  What makes the war on drugs such a dif­fi­cult battle,
par­tic­u­larly in Mexico?  The internal battle in Mexico over
drug market access and con­trol over drug routes into the United
States is fueled by years of sus­tained illegal drug profits and
the well-​​documented ability to evade local law enforce­ment.
Drug orga­ni­za­tions can hire per­sonnel to sup­port their
orga­ni­za­tions, pro­vide eco­nomic resources to their
employees and asso­ciates, seek more profit in all sec­tors of
the economy and, of course, ignore an under­funded law
enforce­ment system.  The municipal-​​level police depart­ments
in Mexico have been noto­ri­ously under­paid, under-​​supported
and under-​​staffed for decades. These dynamics are dif­fi­cult
to change. It is also worth noting that Mex­ican drug
traf­ficking orga­ni­za­tions are largely engaged in a turf war
over drug market access through the areas adja­cent to the U.S.
border. Most of the country including Mexico City down to
Quin­tana Roo — the state con­taining the bea