Public sentiment is largely skeptical about military intervention in Mexico, advocating instead for strategies that address drug demand in the U.S. Many believe that legalizing drugs could offer a more viable solution to the ongoing crisis, as military actions have historically proven ineffective.

U.S. Government

Mexican Government

Drug Cartels

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We could solve it tomorrow by legalizing drugs in the United States and producing them safely and domestically.

BirthdaySalt5791

It’s a problem that affects both of our countries and they can’t really handle it on their own, considering their politicians are under the Cartels thumb. We should be at war with the cartel.

SamDSol

As long as it it affects our nation and our citizens are dying from the drugs coming from that region then we should be involved. If Mexico cannot take out their trash and control their nation I have no problem doing it ourselves.

GreatSoulLord

To the degree that it benefits American security.

SnooFloofs1778

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DeltaBot

I supported the U.S. counter-narcotics effort while assigned to Panama from 1990 to 1995. We provided intel for "Customs" going into Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador to disrupt the production and transportation of cocaine destined for North America.

I flew on a couple of recon missions. The purpose of the missions was to assess the damage inflicted by the US on runways and laboratories in Colombia.

Here's what I saw. If we blew up a lab or a runway, the cartel responded by building 10 for every one we destroyed. 

I was a strong advocate of the US's interdiction policy before I became actively involved with the effort.

As long as there is a demand, a determined supplier will find a way to fulfill it. It will be a 'forever war' if we do not solve the demand side of the equation. That's how capitalism works.

The US military has no business in Mexico when the root cause is the behaviors, habits, and addiction problems of US citizens/residents and a fucked up health-care system, especially mental/drug abuse treatment.

If the US is genuinely interested in solving the drug war, start with the demand.

adrop62

You say this would not turn into a forever war because the US would be there in support of the Mexican government. The US went into Vietnam in support of the French government. 

Few, if any, have ever implemented an effective counter-insurgency strategy that does not look like genocide. 

I don't know how much control cartels really have within the Mexican government, businesses, and other power structures. These things would need to be known before deciding to take action in support of the Mexican government. 

There are people associated with cartels all over the US already. A war against cartels may not remain entirely within Mexico's borders.

CantaloupeUpstairs62

the demand is the problem, not the supply, and that's in the united states. even if we wipe out the mexican cartels, free market economics dictate that someone else will take their place so you're running a fool's errand

lurkermurphy

Why not just end the war on drugs? Isn’t there some point at which you people can recognize we just lost and it’s not working? Oh it won’t be a failed forever war? It has been my whole life. Time to think of another solution.

No-Sail-6510

You hit the nail on the head in your recognition of the impossible justification of the human cost. Whatever the Mexican government says, no way the American people accept boots on the ground style intervention in Mexico. Now if you cannot justify the human cost, but can justify the economic cost, you get to the a very famous line: Build a wall. Blocking the border is easier to justify because it "saves" Americans, while not doing a thing to help Mexicans.

In effect it's already happening with the closing of the border, mass deportations, the missile strike on the boat... People voted for it, and it's what they are getting.

uktabilizard

The cartels similar to engagements with Iraq/Afghanistan and the radicalized there, have infinite recruitment glitch. 

It’s just that instead of it being based on ideological radicalization, poverty in Mexico pushes the youth to seeking the cartels as a way of making a living.

You can’t upturn entire villages of people endlessly so you do basically get stuck in a forever war. Particularly because any intervention militarily would hurt Mexico’s economy because of 1) the damage caused, and 2) as the operation succeeds, the cartels spend less consumption wise making poverty worse, making more cartel wanna-be members everyday.

OkKindheartedness769

We've been killing the cartels leaders and all the rest for decades and accomplished nothing.  The cartels are stronger than ever and drugs are easily available.  The drug war, whether an active "war" or not doesn't work.  The demand is always going to be there so somebody will provide the supply.  That's basic economics.

You know how you absolutely \*DESTROY\* the cartels?  You legalize and regulate drugs.  Let Americans grow the crops and manufacture the drugs with regulations to make sure they're not cut with some bullshit that might kill you.  The demand is met locally so the Cartels lose their customers and thus their money and power.

