.
Theme one that will be discussed and analyzed carefully is drug trafficking and drug traffic
organizations. The second theme to recognize and take action about is the amount of violence
that is in Mexico. There have been many attempts in order to stop trafficking along the border of
Mexico and U.S. The next theme, theme three, explains border control and the strategy
implications that have and are being made. Lastly, theme four will be providing information
about the collaboration between Mexico and the United States and what solutions have been
found and what are the future implications that the DEA is looking into to eliminate the amount
of illegal drugs that are being trafficked into the country. The articles relating to theme ones
topic, overall, all connect to the drug trafficking organizations and networks that are located
within Mexico. The background and scope of drug trafficking is recognized as well as the
challenges, conflicts, and competition amongst DTOs, and the overall traffic and illegal
production of these illicit drugs.
Violence in Mexico is growing dramatically each and every day involving the
transportation of drugs. In theme two, the statistics of the violence rate as well as violence
spillover, characteristics of increased violence, and the rise of cartel drug leaders over the years
are all intertwined when trying to find the best solution in eliminating drug trafficking that causes
the factor of violence. Border control through the DEA and local law enforcement agencies have

improved greatly over the years. In addition, theme three describes interagency initiatives, as
well as strategies, operational, and tactical levels of conflict along the border. The United States
has implicated strategies against Mexican drug cartels, including the internationalizations of the
DEA in Mexico and the open markets-closed border idea developed between U.S. and Mexico.
Collaboration between the divided countries has been one of the most difficult problems to
overcome. Seeking possible solutions each and every day, theme four interprets solving border
security together, along with finding an ultimate balance and a fulcrum in the United States and
Mexico. For each theme that we figured out we split it up and listed what each article talks about
and then split it up even more and categorized the focal points mentioned into four different
themes. This process was most definitely time consuming, however it had to be done in order to
identify the themes.
Theme 1: Drug Trafficking and Organizations
No other country in the world has a greater impact on the drug situation in the United
States that does Mexico (Perkins). There has been a long history in Mexico of smuggling illicit
drugs over the shared border and the four main drugs of abuse consist of marijuana, heroin,
cocaine, and methamphetamine, where they are all produced and transported to the United
States. In total, around eighteen to thirty nine billion dollars is moved from within the U.S. to the
border and it is all because of Mexican drug traffic organizations.
The depth of Mexican DTOs extends as early as the twentieth century and by the year of
1991, Mexico reportedly accounted for an estimated 300-350 tons of cocaine and roughly a
third of all heroin and marijuana imported in the United States. (Shirk). The problem today
though is that law enforcement is focusing exclusively on dealing with drugs and the
organizations that they are forgetting about the more sensible alternatives. Curbing the demand

for drugs is a huge problem we are facing and perhaps the number of causal drugs is diminishing,
however the number of heavy users has not and is continuing to grow. DTOs are full of
corruption and when corruption seems to fail the operation, violence is right there as an
alternative. The need for power in organizations is at its highest rate in recent years.
Diversification of DTOs has become one of the hardest dilemmas for the DEA other law
enforcement agencies to solve. People contend that diversification signals that U.S. and
Mexican drug enforcement measures are cutting into profits from drug trafficking, or constitutes
a response to shifting U.S. drug consumption patterns.(Beittel) Not only have these
organizations stuck to producing illicit drugs, they also conduct crimes such as kidnapping,
automobile theft, prostitution involvement, and assassins for hire.
A shift in drug trafficking and organizations has been needed for a very long time now.
The expansion of both are only getting bigger and the institutionalized denial of it all portrays
both fundamental misreading of the problem as well as unworkable strategies for dealing with it.

Theme 2: Violence within Mexico

Understanding and knowing the culture and background of violence is an important
aspect that all should engage in. When dealing with the massive growth of violence in Mexico,
there are three general categories. Intra-cartel violence, inter-cartel violence, and cartel versusgovernment violence are the main categories that the FBI and DEA investigate. The DEA and
FBI assesses that the current surge in violence is driven in large measure by the GOMs proactive
actions against the traffickers, along with other variables, such as cartel on cartel violence.
(Perkins) The basic information that we must know is that drug gangs in Mexico and also the
United States are inherently violent. It has been gathered that Mexican DTOs use violence as a

