by Matthew Johnson

Created on: April 30, 2009   Last Updated: May 19, 2009

With the "swine flu", now more accurately referred to as the H1N1 virus, becoming the primary issue coming out of Mexico, the focus on the drug violence has become a secondary concern in the media and in the American public in general. In the past week, there have been very few if any stories even mentioning the drug violence in Mexico. The question posed in the title become more interesting when one looks at the relatively short attention span of the general public of the US.

There has been violence entwined with the drug trade since the drug trade came into existance. During the Reagan Administration, the US officially declared a "war on drugs". The effectiveness of this war on drugs has always been left in question but the brutal truth of the matter is as long as there is a demand for a product, there will be someone to supply it. Currently, Mexico is that supplier. The US is one of the primary consumers of illegal narcotics coming out of Mexico. As long as the demand is as high as it is, there are those who are going to fight to supply it.

One of the subjects the media has focused on regarding the violence in Mexico is the claim that the Mexico has been getting 90% to 95% of the firearms used in drug crime from the United States. These claims have since been shown to be quite inaccurate and misleading. There have been calls from Mexican officials including the President of Mexico, Felipe Calderon, for the United States to reinstate the assault weapons ban that was originally enacted during the Clinton Administration and allowed to expire during the Bush Administration. President Obama stated that although he believes the assault weapons ban made sense at the time, he doesn't believe that bringing it back is the right option. President Obama believes that the primary focus should be not on gun sales, but on finding measures to curb gun smuggling. Many members of Congress, both Republicans and Democrats have stated that they will oppose any revivals of the ban.

There has been some debate as to whether it would be in the best interests to send US troops to the the US-Mexican border in order to assist the Border Patrol agents in curbing gun, cast, and drug smuggling as well as to prevent the violence in Mexico from spilling over onto United States soil. The department of Homeland Security as well as the Pentagon are both developing what they are referring to as contingency plans. These contingency plans would give US National Guard troops a much more active role in the drug war. The Pentagon and DHS put the expected costs at roughly $350 Million dollars. There have been no definite decisions made with these plans and they are currently under review.

With the many possible outcomes over the next couple of weeks, and what effect the H1N1 virus is having on the drug trade in Mexico, the United States has several options beyond the court of public opinion as to how to react to the drug violence in Mexico. With things changing so drastically each day, only time will tell.

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