We've literally had this entire situation before, including the solution I mentioned being implemented and \*WORKING\*.  The mafia did not survive prohibition being ended.  That was it, that was all it took.  There's a reason we study history; sometimes the solutions to our problems are right there in black and white.

Mrs_Crii

[deleted]

Mexico doesnt want a foreign military walking into their country and killing their citizens, much less doing so with explicit permission of the Mexican government.

and the arrogance with which this post was written just undelines the point.

ProDavid_

Learn to use proper grammar and spelling before trying to make geopolitical assessments.

memecoiner

Is there a reason Mexico can’t use their own army? I know they’re not busy doing anything else, why do they need the US army…

New_General3939

Mexico has a non-intervention stance on its relations with other countries. Especially, the Juarez &amp; Estrada doctrines have ruled our formal exterior relations. 

This goes from auto-determination for other people's, and a big abstention from official recognition of other countries, limiting ourselves to sending diplomatic agents.

Chilaqviles

well, i have little knowledge about mexicao interal politcs and some knowlsge of global geopolitcal situation in general.

overall united states by far is mexio's top foreign relation priorities, simlpey becuase they are neighbors share a long border and have very large power differences, as well as some what intervined history whcih also involved a huge power differential.

  
however with that being said, mexico in other areas have independent foreign policy, when it come to china for example, it does not toe the line like canada or europe does, mexico is way more independent in this matter, they have no problem letting chiense car makrer open up factories there, as well developing a very strong trade relations.

if mexico exists in a vaccum or like a island with the current capabilites then it woudl also be a mini region power, but since it is very much overshadowed by america, therefore as you noticed, it receives very little attenion.

as for mexico's own grand strategy, i feel like in some ways mexico is doing an excellent job by self develomtn and industrialization, but in some other areas, mexico have a huge problem of cartal of NOT just drug problems, but also those cartel are almost feel like indpendent states in their own right which little control from the central government.. so in some area mexico is very prosperous and in some areas its extremely poorely run.

but again, i think overall mexico is on the right track, its population is almost 40% of america, and america is also facing a demographic change with its latino population taking over, with a lot of americans today idenitfy as both ameican and mexicans.. so in the longer term.. or that long i feel ike you going to see a lot more news about mexico influence on united states.

for its its forigne policy is very smart, it is develpign its industy and economy, and it is keeping its head low, not making enemies and keeping a low profile on purpose or have no choice but eitherway its the right decision.

if i can get the problem of regionalism under control + a much more efficnet govnerment, then this coutnry will play a HUGE role in the future.. but again, if those problem worsen then things are likey to stay the same.

&gt; but Mexico is “physically” connected to the rest of the continent, unlike Canada.

Something feels disingenuous about this post, as if it is intended for something other than what it overtly states. 

You consider yourself "pretty worldly" and have a "strong interest" in Canada, but you don't even know that the the two countries most certainly **are** physically connected? I can literally walk into Canada from Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, Washington, and Alaska. I can do the same from Michigan by crossing an international bridge or driving through a tunnel. 

A commenter mentions the Juarez and Estrada doctrines, and rather than diving into Google to learn more about these doctrines, OP challenges the commenter to spoon-feed you the what, why, and when of the doctrines.

Another commenter points out that this sub typically speaks in more academic language and you get testy.

What is your purpose with this post? What country are you from and where do you live? 

Honestly, OP reads like a member of the current US regime's cabinet trying to learn about something they've been tasked with and have absolutely no knowledge of.

BlatantFalsehood

Well, one thing that Mexico has done under President Sheinbaum is to recognise the State of Palestine. Normally these days, each time a country does it, there's a statement from Netanyahu or another representative of Israel, saying that the act of recognition is support for anti-Semitism and terrorism. Obviously they couldn't say that about Mexico, because Sheinbaum is Jewish herself. Sometimes the US also criticises countries recognising Palestine, but it has been silent in this case, probably for the same reason. So that was well played by her.

Minskdhaka

To answer your question of what is Mexico's foreign policy, every country has a national security paper, you had one under biden available for download in pdf form, mexico's white paper, security paper might be available online but that's only guessing and it might be in spanish.

To understand its foreign policy is a different thing. First, remove this way of thinking or labelling other world leaders as "dictators" think of them as leaders with their own national security interest. I'm saying this since you asked on the International Relations subreddit, get a bit academic on you. 

