Mexico FTW! by Crystal Rohan

Law enforcement in Mexico has not always had the best reputation when it comes to ethics. Grisel Bahena, a native from Mexico said, “The police in Mexico love bribes. It’s sad, but it’s just the way it has always been.” With the recent capture of “El Chapo”, the citizens of Mexico have been given a glimpse of hope.

A group of elite Mexican marines were the ones who finally captured Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, the world’s most powerful drug lord. Of course, they had a little help from the U.S. government, but Mexico needs this win more than the U.S. at this point. The Mexican government is looking to redeem themselves after letting Guzman slip through their fingers the last time they caught him.

Gabe Garcia, a first-generation American, travels to Mexico every year to visit family and has seen the effects of corruption first-hand. “Mexico should hand [“El Chapo”] over to the U.S. government. Mexico already messed up once and knowing how corrupt the Mexican government is, he is bound to somehow escape once again," Garcia said.

Guzman was convicted on drug trafficking and murder charges in 1993, but then escaped a corrupt, Mexican prison in 2001 by bribing dozens of guards to smuggle him out. He had been on the run for almost 13 years before the Mexican government captured him once again.

Garcia also said, “The U.S. has some of the best security centers in the world and he should be kept there. This isn’t a small-time drug dealer we are talking about.”

Having to compete with the high technology of the U.S., the Mexican government has placed Guzman in Mexico’s highest security prison. The Mexican government now has a second chance to prove that they are able to function without corruption. 

While Mexico is trying to prove they can do this right, the U.S. government isn’t quite convinced. Mexico has not had the best track record, but they really could use this to help steer their country in the right direction. If they play their cards right, they could even help clean up the crime-filled streets of Mexico.

Mexico has no plans of handing “El Chapo” over to the U.S. government anytime soon. Guzman will face trial on drug trafficking, organized crime, and at least 6 more charges in Mexico before being handed over to the U.S. Guzman is one of the world’s biggest narcotics kingpins; he is obviously going to be in prison for a long time. The U.S. government should just be patient and wait their turn. Extradition is likely to take a long time anyways. 

Now that the relationship between the U.S. and Mexican government is stronger than it has been in years, the U.S. government should really be helping Mexico with more important issues like not letting Guzman escape again. To be honest, the most important thing the U.S. and Mexico should be concerned about is the chance that Guzman will try to escape prison again. Just because he is in custody does not mean he does not have connections on the outside or even inside the prison. If Guzman bribed several Federal prison guards before, what’s to stop him from doing it again?

Bahena recently traveled to Mexico to visit family over winter break. She usually would drive to Mexico with other family members, but stated that with the recent corruption in Mexico getting worse it is not safe to drive anymore. 

“I remember when it was safe to drive over the border, but now it is really risky to even try. There is a lot of violence in towns along the Mexican-U.S. border now," Bahena said.

The Mexican government should be focusing on important issues like cleaning up cartel related violence along their borders. Having Guzman in their custody is definitely beneficial to that process. The U.S. government should help Mexico use Guzman in a good way instead of fighting over who gets to extradite him and take all the credit. There are way more important things to be done if both countries can put their egos aside.