tool to threaten public support for the governments counter-drug efforts. The violence present
today is more likely to be shown on public display of the gruesome killings that traffickers
commit with the intent that they will intimidate not only the government, but the public
community as well. Research shows that murders committed by the traffickers are usually out of
acts of desperation. By deploying thousands upon thousands of military troops, as well as
investigators to scope out hot spots, has greatly disturbed supply routes that are in as well as out
of Mexico causing strong alliances of gangs to be broken up. This disturbance has caused an
extreme competition between DTOs who still control certain routes and others who want to have
control of them.
Violence that is related to organizations and drug trafficking has been more than brutal
and clearly apparent in dispersed areas in and around Mexico. According to analysis by
University of San Diegos Trans-Border Institute (TBI), 84% of Mexicos municipalities have
been affected in some way by organized crime violence (with only 16% violence free) and over
time violence has spread to a larger number of municipalities. (Kellner) Mexico and the United
States are undergoing a national security problem due to excessive violence by the cartels.
Pertaining to the spillover violence entails deliberate, planned attacks by the cartels on the U.S.
assets, including civilian, military, or law enforcement officials, innocent U.S. citizens, or
physical institutions such as government buildings, consulates, or businesses. (Perkins)
However these spillover violence effects are not included with trafficker on trafficker violence.
Spillover violence is known to be a very complicated matter to comprehend. Most of the problem
that lies within this affect is caused by the younger-generation DTOs, and since they are rather
young to be in these organizations, they are less rational to deal with and only care about the
profit off their drugs.

Within recent years, collectively, the DEA and FBI created an Operation Knockdown that
consisted of more than two hundred federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. (Dell)
Included in this operation was an interview of more than three hundred Barrio Azteca gang
members. The goal that the FBI and DEA were trying to succeed in consisted of gathering the
FBIs top ten fugitives location. The knowledge that was gained from this operation led to many
arrests as well as retrieving items of documentary evidence. All in all, this intensified the amount
of law enforcement pressure and are able to gather information directly from big time gang
members.
Theme 3: Border Controls and Strategy Implications
Over the years, both Mexican and American forces have gone to great lengths to limit the
amount of illegal drugs that are being smuggled into the United States. A main focus for both
sides of the countrys law enforcement is the safety of the citizens, which have been put in
harms way by the cartels whose main focus is making money. A problem Mexico has faced over
the years has been the corruption within local law enforcement. Federal law enforcement officers
have been working closely with the local officials to find where the corrupted officers are. One
strategy that was used by Mexican President Felipe Calderon was the replacement of state and
local police by military forces in areas that were deemed the most violence-plagued in the
country to end the corruption brought on by the local police. DEA and the FBI are agencies with
global reach who work vigorously with law enforcement counterparts in both the United States
and Mexico to address the violence in Mexico through joint investigations and the sharing of
intelligence (Perkins).
Another strategy that has been used on both sides of the border was the Concealment
Trap Initiative. The CTI targets those vital service providers who build concealed trap

compartments or use natural voids in vehicles or other conveyances and residences for DTOs to
conceal bulk cash or other contraband. These drug traffickers notice that bulk currency is
automatically seized as well as it being easily given up when discovered by law enforcement
authorities. In order to prevent this and turn it completely around, drug traffickers employ a
myriad of techniques, including the use of concealment traps, to impede and frustrate law
enforcements efforts to discover and seize illicit drug proceeds. The Concealment Trap
Initiative addresses the challenge of helping law enforcement officers and agents keep up with
the technology behind these traps, including training them to identify and locate the traps, and
establish probable cause toward obtaining a search warrant or consent to search the vehicle or
residence in which the trap is located. (Perkins) The DEA put an approximately three million
dollars worth of work into this program. In 2009 when they first used this initiative they ended
up seizing over twenty eight million dollars worth of illicit drugs and weapons.
Theme 4: Collaboration between U.S. and Mexico; Finding S18olutions
Over the last 15 years, Mexicos government collaboration with U.S agencies such as the
DEA and FBI has helped adapt to the advanced methods being used by cartels to smuggle drugs
into the country. The DEAs influence within Mexico has been consequential in two main ways:
The Mexican government and its antidrug policies and on the organization and practice of drug
trafficking in Mexico. The presence of foreign police may be accepted, but virtually never the
legal authority that underpins them in their own country (University Park, 1993). The key to
operational success for the FBI and DEA is the collection and sharing of intelligence with the
Mexican government.