Second, from a realist perspective ( a theory of international relations, why states do what they do), Mexico is making decisions based on what is good for them, right now it is leaning towards Russia and China. A reason for this is that Developing countries and much of the global south wants infrastructure, jobs, development, etc. The US isn't willing to provide any of those at a reasonable cost. The danger with dealing with the US as you've probably observed is the consequences is that, as a leader u will be constrained in independent policy decision making. You turn against US interest u get regine changed which is a violation of state sovereignty. 

Henry Kissinger's quote "to be America's enemy is dangerous but to be a friend is fatal." This is the game of geopolitics. In recent years since the unipolar moment (after the fall of the USSR), US power has declined up to a point that it could no longer dictate foreign policy decisions of other countries. This is normal behaviour for the United States as they are a great power hegemon, their grand strategy is rooted in liberal hegemony generally all about control. You can research the unfamiliar jargon I'm using to understand it more. Basically US grand strategy is no longer suitable for a multipolar order, an order where other great powers have naturally risen, this opens an option for middle to small powers like Mexico to lean towards China and Russia as they do not appreciate US foreign policy specially right now under Trump.

Of course Mexico is also careful not to overstep its boundaries like Cuba who incurred the wrath of the US when it quote unquote got too close with the USSR.

CompPolicy246

I'm not an academic on this matter, but I do have a close friend who lives in Mexico and due to their associations has some insight at least into their economic stance. 


It's been said already, but each sovereign nation looks out for itself. For the sake of simplicity I'll leave the cartels out of this. Mexico faces some problems similar to other nations: increased immigration (from their Southern borders but also with an increasing number of Chinese and Indian immigrants), they face infrastructure issues, and they have a currency that they need to protect. That is a lot for a country to handle on limited resources. 


Let's talk first about immigration: Mexican immigration policy is complex, but at the moment they're facing large numbers of individuals immigrating from places like Venezuela and Honduras from their Southern border. As a government, they have decided to remain neutral on Venezuelan politics (see non-intervention in another comment), and in 2023 theys strengthened their cooperation with Venezuela to deal with the increase of immigrants. This hasn't always been the case, and previous regimes have tried to take a more active role in Venezuelan politics, specifically in mediation talks.


With Honduras, Mexico has taken a more proactive approach in the past and has sought to strengthen trade, and has also invested in some infrastructure projects. All in hopes of increasing Honduran qol (and therefore decrease immigration numbers). 


Mexico is part of the CELAC, and they work with other LATM and Caribbean nations to work on trade agreements. Most of these, realistically, turn out to be free trade agreements. Though, not in the free trade zone way that they have with the US (I think, I'm not entirely sure). 



Expanding out of the region, Mexico has been the recipient of a ton of Chinese infrastructure development. How this is viewed will be entirely based on your view of security risk. For instance, Mexico has a ton of Huawei fiber cables, and LATM in general has access to Huawei cloud. China has invested so heavily in Mexico due to nearshoring, and it's the second largest trading partner with Mexico. They have a ton of bilateral agreements.



Mexico is a democracy, and as such, there's regime changes every so often. It's difficult to say exactly what's going to come next, but in general they tend to lean left as a government. This doesn't mean there isn't a plurality of opinions in the country, but as a whole that's how it plays out. This can be viewed as them making alliances that the US wouldn't take. However, they also lack the might of a more developed country. A less developed country will be at a disadvantage globally, and need to make more alliances than a nation like the US or Canada, because they have more to lose for their citizens. They're less likely to go throwing their weight around because they have no weight to throw. Mexico is one of the more developed Latin American countries, but it will always be seen as in the shadow of US domestic and foreign policy due to proximity. I think they try their best to separate themselves, but I'm not sure how well that works.

HugeOpossum

The cartels are criminal organizations and the true power of the country.  They killed over 50 political candidates during the last election cycle.  The government is chosen by the cartels.  Any foreign policy it implements just serves the cartels interests.

Nofanta

Basically they want to promote nonintervention and multilateral relations, they are a middle power.

Good-Concentrate-260

Enormous, particularly if you're middle class and above. Considering the kind of person who can/will migrate to germany is at least middle class then yes its pretty huge. All those statements are would be common enough in Mexico anyway.

