Law enforcement strategies for prosecuting Los Zetas and international organized crime

Organized Crime Fighting

Organized crime, and more specifically, international organized crime (IOC) present very serious and long lasting problems for law enforcement units in many ways. The manner in which the laws are constructed within the United States presents unique and specific problems that make this duty very difficult to perform. The purpose of this essay is to identify and explain in detail the law enforcement strategies, tools and Federal Statutes available for prosecuting and punishing ICO elements such as Los Zetas and other drug running foreign crime cabals. This essay will explain how these tools can be used effectively in an investigation and prosecution of this criminal enterprise and summarize the key aspects that apply to such an endeavor.

Situation

Los Zetas is a Mexican crime syndicate and is one of the most powerful and dangerous in the world and the fact that the group contains a sophisticated set of individuals makes it even more threatening to the U.S. And to the world as a whole. In contrast to other Mexican criminal groups, Los Zetas are not only focused on the illegal drug industry, as they also make a lot of their profits by using force as a means to force individuals that might slow down their activities. This type of organization is a fine example of the problems that are associated with organized crime and the peculiar circumstance law enforcement officials must address in order to successfully apply the law.

The problem arises due to many factors but unfortunately some of them can not be addressed by law enforcement alone. Organized crime is a social issue and requires a contribution from all aspects of society. Street crimes are easily understood and generally rather visible. Organized crimes involving governmental corruption, business fraud, bid rigging and price fixing, price overcharging, stock and bond manipulations, computer hacking, etc., etc. are rather invisible and require audits, specialized skills, precise investigations of financial transactions and a corresponding grasp of complex accounting and business matters.

Public demand for the drugs and services that Los Zetas provides for its customer base is a substantial obstacle in enforcing laws that apply to this group. Since the hunger and demand for the drugs that this group produces is so strong, law enforcement officials are actually up against human nature itself and the insatiable demands that such narcotics have on the human psyche.

Another problem with this situation deals in the magnitude of the problem. These cases take many years to solve and require many working hours and a tireless attitude towards success.

The police departments as a whole are under pressure from the public to produce results on a visible, continuing, immediate basis. Individual promotions also generally depend upon an ability to turn over large numbers of cases. Street crimes provide an opportunity to meet that need. Organized crime cases do not, and many literally take years to develop. Department budgets and individual promotion are simply not geared to reward organized crime investigative activity.

Strategic Outlook

In April 2008, The U.S. Department of Justice produce some strategic guidance to help law enforcement officials combat the pervasive nature of organized crime. Within this guide is a four priority framework that helps targets certain aspects of an International criminal investigation into organized crime. These four areas include:

Marshall Information and Intelligence

Prioritize and Target The Most Significant Threat

Attack from All Angles

Utilize enterprise theory to exploit multi-layered prosecutions.

This formula is helpful in aligning the strategic goals of the law enforcement agency witht the actural environment on the ground. While this is a fine starting point to begin prosecuting organized crime, there are still many challenges and obstacles that must be addressed once the strategic outlook is firmly implemented.

The Future Landscape of Fighting and Prosecuting International Organized Crime

Calm heads and a clear and open political strategy are two necessary components of successful organizations and their fight against organized crime outfits. The future is very complex and unknown and for law enforcement officials to stay on top of things, it will require hard work and new understandings about human behavior and emotion.

Finklea,(2010) raised other important issues in her congressional report. She wrote "Organized crime could weaken the economy with illegal activities (such as cigarette trafficking and tax evasion scams) that result in a loss of tax revenue for state and federal governments. This is particularly of issue given the current state of the country's economic health. Fraudulent activities in domains such as strategic commodities, credit, insurance, stocks, securities and investments could further weaken the already-troubled financial market." The onus falls on the ability of law enforcement officials to come together and bind their forces together to make a complete and useful case that proves beyond a shadow of doubt what the organized crime element is accomplishing.

In the end, organized crime is a total war, where law enforcement officials must gather all resources to successfully win. Organized crime and large crime families such as Los Zetas Can be eliminated and significantly eradicated with a combined effort that synthesizes the many local and federal laws that can be made to apply. When a concerted effort is realized, then the prosecution into these groups will bear much fruit and can guarantee the privlages and benefits the American way has provided.