The Untold Story of Mexico's Rise and Eventual Monopoly of the Methamphetamine Trade

The purpose of this work is to tell the untold story of the ascendance of Mexican DTOs over the production and distribution of methamphetamine. By adding this dimension to a story that has typically focused on the role of Mexican DTOs in the cocaine trade, it explains the spread of meth use in the U.S. and the challenges currently facing U.S. law enforcement officials attempting to combat the illegal methamphetamine trade. It concludes that the trick is to formulate international anti-drug policy that incorporates the "balloon effect" and anticipates the creation of a new challenge even as the old one is being laid low. If nothing else, the untold story of how the Mexican cartels rose to monopolize the methamphetamine trade in the United States demonstrates that the formulation of anti-drug policy needs to bridge the gap between tactical success and strategic failure. Drug lords come and drug lords go but the war on drugs goes on. If real progress is to be made, then the specifics, such as the story of how the Mexican DTOs took over the methamphetamine trade needs to be told and retold and integrated into the broader anti-drug policy initiative of the day.