Mreta

A lot. Mexico on economics, foreign policy, and now even public safety and immigration policy, has to constantly factor in U.S. interests when it comes to making decisions. Not to say that Mexico is a client state but they have to consider any possible U.S. responses to their actions in their risk-reward calculations.

Culturally, the U.S. does have a major influence. However, given globalization, pop culture in the world is becoming increasingly homogenized and U.S. pop culture is having a growing influence around the world in general. Even more so in Mexico given the we’re neighbors, our close trading relations, immigration, and having families on both sides of the border.

RSJ_95

It's telling how dismissive you are towards the Gastarbeiter/Fremdarbeiter immigrants. Your "Mexican in the group" may be telling the truth in some inconvenient way, particularly in the context of discussions surrounding 3rd-gen or 4th-gen Turkish kids not being treated like Germans within Germany.

A lot of what you said is not just a U.S. influence though. Paying tax should entitle one to certain rights is a modern social political notion that's not exclusive to the U.S.  The balance between freedom &amp; restrictions is a scale that's being actively debated within the German society regarding AfD or what not.

Ironically, you calling others "Karen" seems to be a misogynist notion that's heavily US influenced. So back to your question, the US have similar level of influence in Mexico comparing to Germany. Though in Mexico, people listen to Spanish music while in Germany, everyone listens to English music.

big for upper middle class and above. 

especially if he's from somewhere like Monterrey.

brprer

How immigrants build Germany, of all countries? Mi hermano needs some history lessons. 

On the topic: yes.  There is a lot of cultural and political influence by being a neighboring country with the US. We have many things adapted to the *American way* in our culture: the consumer mentality, car-first based city design, most cities with at least one big indoors mall, big cars &amp; big trucks.

CapitanFlama

Yourlocaltroll34

The United States has significant cultural influence in Mexico due to their proximity, economic ties, and shared history. This influence is most visible in urban areas, particularly near the border, where American media, consumer culture, and language have a strong presence. Many Mexicans watch American TV shows, listen to its music, and consume its social media, leading to some adoption of American expressions and attitudes.

However, most Mexicans retain a very distinct identity rooted in their traditions and history. The kind of overtly American rhetoric your colleague uses is not common for most Mexicans and might reflect personal experiences, such as time spent in the US or exposure to heavily Americanized environments within Mexico. It could also be an attempt to sound modern or globalized, which might not resonate well in a non-American context like Germany.

While Mexicans are influenced by the US, they also adapt and "Mexicanize" foreign elements to fit their culture. Your colleague’s behavior seems more like an isolated case of over-Americanization rather than a reflection of Mexico as a whole. His phrases probably stem from American pop culture or personal experiences and might feel tone-deaf in Germany, where they lack the same cultural context.

gabrielbabb

left-on-read5

Is he Mexican or Mexican-American? There is a huge difference. Mexican-American meaning he was born in the US.

greenpearmt

xqsonraroslosnombres

real_LNSS

Mexican from the middle class in Germany here, what a obnoxious guy. But a lot of Mexican I know here are actively anti-USA/Anglo, I mean there is a reason why they are here and not the USA. I think that you found a funny one, with that said, the Influence of Mexico in the USA is huge, and its Influence in internacional english speaking groups in Germany is also huge.

Dunkirb

Living in El Paso now, there are a fuckton of people exactly like that here that need to be humbled. A lot of Latin Americans have stereotypes of Americans from the US being ignorant and arrogant as if they don’t move to America and do they exact same kind of shit but have communities to live in and “justify” it lol. At the same time, she DOES pay taxes and thus has rights as a resident of Germany. I didn’t know it was AmericaBad because US influence means immigrants want to be treated equally lol, from an immigrant myself.

Throwaway_CK2Modding

I would say that the US has a lot of influence on Mexico.

For starters, a whole industry dedicated to illegal production, sales and distribution of Methamphetamines, Heroine, Marijuana and Fentanyl are through various Narco-organizations in Mexico with the sole purpose of generating untraceable money. This point makes Mexico a top producer of Dark Money for the US. It generates a very large source of untraceable funding for black operations (need proof, look up Oliver North and the topics on the Iran Contra incidents). You think the US wants to give up its source of dark money? Haha don't be naive! All this is just one reason the US has influence over Mexico. Remember, Mexico only produces what it can sell to its customers.

