Who Killed Kiki Camarena?

With the price of oil and the standard of living falling, and political unrest on the rise, Mexico faces the prospect of serious political instability for the first time in decades. Neither Mexico nor the United States can afford to have any further strain placed on the fragile structure of Mexican politics, or to allow Mexico to be inflamed by outbreaks of anti-Americanism that might assist subversive factions. Yet the Reagan Administration’s war on drugs is combining with the incredible corruption of the Mexican government to do both.

Within the past year or so, the Mexican government has arrested several of the country’s most powerful drug kings, along with dozens of hired guns, including many Mexican policemen. Yet as welcome as such a development might seem in itself, the circumstances surrounding the crackdown illustrate how costly U.S. efforts to protect Americans from their own drug use can be. It took an especially odious murder in Guadalajara 17 months ago, and relentless pressure from the U.S. Government, to get Mexican authorities to act. Relations between the two countries have grown worse since, as U.S. officials have continued to demand that Mexico act against influential politicians involved in the narcotics traffic. The Mexicans in turn denounce the U.S. for meddling in their internal affairs and point out that what U.S. officials term “Mexico’s drug problem” is really the United States’ drug problem, created by the insatiable demand of American addicts.

GL

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George Byram Lake

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With the price of oil and the standard of living falling, and political unrest on the rise, Mexico faces the prospect of serious political instability for the first time in decades. Neither Mexico nor the United States can afford to have any further strain placed on the fragile structure of Mexican politics, or to allow Mexico to be inflamed by outbreaks of anti-Americanism that might assist subversive factions. Yet the Reagan Administration’s war on drugs is combining with the incredible corruption of the Mexican government to do both.

Within the past year or so, the Mexican government has arrested several of the country’s most powerful drug kings, along with dozens of hired guns, including many Mexican policemen. Yet as welcome as such a development might seem in itself, the circumstances surrounding the crackdown illustrate how costly U.S. efforts to protect Americans from their own drug use can be. It took an especially odious murder in Guadalajara 17 months ago, and relentless pressure from the U.S. Government, to get Mexican authorities to act. Relations between the two countries have grown worse since, as U.S. officials have continued to demand that Mexico act against influential politicians involved in the narcotics traffic. The Mexicans in turn denounce the U.S. for meddling in their internal affairs and point out that what U.S. officials term “Mexico’s drug problem” is really the United States’ drug problem, created by the insatiable demand of American addicts.