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Mexico Institute in the News: Wilson Center Proposes Hyper-Focused Mexico Crime Strategy

Eric L. Olson

Mexico may make serious headway in its fight against organized crime by designating one criminal group as the "most violent," and then focusing most of the government's resources against them, according to a new report by the Mexico Institute at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

In Sight: Organized Crime in the Americas, March 30, 2012

Doing so may create more incentives among Mexico's criminal groups to reduce violence, in order to avoid being designated as the "most violent" threat to public society, the report argues. If Mexico is able to focus its law enforcement efforts (with US support) against the "most violent" group, this could also weaken the designated group's economic power, if those involved in the group's criminal network seek to distance themselves. The proposal forms part of an impressive compilation of assessments of the current state of criminal enterprises in Mexico by the Center's Mexico Institute.

The report's argument appears to support Mexico's designation of the Zetas as their top security priority, as the Zetas are frequently described as Mexico's most aggressive criminal organization. But as the Mexico Institute points out, this approach also brings several key risks. The first is that the government would have to use some solid criteria for determining which group is truly the "most violent," especially considering that many of Mexico's murders go unsolved, attributing a given amount of violence to a single group brings its difficulties.

The report states that the "most violent" designation should be "clear, publicly announced, and transparent," but it is unclear whether the government can make a strong enough case for singling one group out above the others. In Acapulco alone, there may be as many as 14 different groups fighting for control of the drug market, the report notes, "making it hard to assign blame for the violence to any specific group."

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About the Author

Eric L. Olson

Eric L. Olson

Global Fellow;
Director of Policy and Strategic Initiatives, Seattle International Foundation
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Mexico Institute

The Mexico Institute seeks to improve understanding, communication, and cooperation between Mexico and the United States by promoting original research, encouraging public discussion, and proposing policy options for enhancing the bilateral relationship. A binational Advisory Board, chaired by Luis Téllez and Earl Anthony Wayne, oversees the work of the Mexico Institute.   Read more

Latin America Program

The Wilson Center’s prestigious Latin America Program provides non-partisan expertise to a broad community of decision makers in the United States and Latin America on critical policy issues facing the Hemisphere. The Program provides insightful and actionable research for policymakers, private sector leaders, journalists, and public intellectuals in the United States and Latin America. To bridge the gap between scholarship and policy action, it fosters new inquiry, sponsors high-level public and private meetings among multiple stakeholders, and explores policy options to improve outcomes for citizens throughout the Americas. Drawing on the Wilson Center’s strength as the nation’s key non-partisan policy forum, the Program serves as a trusted source of analysis and a vital point of contact between the worlds of scholarship and action.  Read more