US-Mexico Border Drug Enforcement and Counternarcotics Strategy
This paper examines drug enforcement along the United States-Mexico border and the counternarcotics strategies employed to combat illicit trafficking. Beginning with a historical overview of the border's formation and early patrol efforts, the paper traces the evolution of drug trafficking organizations from the Caribbean corridor through Mexico and into the United States. It details the staggering volume of narcotics seized, the methods traffickers use to evade detection, and the DEA's escalating enforcement response. The paper also highlights the human dimension of the drug trade through the stories of drug mules — often desperate individuals coerced into smuggling — raising ethical and legal questions about how the justice system should distinguish between willing criminals and their unwitting dupes.
- Introduction: The U.S.-Mexico Border and the Drug Problem: Framing the border's drug enforcement challenge
- Historical Background of the Border and Early Enforcement: Border history from treaty to NAFTA and Clinton-era enforcement
- Scale and Methods of Drug Trafficking: Traffic volume and smuggling techniques at the border
- Drug Types, Trafficking Routes, and Seizure Data: Cocaine, heroin, meth, and marijuana smuggling statistics
- The Evolution of Trafficking Organizations and Enforcement Response: Shift from Caribbean to Mexico and DEA escalation
- The Human Cost: Drug Mules and Moral Implications: Stories of drug mules and ethical questions they raise
- Conclusion: Poverty, Justice, and a Broader Approach: Policy recommendations on poverty, justice, and legal differentiation
✍️ How to write this paper — guide, tools & examples ▾
What makes this paper effective
- Grounds policy analysis in concrete statistical data — seizure figures, crime reduction percentages, and traffic volume — giving the argument measurable credibility.
- Broadens the discussion beyond enforcement mechanics to include the human dimension of drug mule cases, adding ethical depth to what could otherwise be a purely procedural topic.
- Uses a well-sourced firsthand account (Orlando Tobon) to humanize abstract policy arguments and illustrate the moral complexity of prosecuting drug mules versus ringleaders.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper effectively integrates multiple source types — government fact sheets, criminology journal articles, newspaper reporting, and documentary sources — to build a layered, multi-perspective argument. This source diversity signals undergraduate-level research competence and prevents the analysis from relying solely on government or enforcement-side framing.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a framing question about border effectiveness, moves through a chronological historical overview, then shifts to empirical data on trafficking volume and methods. The middle sections trace the evolution of trafficking organizations and DEA responses. The final section pivots to the ethical and human dimension of drug mules, closing with a policy recommendation about poverty, legal differentiation, and community-level approaches. This macro-to-micro structure — from geopolitics to individual human stories — is the paper's strongest organizational feature.
Introduction: The U.S.-Mexico Border and the Drug Problem
The much-discussed border between the United States and Mexico divides two large nations across nearly 2,000 miles — but how effective is it as a barrier against illicit activity? With drugs entering the country with alarming frequency, many experts ask how this trend can be stopped. While their goals typically revolve around decreasing the amount of drugs crossing this border — most often into the U.S. states of California, Arizona, and Texas — some argue that additional measures must be considered in order to combat this ongoing crisis.
Historical Background of the Border and Early Enforcement
Predating the Age of Discovery, the region that would become the United States-Mexico border was inhabited by many different Native American tribes who had lived there for centuries. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, following the U.S.-Mexico War (1846–1847), established a definitive border between the two nations. In 1904, the first border patrol was created as a means of preventing Asian workers from entering the United States through its southern border.
In 1994, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) took effect, resulting in large population movements toward the border region. It had been promoted as a means of stimulating trade among the United States, Canada, and Mexico (PBS, 2009).
In 1996, the Clinton administration touted its success in lowering crime in the border region during that year's presidential campaign. Increased funding for border patrol, the FBI reported, decreased crime by 30% in San Diego, CA; 5% in Nogales, AZ; 14% in El Paso, TX; and 20% in Brownsville, TX. These figures, however, are disputed by some analysts. In 1998, President Bill Clinton and Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo pledged, for the first time, to pursue a joint strategy for combating drug trafficking.
References
PBS. (2009). The Border [Accompanying website]. http://www.pbs.org/kpbs/theborder/
Drug Enforcement Administration. Drug Trafficking in the United States [DEA Fact Sheet]. http://www.justice.gov/dea/pubs/state_factsheets.html
Altschuler, D., & Brounstein, P. (1992). Patterns of drug use and drug trafficking. Criminology, 29(4), 589.
Dorn, N., & South, N. (2000). Drug markets and law enforcement. The Western Journal of Criminology, 30, 171–188.
Hendricks, T. (2007, January 28). On the border: Smuggling a whole lot of drugs a little at a time. San Francisco Gate.
Sesin, C. (2004, May 25). Caring for 'drug mules' who perish on the job. MSNBC.
Already a member? Log in
Unlock the rest of this paper
135,000+ research papers · AI writing tools · Plagiarism & AI detection
7-Day Pass
Does not renew
Get 7-Day PassMonthly
Renews at $12.99/month until canceled
Start MonthlyAnnual
Renews at $99/year until canceled
Start Annual- Unlimited AI writing tools
- Plagiarism and AI text detection tool
Plan details
Unlimited AI writing tools are for individual, non-automated use and are subject to our Terms of Service and abuse-prevention measures.
TextChecker scans: 3 during the 7-Day Pass, or 5 per month with Monthly and Annual.
Prices exclude applicable tax.
Always verify citation format against your institution’s current style guide requirements.