The last time we left the Saxony Line we were relishing in the sardonic phoenix that came from the ashes of the supercouple of yesteryear, Bennifer. Whilst traversing the quondam hollywood pop culture we took a look at where the former members were these days in churlish fashion. Upon review we stumbled into the underbelly of society and touched on mobsters. So, it is from the frivolity of hollywood copulations that we move to the more serious matter of organized crime. One can only hope that we can combine them as well as Growing up Gotti.
Organized crime though is no laughing matter, especially in Latin America. In assessing the year 2011, El Salvador has shown a spike in the murder rate that marks the highest since the civil war in 1992. There were more than 4300 murders, many attributed to drug trafficking and street gangs. Over 12000 were left dead on account of the drug cartels in Mexico. Victories over the gangs can seem joyless in Latin America The Urabeños leader, Juan de Dios Usuga was killed by Colombian forces this week. But, as with many organized crime rings, the Urabeños are well poised to continue their control of the drug trade without Usaga under the leadership of his brother. Even the most stable of the Latin American nations are facing issues due to the drug traffickers. Costa Rica possess no standing army and its police have not caused a major issue for stability since 1949. But, recently its president, Laura Chinchilla recently stated that the surge in organized crime creates the biggest threat to democracy the country has ever seen.
Moving forward people have put up a number of ideas. The first and most visible involve the war on drugs. Many people have claimed this to be a failure because of the high percentage of incarcerated men and women for simple possession crimes. While this may cause a burden on the State it does not mean that crime should go unpunished. Others have suggested that the border wall will do wonders in the fight against drug trafficking. New sophisticated tunnels will prove this option fruitless. Also, the Great Wall in China didn't manage to keep invaders out and there is little hope that we'll get it right this time. But, the most destructive suggestion in my opinion is to legalize the drugs and remove the incentive for the crime groups. Legalizing drugs however would only create different problems. Drugs are harmful. Marijuana may not cause as many problems as alcohol, but this is not a good argument. It just deepens our understanding of the problems with substance abuse.
Obviously something has got to change. Creating more viable lives in the countries where the drugs are grown and trafficked would be a start. However, free trade does not solve all problems. Nor does Education. They do however help. Giving people purpose and resources to achieve that purpose will bring about, albeit slowly, culture shift. The allure for easy money is too great to stop. But, the legalization route will only push the crime groups into new fields and then there will be people suffering from substance abuse that might not have otherwise. Drugs are a global problem, not a Latin American one. The countries that use the vast majority of the drugs must do more to stymie the desire for them in their countries. They must also work with the governments of the countries that produce the drugs. The countries that produce the drugs must have governments willing to work with more developed countries to stop the production. Of course this is all vague, but each case has to be handled based on its own variables. A simple solution does not exist. The more time wasted looking for such an answer will only cause the problem to grow. But a collective effort by all interested parties could slowly work to change hearts and minds whilst overpowering the gangs.
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