Illicit drugs Mexico remains a transit and not a
cocaine production country.
Methamphetamine and
cannabis production do take place in Mexico and are responsible for an estimated 80% of the methamphetamine on the streets in the United States, while 1,100 metric tons of marijuana are smuggled each year from Mexico. In 1990 just over half the cocaine imported into the U.S. came through Mexico, by 2007 that had risen to more than 90 percent, according to
U.S. State Department estimates. Although violence between
drug cartels has been occurring long before the war began, the government used its police forces in the 1990s and early first decade of the 21st century with little effect. That changed on December 11, 2006, when newly elected
President Felipe Calderón sent 6,500 federal troops to the state of
Michoacán to put an end to drug violence there. This action is regarded as the first major retaliation made against cartel operations, and is generally viewed as the starting point of the
war between the government and the drug cartels. As time progressed, Calderón continued to escalate his anti-drug campaign, in which there are now well over 25,000 troops involved. It is estimated that during 2006, there were about 2,000 drug-related violent deaths, about 2,300 deaths during 2007, and more than 6,200 people by the end of 2008. Many of the dead were gang members killed by rivals or by the government, some have been bystanders. Drug trafficking is acknowledged as an issue with shared responsibilities that requires coordinated measures by the U.S. and Mexico. In March 2009,
United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, when
officially visited Mexico City, stated that:
Illegal migration Almost a third of all immigrants in the U.S. were born in Mexico, being the source of the greatest number of both authorized (20%) and unauthorized (56%) migrants who come to the U.S. every year. Since the early 1990s, Mexican immigrants are no longer concentrated in California, the Southwest, and
Illinois, but have been coming to new gateway states, including New York,
North Carolina,
Georgia,
Nevada, and Washington, D.C., in increasing numbers. Furthermore,
Amnesty International has taken concern regarding the excessive brutality inflicted upon illegal immigrants, which includes beatings, sexual assault, denial of medical attention, and denial of food, water and warmth for long periods. For many years, the
Mexican government showed limited interest in the issues. However, former
President Vicente Fox actively sought to recognize the
contribution of migrants to the U.S. and Mexico and to pursue a bilateral migration agreement with the
U.S. government, which eventually failed. The administration of
Felipe Calderón had placed an emphasis on how to create jobs in Mexico, enhance
border security, and protect Mexican citizens living abroad. Traditionally, Mexico built a reputation as one of the
classic asylum countries, with a varying attitude toward refugees from Spain and other
European countries before and during World War II, from Latin America's
Southern Cone in the 1970s, and from Central America since the beginning of the 1980s. However, in recent years refugees who solicit asylum are usually treated as if they were just immigrants, with exhaustive administrative processes.
José Luis Soberanes, president of the
National Human Rights Commission, condemned the repressing policy implemented by the
Mexican government against illegal immigrants who cross the country's southern border.
President Calderón modified the "General Law on Population" to derogate some penalties against immigrants like jail time, instead imposing fines of up to US$500 on illegal immigrants. ==See also==