Whack-a-mole: U.S. Demand Hampering Efforts to Combat Drug Cartels in Mexico

Another discussion of how the "Whack-a-mole" strategy doesn't eliminate drug lords and doesn't  address the real issue: drug demand in the U.S. 

U.S. Demand Hampering Efforts to Combat Drug Cartels in Mexico | PBS NewsHour | Dec. 1, 2010 | PBS: Margaret Warner interviews Nicholas Casey, Wall Street Journal correspondent in Mexico.

"MARGARET WARNER: When Secretary of State Clinton was in Mexico last year, she publicly admitted that America's, she said, insatiable demand for drugs is fueling the Mexican drug wars. Does the Mexican government feel that the U.S. government is doing enough to -- to restrain demand on our side?

NICHOLAS CASEY: Well, I think the Mexican government's big wish is that the U.S. was able to lower that insatiable demand, as Hillary Clinton put it.

Right now, the main effort of the U.S. is to support Mexico as it tries to battle drug traffickers on its own side of the border, whether it's giving Black Hawk helicopters or lots of money. But, of course, you know, underlying all of that is the fact that the -- the problem is that the U.S. wants to have more and more drugs.

And these groups are being funded on the order of billions of dollars by that U.S. demand that's still there and hasn't gotten any less. ...

MARGARET WARNER: So, do authorities see any evidence that, when a big figure like one of these gang leaders is killed or captured, that it puts a crimp in the ability of that cartel to do business? Or are they pretty quickly replaced?

NICHOLAS CASEY: Well, they are replaced. But one thing to keep in mind is that, when you get rid of someone that has all of the connections, and maybe was even one of the founders of a cartel, you can't just swap in someone else and expect the business to work as well.

So, yes, the theory is, is that, by eliminating these top people, they are fundamentally irreplaceable. But someone will try to take that position. The problem is, it doesn't mean the violence is going to go down. In fact, it might mean violence goes up, because there starts to be a power play for who is going to take control of the cartel." Dec. 1, 2010