Every few decades, Washington rediscovers something that most Americans already know: drug cartels are violent, wealthy, and deeply embedded in international networks that are extremely difficult to dismantle. The rediscovery is usually followed by a familiar sequence of events: stern speeches, bold promises, and a new policy initiative with a name designed to sound decisive.…
Mixed Signals in the War on Drugs
The U.S. scored a hard-fought win with the guilty plea of Joaquín Guzmán López — son of infamously brutal cartel boss Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán — a leader in the cartel faction known as “Los Chapitos.” He admitted overseeing massive trafficking of fentanyl, heroin, cocaine and other narcotics into the United States. That’s the kind…