Bridging of Afghanistan with the European Drug Market

Tajikistan is a country that you might have to look at a map to locate, it's a small country situated on the Afghan northern border. A landlocked country, 90 percent of Tajikistan's surface is covered by mountains; with Kyrgyzstan to the North, China to the east, Afghanistan and Pakistan to the South, and Uzbekistan to the west. Tajikistan suffered severely from a bloody civil war from 1992-97, creating a vacuum where conditions were perfect for lawlessness to fester; a perfect trade route to export Afghan opium for heroin production around the world. The ultimate goal for drug traffickers in Afghanistan is to transport their drugs to Russia and then on to the Western European markets. Traffickers have found a better route than Tajikistan for moving their product - Iran has become the channel to move the world's heroin. Russia, with a population of 142 million, is a large market for Afghan heroin and is a key stop in the bridging of Afghanistan with the European drug market.

An increase in stability has developed in Northern Afghanistan, making it very difficult to smuggle drugs into Tajikistan finding alternative routes is the natural course when ever obstructed. "The amount of drugs seized (in Tajikistan) in 2009 is noticeably smaller than in 2008", said Rustam Nazarov to Reuters, who is the head of Tajikistan's state Drug Control Agency, adding that some 4.5 tons of illicit drugs were intercepted in 2009. Afghanistan produces more opium than any other country and the world has a vested interest in stopping the flow of traffic; Tajikistan claims that they seize two-thirds of the drugs moving through the country; however, the number is believed to be much lower - around one-tenth of all the opium being smuggled is seized.

The United States and several other NATO allies have been trying to urge Afghani farmers to grow other cash crops like wheat. A very difficult task when you factor how long the farmers in that region have been cultivating opium poppies. "Last year, the United States spent about $300 million on agriculture projects there and projected spending this year is more than $425 million, not including separate funds from U.S. military coffers handed out by troops in the field", reports Reuters. A lot of money but will it be enough to stop the flow?

At the end of the day you would think that one country is happier, Tajikistan; the less smuggling that occurs would create more stability. The new U.S. funded Tajik-Afghan bridge makes Tajikistan still a viable trafficking option even if the amount crossing the border is reduced, heroin will still find its way to Russia via Tajikistan. Unfortunately, the stability of the entire region is contingent upon Afghanistan and their opium production. "Unfortunately the drugs situation in our country and the region as a whole solely depends on the situation in Afghanistan," Nazarov said to Reuters. "Only when there is law and order in Afghanistan there will be law and order in our country."

Financial Aid to Mexico is Delayed

The drug war in Mexico continues between government officials and the cartels - the cartels have the upper hand. Mexico has been virtually taken over by the ruthless and violent cartels fighting for control over distribution and trafficking routes throughout Mexico. The United States continues to promise aid in the way of training, technology, and especially modern weaponry; at least that way Mexican officials would stand a little bit of a chance. With over a 100,000 foot soldiers and billions of dollars to support their cause, the cartels are too powerful to stop with the help of the United States; unfortunately the support needed is not being provided in a timely manner, and the cartels continue tightening their grip around the good people of Mexico. The United States has the most powerful military in the world possessing the best technology and the most modern weapons; during the Bush administration we promised Mexico help when the Merida Initiative was signed, which would give Mexico a $1.3 billion assistance package promised to Mexico. "The initiative funds aircraft and surveillance equipment to track and break up trafficking networks, as well as vehicles that can manage the terrain where cartels sometimes operate. It also provided funds to improve police ranks, weed out corruption and bolster the courts", according to USA Today. Unfortunately, that financial aid to Mexico is delayed by a bureaucratic mess.

Yet to Arrive:

• Up to eight UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters for the air force and federal police.
• Up to four Casa 235 Persuader surveillance airplanes for the navy.
• Up to eight Bell 412 helicopters for the Mexican air force.

The companies that produce these fine pieces of equipment are saying that it will take 12-18 months to manufacture these goods. It is hard to believe that this equipment is only manufactured when there is an order, the U.S. military could certainly part with a few of their own for such an important cause. Nevertheless, until the support arrives in Mexico the cartels will continue to hold on to control. We have to ask ourselves, how long do we want this war to continue?

Zetas Most Powerful Drug Trafficking Organization in the World

The brutal war in Mexico wages on over territory and drug trafficking routes from Mexico into the United States. The Zetas, who number about 4,000 according to U.S. Intelligence, are a cartel of Mexican Army Special Forces soldiers, who have dominated northern Mexico and the United States through murder and intimidation of public officials. It hasn't been proved, but, it is reported that some of the Zetas' members were trained in the United States. The Zetas' have a lot of influence as a result of their size and power; they operate throughout Mexico and the U.S. trafficking large amounts of narcotics and will let nothing stand in their way as is evident from the outrageous death toll. There is very little question that the Zetas are the most powerful drug trafficking organization in the world.

"The cartel was founded in the 1970s but emerged in its modern form in the mid-1980s, led by Juan García Abrego (now in a Colorado jail) and thereafter Osiel Cárdenas Guillén, who founded the Zetas and who is now awaiting trial in Houston, Texas. The Zetas are now led by Heriberto Lazcano – "El Lazco" or "Z3" – wanted in both Mexico and the US. It is Lazcano and the Zetas who control the cartel's drug operations and exercise the savagery with which its power is enforced and its terrain expanded", according to the Observer. Mexico's President Felipe Calderon focused the most energy on the Zetas' cartel with very little success. Peace in Mexico is when one cartel has total control over a given area. "The cartel and the Zetas have held their terrain and are broadening it, despite the high-profile arrests of key members of the group such as Jaime González Durán, alias "El Hummer". A spokesman for Calderón, Alejandra de Soto, told the Observer that "the army is proud of what it has achieved in Tamaulipas" – where the Zetas are based – "there is relative peace in the area. It has been brought under control".

Unfortunately, the Mexican government still has very little if any control over the cartel situation. Reports show that cartels like the Zetas are growing and their territory continues to spread with very little impediment. It still seems like there is a whole lot of talk and very little action directed towards the drug war and peoples' lives continue to be affected. Hopefully a solution can be found between the U.S. and Mexico.