Republicans have heated up the rhetoric against Mexican drug cartels amid an ongoing opioid crisis in the United States.
Some candidates have called on strong military force against the cartels.
Fentanyl smuggling has recently been the primary target for many conservative voices and politicians who want to crack down on immigration on the border.
Alexander Aviña, associate professor of history at Arizona State University, is an expert on the politics of narcotics, drug wars, and state violence in Mexico.
Aviña, author of the book Specters of Revolution: Peasant Guerrillas in the Cold War Mexican Countryside, said the war on drugs in Mexico has been prevalent for years.
It traces back to when former Mexican President Felipe Calderón declared war on the cartels in 2006 has continued through multiple leaderships.
This includes current president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who famously called for “abrazos, no balazos” or “hugs, not bullets.”
Aviña said the U.S. must work with Mexico to attempt to solve the ongoing cycle of violence.
“It’s a challenge that Mexico cannot solve by itself. The demand is coming from the United States,” he said. “The weaponry, the technology of repression that empowers these drug trafficking organizations to do what they do is coming from the United States.”
Aviña said there exists a popular misconception about the way drugs are smuggled into the U.S. from Mexico.
“At least 90 to 92% of all illicit drugs (that) are smuggled into the United States are brought in through international ports of entry,” he said. “They’re hidden in big rig trucks … not (smuggled) through the Sonoran Desert.”
Tune in Jan. 19 for part 2 of our conversation with Aviña.
