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Omar Petty
Professor Malcolm Campbell
UWRT 1103
9/27/16
More Homeruns than Strikeouts: Mexican Drug War
Introduction/Overview
I will be examining the reasons that allow the Mexican drug cartels to get away with their
crimes and how the DEA and government cant just come in to stop the madness. The Mexican
cartels are still thriving in the country and the United States. They are bringing in drugs from all
over the country and shipping to different parts of the world, not limited to North America.
According to The Huffington Post, cartels are shipping as far as Europe now. This crisis has been
going on for decades. The Mexican government isnt helping either by not being able to control
this issue. They are so corrupt and scared that some things will just never change. The demand
for drugs has increased so the cartels are working just as hard to meet that demand.
Even though the drug war isnt blasted all over the news in the United States, it still is
going on. Tons and tons of drugs are being brought into America daily. Many people put their
lives on the line each day in trying to bust one more drug dealer and get them off the streets.
Officials were celebrating as the homicide numbers decreased from 2011-2014, but as 2015 came
around, the number had increased by almost 8% according to national reporter, Roque Planas.
(Huffington Post) The current Mexican President, Enrique Pena Nieto, is on track to seeing more
homicides than former President Calderon, who was arguably the most corrupt leader Mexico
has seen in decades. Many newspaper websites have been very helpful in this process of locating
information on this subject. NY Times, The Huffington Post, LA Times, CNN, Quora, and

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Forbes have helped out tremendously. It helps that the reporters do not generally have the same
story because of the amount of information on the subject. Mr. Campbell has been a good
resource when I feel like I dont know where to begin and he got the gears turning. Some people
say cartels will continue forever and some say it can be stopped. How? I know there are DEA
agents that want to just walk in and take over because they know where things are happening but
they cant, simply because the United States doesnt have jurisdiction in Mexico. US
Congressmen, the DEA, Mexican Congressmen, and Council on Foreign Relations are all
involved to name a few.
Initial Inquiry Question(s)
Why cant we stop the drug cartels?
My Interest in this Topic
I first became interested in drug cartels after I had recently watched the Netflix series, Narcos. It
was very interesting to me that one person could control so many people and have so much
power, and be a drug dealer. I already know that there is a lot of money to be made in this
business and that also means competition. Competition sometimes get heated and that leads to
other things getting heated, such as gun barrels. I hope to learn how the drug kingpins are always
one step ahead of the government.
Next Steps
I will use the librarys database to search for sources that will help me. I will also try to get ahold
of newspaper websites from Mexico and more national websites in the United States. I also will
watch videos of news reporters from Mexico that have encountered and lived where this
happens.
I like and am very interested in your topic, I know a lot of people that also watch Narcos and I
am about to start it myself. I think you are heading in the right direction, I would just go into

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more depth on somethings. Like Jared mentioned, more about Americas involvement and what
we are going to help stop or contain the cartel, maybe too more information about Mexico. Go
into the corruption of government, and how they are basically turning their back to the cartel.
Also, listing more facts about the cartel, such as how much money they make, I think will help
show the control they have.

You could also discuss Americas involvement in the drug war, specifically operation Fast and
Furious in the 2000s, as this could add to the controversiality of your topic. Overall, it is a very
interesting topic, and I think theres a lot to work with. Adding statistics (such as the amount of
currency in circulation in these cartels, the amount of deaths, etc) will add a shock factor that can
add to this dispute.