The War on Drugs: General Cienfuegos and Government Corruption in Mexico

 Happy Friday, Delegates! 


This week, in relation to Topic A, we want you to think about the reality of government corruption within proposing solutions to the War on Drugs:    


            In November of 2020, after having been accused of taking several bribes in exchange for protecting drug cartel leaders, the ex-Defense Ministry, General Cienfuegos, had his case of drug charges dropped in an announcement from the United States' Attorney General William Barr based on the justifications of preserving diplomatic relations with Mexico. With that, General Cienfuegos was allowed to return to Mexico where the Mexican government was supposedly going to proceed with an investigation into such claims. This puzzled many, including a previous U.S. attorney in New York that questioned the suspicious actions of the United States raising such a high-profile case against General Cienfuegos, and then dropping such cases only a month after his arrest in Los Angeles. This, however, became even more complicated when the Mexican President, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, backed their attorney general's decision to drop the cases against the ex-Defense Ministry. Mexico's decision increased tensions between the neighboring countries, which has resulted in comments from a U.S. Department of Justice spokesperson stating that if the Mexican government refused to pursue a case, the United States had the right to continue its own investigation. Nonetheless, this example reminds us of the appearance of government corruption within a country's attempt, or blind-eye, towards combating drug trafficking.   


Here are some questions to think about when proposing solutions for the topic of War on Drugs, specifically in reference to the case of General Cienfuegos: 

  1. What role do government officials play in perpetuating a country's interest in drug trafficking? How can solutions be tailored to curtail corruption in the government's role in drug trafficking?
  2. What does Mexico's decision to not charge General Cienfuegos, despite the United States' previous interest in charging him with drug trafficking charges, signal to other countries regarding accountability of governmental corruption in cases of drug trafficking? 
  3. What are possible solutions to combat governmental corruption in your country's War on Drugs while still contributing to the larger goal of proposing solutions to decrease drug trafficking in Latin America?
  4. What systems of accountability can be created to hold government officials accountable for their possible involvement in drug trafficking? 


I hope you are all doing well and are excited about BMUN LXIX! I look forward to hearing your thoughts during our upcoming committee sessions. 


-  Vice-Chair Matthew Villa


Sources:

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-crime/mexico-president-backs-dropping-of-drug-case-against-ex-defense-minister-idUSKBN29K1NQ

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/17/world/americas/mexico-general-cienfuegos-case.html




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