Drug trafficking has been around longer than you think. Unless it affects us directly, we tend not to think about the impact and damage it is causing to us, others and the country in which we live. There are several reasons for drug trafficking such as money laundering, illicit finance, illegal firearms, organized immigration crime. , production of false documentation, modern slavery and human trafficking. Drug trafficking can also be known as drug distribution. What drug trafficking really is is the crime of illegally selling, transporting, or importing illegally controlled substances, such as heroin, cocaine, marijuana, or other illegal drugs. Drug trafficking is punished more harshly than drug possession. It is a federal crime when a criminal moves drugs across state lines. If caught for drug trafficking you risk a sentence ranging from 3 to 5 years in prison, however this figure can be higher if larger quantities are involved. In response to drug trafficking, several things have been done to help and solve the problem. One of these things is the Kingpin Act. the Kingpin Act freezes all property and real estate interests in the United States, this act was put into place on December 3, 1999. There is also OFAC. This stands for Office of Foreign Assets Control, this applies economic and trade sanctions. The purpose of the Kingpin Act is to eliminate bad actors, or narcotics traffickers and their organizations. Their strength with this program lies in the government's ability to ensure that non-governmental actors in the United States act as gatekeepers to prevent narcotics traffickers from moving around, making funds and investments as well as purchasing goods and services. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The Sinaloa Cartel imported over 200 tons of cocaine and large quantities of heroin between 1990 and 2008. Joaquin Guzman “El Chapo” was the leader of the Sinaloa Cartel. After several arrests and escapes from prison, Guzman was arrested by Mexican authorities in 2016. He was then handed over to the United States to face criminal charges in 2017. The Sinaloa Cartel is still active and is one of the largest active cartels. it's not the only cartel, there are still many other active cartels. One of these cartels is the Gulf Cartel, they worked with Los Zetas, a group made up of former elite military members, who eventually became Gulf hitmen. In 2010 these two groups split, which leads to a bloody fallout. This bloody fallout has been called the most violent organized crime in Mexico. The Los Zetas group is known for cruel violence, such as abandoning body parts in public areas and posting murders on the Internet. In 2013 their leader, Miguel Angel Trevino, was arrested. In a 2015 Congressional Research Service report, drug wars in Mexico claimed the lives of more than 80,000 people between 2006 and 2015. Drug trafficking in the United States is still a major concern. Organizations in the Middle East such as the Taliban and al-Qaeda play an important role in the shipping and production of illegal substances. A 2014 report showed that Americans spent an estimated $100 billion on illegal substances. Law enforcement agencies are heavily affected by drug trafficking. It has been negatively affected in several ways, such as the increase in crime rate. Now the health risk has increased: they may inadvertently come into contact with newer, more powerful drugs while working with criminals. The trafficit also negatively impacts by diverting attention and money from other needed services and programs as attention and money is focused on funding the drug task force. The diversion of these funds affects both local and federal law enforcement. It also caused crimes to become more serious and violent. The intensity of crimes has increased. Law enforcement workers are more at risk every day. Leading to more murders, deaths, stabbings, shootings, thefts and even crimes against children. The age range of drug trafficking and possession has increased significantly, the age of the people involved can vary from very young to very old. The drug community does not discriminate or exclude any age group. Our country has also been greatly affected by immigration, due to the increase in the amount of drugs trafficked into the United States. To combat the problem, our country has had to tighten immigration laws in order to decrease the amount of drug trafficking. This, in turn, affects people who are trying to better themselves and find a better way to live in our country, who would be productive citizens. One of the ways we want to strengthen the border is to build a wall: “The president wants a physical barrier along the Mexico-US border to stop people from crossing illegally.” (BBC, 2019, para. 1) President Trump hopes that by building a wall he will be able to reduce the number of illegal immigrants. By decreasing the number of illegal immigrants it is hoped that the number of illegal drugs imported will also be reduced. Welfare is also another big problem that affects our economy and our country. By allowing illegal immigrants to enter our country, we have had to pay for their medical services and nutritional supplements. This takes away funding from other American citizens who contribute to society. It also helps increase our national debt. By allowing the use of federal assistance for basic needs, this, in turn, allows immigrants to send untaxed money to their families back home. By allowing these untaxed dollars to be sent back home, the United States is helping to strengthen these foreign economies. Not to mention the monetary gain that illegal immigrants manage to obtain through illegal drug trafficking. Due to drug trafficking, the amount of crime has increased. Illicit drugs and violence are often automatically contacted because past cases are the cause. Incredibly, however, drug markets are illegal or generally at peace; However, there are some drug markets that are high in violence and raise the general idea that drug markets are the common reason for violence. Mexico is a great example of this: there has been drug trafficking in their community for a century, and although there are drug-related murders, the drug markets in Mexico are relatively peaceful. It has started to become more violent in the last three decades. Mexico had become a multi-party democracy, which in turn had significantly worsened the drug trafficking problem, due to the movement of drug trafficking into Mexico. At that time Mexico's politics and institutions were constantly changing, which in turn prevented them from being able to address the problem that they tended to worsen. Around 2010, income from illegal drugs accounted for a third of Afghanistan's GDP; however, drug-related violence was extremely low. Due to studies and empirical evidence, there is no direct connection