In the United States, at any given time there are about seven hundred FBI agents and out
of those seven hundred, approximately one hundred and twenty of them work directly along the
Southwestern border working against public corruption. (Stewart) Other agencies that work
alongside the FBI are the agents of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protections (CBP), and the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and they all work towards a common goal: keep the
United States and its citizens safe. Homeland Security and the Department of Justice within
Texas have been working with local law enforcement in fighting the movement of cartels in at
least nine distinctive ways, which are: 1. Enhancing information sharing and coordination of
intelligence collection, analysis and dissemination. 2. Expanding the scope, quality and
timeliness of actionable information and intelligence shared among partners. 3. Employing
enhanced technology and training to support interdiction efforts. 4. Improving technology to
screen vehicles and cargo, the use of cameras for surveillance, license plate readers at POEs and
elsewhere, and biometric identification systems. 5. Increasing cooperation with Mexican
counterparts. 6. Working on law enforcement and prosecutorial cooperation on both sides of the
border. 7. Stemming the southbound flow of cash out of the U.S. into Mexico and countering all
forms of money laundering. 8. Interdicting illegal weapons shipments destined for Mexico. 9.
Working to strengthen domestic coordination and cooperation on both money laundering and
weapons investigations (McCaffrey).
Conclusion:
Overall, organizations, drug trafficking, and the immense amount of violence in Mexico
is continuing to spiral out of control. From the past to todays time, we can notice that there have

been implications that the FBI and DEA made, however as crime rates in violence continue to
grow each year and power hungry traffickers increase, than there must be more done. There are
an increasing number of law enforcement agents who are being sent out in order to try and
eliminate the amount of illicit drugs that are crossing the border of Mexico and the United States.
Strategies of taking out the powerful drug trafficking organizations have worked tremendously in
breaking up alliances, but there are still improvements being looked into in order to prevent
young, immature traffickers from stepping up and creating more violence. Preventing DTOs and
drug trafficking from actually happening is a very hard concept to understand. This is one of the
hardest situations that the DEA and FBI are dealing with, however there must be more
knowledge gained to figure out any possible solution.
Diversity between groups and within Mexico and the U.S. in general, has caused chaos in
such an intense measure where the law enforcement does not know what to do next. When it
comes to amount of violence in Mexico, it is just outrageous to see all the crimes that
organizations commit, all because they simply feel the need to. Every time that the FBI and DEA
figure out a new strategy, traffickers react in desperation trying to intimidate not only the law
enforcement, but the community as well. Progress must be made when it comes to dealing with
the themes of drug trafficking, organizations, and violence within Mexico. A vital need for the
elimination of all three elements is continuing to be looked into and worked on by the DEA, FBI,
and other law enforcement agencies.
The two countries have worked aside each other for years due to the aggressive demand
for illegal drugs. With new technology, cartels have gone to great lengths to beat the systems in
getting their product into the United States. Cartels risk everything, including the lives of those
trafficking drugs to gain money. Drugs are the third most smuggled item in the world, as it is a

billion dollar industry, not only from the U.S. Mexico border, but world-wide; however the
impact that Mexicos drug trade on the United States is much worse than other countries are
facing. With a long border that stretches almost 2,000 miles, law enforcement on both sides have
tightened restrictions along with improving techniques in the search of cars, trains, and buses
coming from either side.
Research Design Method:
Sampling Population:
For our sampling population we will be using two categories of sampling, families and
agents. The spectrum of families goes as far as family members who are directly involved in the
trafficking organizations and those that have been affected by drug trafficking such as victims
and the families of agents. As far as agents go, The Federal Bureau of Investigations, The Drug
Enforcement Agency, Border Patrol, and any local law enforcement agencies within both the
United States and Mexico will be included in our sample.
Variables:
Our variables for this topic include the agents working against drug trafficking, the types
of drugs being trafficked into the country and the programs that are being developed to help
lower the amount of illegal drugs being brought into the United States. The agents are a variable
in this situation because there are multiple law enforcement agencies working against the
Mexican drug cartels. The DEA and other agencies confiscate many different types of drugs that
are being brought over such as cocaine, marijuana, heroin, and methamphetamine which is why
the types of drugs will also be included in our variables. Lastly, the programs that both the
United States and Mexican governments have been working on are an important variable
because the two countries have been working alongside one another to develop effective methods

