|
Jewish World Review Feb. 16, 2005 / 7 Adar I, 5765
Froma Harrop
America's drug war ruins border
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
MATAMOROS, Mexico Garcia's is where Americans go for a quick
taste of Mexico. Or did. Garcia's is a vast emporium here in Matamoros,
selling leather purses, silver jewelry and other Mexicana. Just a 10-minute
walk across the bridge from Brownsville, Texas, its shelves groan with
merchandise. And the store's attractive restaurant stands ready to serve its
fajita specials.
But the mariachi bands play for almost no one. Few Americans are
patronizing Garcia's, or other businesses that cater to day-trippers.
They're too afraid to cross the Rio Grande River.
When something goes wrong at the border, it goes wrong for a lot
of people. Violence in Mexico hurts business on both sides of the border.
Ask who's to blame, and most American fingers automatically point southward.
But it's not entirely or even mostly Mexico's fault, for reasons to
follow.
Here is the situation. Mexico's drug cartels are battling to
fill a vacuum for control of the market. The fighting is vicious. Corpses
turn up at the sides of roads, some showing signs of torture. Last month,
Mexico had to send armed convoys to restore order in Matamoros: Six prison
employees had been murdered outside a maximum-security prison holding drug
bosses.
Most distressing to the tourism industry, the mayhem goes beyond
drug traffickers' killing one another. Apparent innocents, including
Americans, are being kidnapped and held for ransom. In December, gunmen
abducted Brownsville doctor Charles Rogers at the cancer clinic he ran in
Matamoros. Rogers was released after his wife paid an $88,000 ransom.
At least 27 Americans have simply vanished. The missing includes
Brenda Cisneros, a community-college student in Laredo, Texas, and her best
friend, Yvette Martinez. Last September, the two had crossed over to Nuevo
Laredo to celebrate Brenda's 23rd birthday. They haven't been heard from
since.
So this is not a situation where an ordinary tourist with
average street smarts can feel completely safe. The U.S. consulate is
warning Americans to use considerable caution when visiting Mexican border
towns.
Obviously, none of this is good for tourism. Over the last two
years, about 50 businesses have closed in Nuevo Laredo's lively
entertainment district.
Your writer and three friends were about the only recognizable
Americans walking Matamoros' main tourist drag, Alvaro Obregon Avenue. Here
was a street once crowded with retirees, Texans out to party and other
American day visitors. We couldn't go five steps without an underemployed
cab driver offering to take us to the market.
The tourism drought on the Mexican side is sorely felt in
American border towns, as well. Laredo, McAllen and Brownsville all do
business as gateways to their Mexican twins: Nuevo Laredo, Reynosa and
Matamoros. The border crossings are a mere day's drive from San Antonio,
Dallas and Houston.
Who's at fault for this state of affairs? Americans should not
portray themselves as simple victims of Mexican chaos. Sure, Mexico has
failed to contain its criminal drug cartels and the corrupt officials who
work with them.
But the lucrative market in illicit drugs is totally made in
America. It is the product of our own failings. Our ludicrous war on drugs
has done nothing more than create fabulous prices for cocaine, heroin and
other illicit substances. The United States can't stop its own drug
traffickers from taking big risks in the drug trade. How could Mexico, with
far fewer opportunities for legally obtained wealth, contain the lust for
immense profits?
The American remedy should be to abandon this war on drugs. The
United States should consider the enlightened policies already tried in
Europe, which medically treats addicts and provides drugs for those stuck in
their habit. Close out the market for illicit drugs, and the Mexican cartels
are out of business. The same goes for Afghan drug lords amassing funds for
terrorist operations. And imagine the money Americans could save abandoning
their $69-billion-a-year domestic war on drugs.
The towns along the Mexican-U.S. border, meanwhile, are praying
the problem will somehow go away. Several have sponsored public-relations
campaigns aimed at minimizing American fears. The immediate hope is that
college students on spring break not normally a cautious group will
shrug at the warnings and head for the bars across the border. They may not
be the prime market for leather briefcases, but they'll do.
|