Second, the US Department of State, in 2017, has shared through its International Narcotics Control Report that 90% to 94% of all Heroine consumed in the United States comes from Mexico. This is one of the major revenues of the aforementioned source of dark money for the US.

Third, the US Customs and Border Protection entity reported in 2022 that nearly all Methamphetamines seizures were on the southern border, and this proves where the majority of this manufactured drug goes and where they come from. In 2017, and you can imagine it is only more today, the Mexican authorities seized 55.3 tons of Methamphetamines. I would like to know how much the US seized and combine those totals per year with known numbers from Mexico. I'm pretty sure that more than twice that gets into the US unseized on a yearly basis. Just for the purpose of perspective and on the conservative side of value, 1 ton of Methamphetamines is approximately worth $5,895,500 US dollars. Multiply that by how much was publicly reported to be seized by Mexico in 2017 and the value of that seizure alone was estimated at $326,021,150 US dollars' worth of Methamphetamines.

Fourth, Mexico is consistently the largest purveyor of Marijuana in the United States. Therefore, more illicit money is generated by Marijuana. How much is not reported precisely. With some states legalizing the use of cannabis, portions of the Narcos-organizations have moved up to California and started to cultivate Marijuana on federal lands that don't get occupied by people very much. It was estimated in 2006 by the US that Mexican traffickers received over 13.8 billion US dollars from illegal Marijuana sales.

Fifth, in recent years, Mexico has become a leading producer of illicit fentanyl. The US Department of State reported that approximately 96% of all fentanyl was seized by Customs Border Patrol originated in Mexico. Again, for perspective, one ton of fentanyl is approximately worth $1.45 billion US dollars.

Sixth, money is also generated between the US and Mexico border via human trafficking, and it is loosely estimated as a multi-billion-dollar industry. PBS has shared this interesting information on 'As global migration surges, trafficking has become a multi-billion-dollar business' tv segment. Look it up.

Lastly, there is all kinds of revenue that is generated legally from legal services to legal products between the US and Mexico. Estimates are as follows: US Exports to Mexico is worth about $362.7 billion US dollars, US Imports from Mexico is worth about $500.7 billion US dollars. That creates a trade deficit of $138 billion US dollars. All that is a yearly approximation of revenue generated. This begs the question, who is Mexico's favorite customer?

Regarding Mexico, and it is not the only country to be corrupt, ;), it has the potential to be a more powerful country, but do you think the US wants competition right next door? To Mexico, where is all the generated money going to and from in Mexico? I think the average hard-working Mexican might want to know these facts. Mexico has the Potential for being a world power in my humble opinion, but corruption keeps it from growing a bigger middle class than currently exists. Mexico, share a little back with your people. ;)

Mexicans in masses over the years have come to the US, and not because the US has no influence over Mexico, its people are extremely influenced by the American lifestyle. This is proved very well by the numbers that have immigrated to the US. Germany is second, but the disparity between how many go to Germany vs how many go to the US is vast. 

Conclusion, yes, the US has the most influence over Mexico period.

oSuperDuke415

Economics 101. When you eliminate the supplier of a product, someone else will step up to meet the demand.

JustSomeGuy_56

The biggest downside for many would be it being harder to get high.  More paint sniffing.

forgotwhatisaid2you

The upsides would definitely outweigh the downsides. No doubt about that. 


The tricky thing is: how are you actually planning to accomplish that?

Pesec1

It won't happen. "Drugs" is just an excuse to keep people out.

Chainz4Dayz

Cliffy73

Americans will find another supplier or another drug

Traditional-Meat-549

Welp....cost will go up. Scarcity will drive violence and robbery. Good times.

EffectivePower8654

you might be able to lower the supply, but the demand will remain unchanged. So basic economic theory = scarcity will drive up prices, which will lead to greater and more violent criminality

Loud-Row-1077

Recent comments from US President Donald Trump about potential military strikes against drug cartels in Mexico have sparked significant diplomatic tension. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum firmly rejected any notion of foreign intervention on Mexican soil, emphasizing sovereignty.

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