between drugs and violence. When there are very large and easy to acquire drugs, it is notIt's natural for people to kill each other to get them. However, a cartel leader or lone drug dealers can do it. This could be because they were scammed out of money or drugs. As for citizens, however, they are unlikely to kill each other if it is easy to obtain drugs. Drug lords can, but not citizens. Many people tend to link factors such as income and wealth inequality, economic crisis, frustrated expectations and corruption to drug-related violence, although these factors may play a role in them, it does not always mean that they are the cause. This means that when these examples occur, crime and drugs also occur. Drugs are not the only reason for the increase in crime. An economic crisis alone can cause an increase in crime. Criminal motivational theory shows that as economic stress increases, the criminal's motivation also changes; however, this does not support the criminal's opportunity. Due to decreasing levels of production and consumption, this can reduce some crimes such as property crimes. Even though we may not be able to realize it, we have influenced drug cartels and hurt their business. When Michigan, North Dakota, Utah and Missouri decided to make marijuana legal last year. Mexico quickly felt the effects. Since pot was made legal, the amount of weed smuggled by Mexican drug cartels has decreased. In 2014, approximately 2.5-3.0 million pounds of weed were smuggled into the United States. In 2018, £0.5 million was smuggled. However, due to the decline in marijuana, there has been an increase in methamphetamine smuggling into the United States. Fentanyl seizure quadrupled to nearly 1,400 pounds. It is very unlikely that the United States will legalize drugs like fentanyl or methamphetamine. Due to the decrease in pot seizures, Mexican cartels are now attempting to create more potent marijuana to keep them within US demand. There have been cases of U.S. marijuana being smuggled into Mexico. When it comes to drug smuggling by Mexican cartels, there are several ways they do it. In a sense, they do it through drug mules. Drug mules were a very popular movement for drug smuggling; however, they have now moved on to more advanced techniques. One of the more modern ways they smuggle drugs into the United States is via airplanes, self-propelled semi-submersibles, container ships, fishing boats, recreational boats, non-commercial vessels, and there are even fast boats that the cartels use to try to outrun the force's resources of the Order of the United States. Drug cartels are looking for guaranteed ways to transport narcotics across the board and one of the ways to do this is by creating tunnels. The cartels get very creative when they make these tunnels, because they have to be very secretive about exits and entrances. There have been entrances that have been pool tables, hydraulic bathtubs, electrical panels and elevators. There was one release in the US that was found to have been filled with concrete, painted and carpeted every time it was used. So they clearly pay attention to detail and do their best to hide it. People trained to find these tunnels have even said that it is extremely difficult to find them. In a 2015 article, a trained professional stated that only 11 of these sophisticated tunnels have been found since 2006. Believe it or not, cartel members aren't always the ones distributing the drugs. There have been and still are casesin which the cartels ally themselves with American gangs. The cartels need someone familiar with life on American streets. Gang members are paid drug money in exchange for cartel work. Such as kidnappings, murders, intimidation and theft. Cartels get most of their money from drug trafficking, while gangs get heat from law enforcement. To cover up criminal activity, some gang members continue to work. One of the things gang members are known for is their violent nature. In March 2011 members of Barrio Azteca were accused of killing two US citizens, one was a US consulate and the other was a sheriff's deputy. This American couple was ambushed in their car after leaving a birthday party, Mexican police found the couple's baby crying in the back seat of the car. This was filed as a high-profile murder and the motive for the murder had not been disclosed. Barrio Azteca is one of the most famous gangs that has ties to Mexican cartels. This gang operates primarily on the U.S.-Mexico border between El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. This gang was founded in a Texas prison in 1986. This gang recruits people in jails and prisons in Texas. There is often communication between cartels and gang members through prison. High level gang members may/and are inside the prison; causing gang members on the streets to need an effective, yet covert, way to communicate with them. They will send coded letters that most likely pass through a lieutenant. Then the lieutenant will forward the message to one of the captions and from there the caption will give the final word. The main source of communication in prison and on the streets are coded letters and coded phone calls. High level hits/attacks are normally ordered first by the cartel and then enacted/carried out by the gang, the reason this is possible is because the gang is transnational, meaning they work on both sides of the border. Normally for a major heist/attack, it is carried out through high level gang members before being carried out. People who may have joined a cartel and moved to the United States often send money back home to their families, thus reinforcing the economy back home. Immigrants living in the United States send more than $54 billion back home. This amount could exacerbate the economic hardships that some low-wage workers are already facing. During President Trump's campaign, President Trump proposed blocking some payments to Mexico unless the country's leader allocated billions of dollars to build a wall on the southern border. However, this idea was rejected by immigrant rights advocates. When this idea was put forward, many argued that this in return would only create a black market of clandestine payments. People who are involved and engaged in drug trafficking see it as a business. Or there is little or no attachment to one's homeland. They see that he has a business and because they are separated from such a violent and demanding group, they are normally not allowed to leave their potion within the group. If their position is in the United States while their family is in Mexico, they cannot ask to be fired and have it granted. When you are involved in drug trafficking, much less a cartel, it is much more difficult to get out of the situation. “Some coca that the grower sold for 80 cents will be refined, processed and sold to a.