The Washington Post ran an article on May 14 by Nick Miroff and William Booth about Enrique Peña Nieto, the front-runner in Mexico’s upcoming presidential election. The article centers on the fact that few Mexican voters and political analysts on both sides of the US-Mexico border have much of a sense about the man known … Continue reading
Tag Archives: Mexico
Another Example of Why the United States Will Never “Win” Its War on Drugs
The United States is most assuredly not winning the war on drugs. Anyone who tells you otherwise is woefully uninformed or playing politics. The most recent example of how badly the United States is losing this war can be evidenced by its decision to adopt counter-measures to the Mexican drug cartels’ newspaper advertisement campaign. I … Continue reading
A Lesson for Future Mexican Presidential Candidates
Last week I stood by my earlier prediction that the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) will return to the Mexican Presidency in July’s election, which I believe will be won by Enrique Peña Nieto. This Monday, the Parametria firm published a poll indicating that Peña Nieto has an 18-point lead over the incumbent National Action Party’s … Continue reading
Formal Criminal Alliances Pose a Major Security Threat to the Americas
A recent report from Guatemalan authorities focuses on a formal alliance between two major criminal entities: the Mexican Zetas cartel and the Mara Salvatrucha (MS) street gang that operates throughout Central and North America. Informal and temporary alliances are often formed between criminal groups, but this is the first report of a formal alliance. Such … Continue reading
Mexico: 3 months away from the election of Enrique Peña Nieto
Mexico’s Presidential Election is less than two months away, and it appears that Enrique Peña Nieto of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) will be the winner. Peña Nieto is a young, charismatic former Mexico State governor. His competition for the Mexican presidency is Josefina Vásquez Mota of the National Action Party (PAN) and Andres Manuel … Continue reading
Latin American Drug Legalization and US National Security
True to form, the American media has continued its focus on domestic politics leading up to the November presidential election. So far, the GOP primary and the fallout from Rush Limbaugh’s comments about Georgetown University law student Sandra Fluke have dominated this week’s media attention. Lost in this news coverage were Vice President Joe Biden’s … Continue reading
No, CNN, Mexico’s drug strategy is not working…
Last week CNN ran a column by Mariano Castillo entitled “Is Mexico’s’ drug war strategy working?” as part of a continuing series about the ongoing conflict in Mexico. My response to that question would be an emphatic “no, Mexico’s drug war strategy is not working!” Castillo’s article begins by noting that “on paper” the Mexican … Continue reading
The Gulf of America?
Somewhere, Hank Hill, the patriotic star of Fox’s King of the Hill, is smiling. If Mississippi State Rep. Steve Holland (Democrat) has his way (and his legislation passes) part of the Gulf of Mexico that borders Mississippi will be renamed the “Gulf of America.” If the bill (HB 150) passes, the renaming would occur on … Continue reading
2012 Mexican Presidential Election Primer
Mexico’s three main political parties have selected their respective candidates for the July 1, 2012 presidential contest. The favorite appears to be Enrique Peña Nieto, the former governor of the state of Mexico, from the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). The PRI dominated Mexican politics for over 70 years until 2000, when it failed to win … Continue reading
The War Next Door
It is not a surprise for most people to hear that Mexico has a drug problem. International news has covered stories regarding mass murders, kidnappings, and torturing of Mexican citizens, government leaders and military troops in Mexico by numerous drug cartels. While multiple countries are responsible for the supply of the illegal drugs brought into … Continue reading
Policy Interns 