Mexican Drug Cartel Leader Loves the Drug War
Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman whose estimated net worth is over one billion dollars according to Forbes magazine, has publicly thanked the United States for the War on Drugs.
The leader of the Sinaloa Cartel is both savvy and honest enough to know that his fortune is only possible due to the War on Drugs.
"I couldn't have gotten so stinking rich without George Bush, George Bush Jr., Ronald Reagan, even El Presidente Obama, none of them have the cajones to stand up to all the big money that wants to keep this stuff illegal. From the bottom of my heart, I want to say, Gracias amigos, I owe my whole empire to you."
I suppose, at this point in history, that it is useless hoping this sort of public recognition will wake any of the drug warriors up. No fact has so far been able to penetrate the seemingly invincible armor of their belief that "drugs are bad, so prohibition must be good."
By any objective standard the drug war has failed. In fact, all prohibitions have failed. Alcohol Prohibition was a monumental failure. It didn't curb any of the supposed ills related to "demon rum", but it did empower massive organized crime syndicates.
The drug prohibition certainly hasn't eliminated or lowered drug use and abuse rates. Over 40% of Americans above the age of 12 have admitted to smoking marijuana, and it was outlawed in 1937.
The Drug War has succeeded in greatly increasing prices for prohibited drugs though. This leads to several very un-appealing side effects. The artificially high price makes it hard for many consumers to afford it legally. Accordingly, a large amount of our nation's crime can be linked to people stealing to support their drug habit.
More dangerously, it also creates an enormous profit opportunity for criminal enterprises. Delivery drivers, and retailers of beer no longer shoot it out over "turf" disputes. Drug dealers and distributors often do.
The Sinaloa Cartel is famous for their violent style of illicit business. They are a large part of the 11,000 cartel related deaths in 2010 alone. They have become such a large organization, that they (along with a few other cartels) have de facto control over large elements of the Mexican government. These Cartels are the reason that so many have called our neighbor to the south a "failed state"
It's important to keep in mind, that they have gained their power due to our choices. If we ended the War on Drugs, their power would fade just like Capone and his contemporaries. Our country needs to decide which is worse, not punishing the people who use drugs (they will whether it is legal or not), or sending billions to thugs like "El Chapo". and terrorist organizations like FARC and the Taliban.
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