Previously the largest source of marijuana and heroin to the U.S., several years ago the already hugely powerful Mexican drug cartels cut a transport deal with Columbians whereby the Mexican cartels would move all the Columbian coke bound for the U.S. in exchange for a 50 percent cut. The deal hugely increased the already vast wealth of the Mexican cartels, which move probably at least $300 billion a year into the hungry U.S. market. Considering Mexico’s official GDP will be about $1.3 trillion this year, it is clear that the cartels are inifinitely more powerful and well financed than all of Mexicos police forces and military forces combined – all the result of drug prohibition that puts vast sums into the hands of the worlds least socially desirable elements. This is also why the December 3 announcement by the Bush administration that $200 million was being released to the Mexican government to help try and fight the cartels was so laughable, a tiny sum in comparison to the cartels’ $300 billion a year. The fact is that, in places like Mexico, the criminal drug elements wield more power than governments do – a gift of America