and programs that are being used to minimize and hopefully end the amount of illegal drugs that
are being trafficked throughout the country.
Research Method:
The method in which we will be using to ask questions to our sampling population will
be used through a series of surveys such as self-reports and questionnaires that will be given to
both families and agents. Another way that we will be testing our research question is through
interviews where prior research has been done regarding certain programs that will be implicated
or improved upon. The purpose of using a survey as one of the methods is because there are
many different types of questions that we will be able to use. Some types of questions that we
will ask both sampling populations consist of open- ended, close-ended, contingency, and matrix
questions. When it comes to the self-reports within the surveys, these will be used as a dominant
method for studying the etiology of crime, so in our case, studying the frequency, type of crime
committed, and the prevalence of the drugs along the border of the U.S and Mexico.
Discussion/Implications:
We believe the impact of our results will be have a positive outlook on the agencies
because the surveys can help those of high power understand what its like to be directly
involved in the war on drugs and the problems with illegal drugs being trafficked over the border.
Another impact our surveys will cause will be within future implications of rules, policies, and
techniques in the way our country deals with the problems the United States is facing along the
Southwestern border. These surveys can help the government in finding ways to improve
problems in a realistic sense by gathering information directly from those working along the
border. Our results would be informative because they will be an overview of every possible
solution to the questions asked within the survey. These results will be the absolute best way to

help out not only the law enforcement agencies but the community of people that are working
along both sides of the border. Directly dealing with the families affected by drug trafficking and
organizations survey, there possibly could be some anonymous intel given from these families
that will help to eliminate some of the drug trafficking and specific cartels. If all the information
given is collectively put together than there will be a direct pathway of where to begin with the
implications that FBI and DEA agents will need to look into.

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Andreas, Peter. "U. S.: Mexico: Open Markets, Closed Border." Foreign Policy 103
(1996): 51. U.S.-Mexico: Open Markets, Closed Border. ABI/INFORM Global, 1 July 1996.
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Astorga, Luis, and David A. Shirk. "Drug Trafficking Organizations and Counter-Drug
Strategies in the U.S.-Mexican Context." EScholarship. 2010. Web. 29 Sept. 2015.
Beittel, June S. "Mexico's Drug Trafficking Organizations: Source and Scope of the
Rising Violence." Congressional Research Service. 8 June 2012. Web. 29 Sept. 2015.
Dell, Melissa. "Trafficking Networks and the Mexican Drug War ." Trafficking
Networks and the Mexican Drug War (2011): 1-58. Job Market Paper. Google Scholar, 1
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Cartels: Flawed and Uncertain. The Heritage Foundation, 26 Apr. 2010. Web. 5 Oct. 2015.
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Survey Questions Appendix:

Agents Survey
1. How long have you been working within law enforcement?
a. 0-5 years
b. 6-10 years
c. 11-15 years
d. 16 +
2. What is your direct role while working along the Southwest border?

3. What drugs do you most commonly see being smuggle over the border into the United States?
a. Cocaine
b. Marijuana
c. Heroin
d. Methamphetamine
e. Other
4. The current programs that are in effect throughout law enforcement agencies have shown
progress within eliminating the amount of drugs being smuggled over the Southwestern border.
a. Strongly Agree
b. Agree
c. Strongly Disagree
d. Disagree
e. Undecided
5. What future program implications could be made to eliminate drugs being smuggled across the
border?
Families Involving Agents Survey
1. How long has a member within your family been working with law enforcement?

1.
2.
3.
4.

0-5 years
6-10 years
11-15 years
16+

2.) How have their duties regarding their work impacted your home life? (Open-ended)

3.) From an agent being in your family, have you ever felt like you have been put at risk due to
their involvement in law enforcement?
a.) Yes
b.) No
-If yes, explain what caused you to feel that way and what the solution to your problem
was.

4.) How comfortable are you and your family with knowing that your lives could potentially be
put at risk due to the field they work in?
a.) Discontent
b.) Content
c.) Comfortable
5.) Regarding the little information that the agents are allowed to give out, how does that affect
your family life at home? (Open-ended)

a.) Have you ever been told information you know you shouldnt have actually known?
-Yes
-No

Families Affected by Drug Trafficking and Organizations Survey

1.) How has your family been affected by the law enforcement?
1. Highly Positive
2. Positive

3. Negative
4. Highly negative
5. Unaffected
Please explain your experience.
2.) How long has your family been involved with drug trafficking organizations?
a.) 0-4 years
b.) 5-9 years
c.) 10-14 years
d.) 15+

3.) How did your family get involved with working with/for drug cartels?

4.) How comfortable are you and your family with knowing that your lives could potentially be
put at risk due to the cartels?
a.) Discontent
b.) Content
c.) Comfortable
5.) Regarding the little information that the agents are allowed to give out, how does that affect
your family life at home? (Open-ended)

a.) Have you ever been told information you know you shouldnt have actually known?
-Yes
-No