Re: “Hand of U.S. is Seen in Halting General’s Possessive Rise in Mexico”

Dear Editor,

While it is commendable that the United States played a key role in informing Mexico’s Ñieto administration of General Moisés García Ochoa’s involvement with corruption and drug violence, causing him to be a poor choice for defense minister, it is important to highlight this form of corruption is deeply rooted in Mexico. The drug cartels have infiltrated all facets of Mexican society using violence to instill fear and cooperation. They intimidate Mexican citizens into voting for certain candidates and pressure journalists to self-edit news reports or face the possibility of deadly consequences. The International Press Institute stated that ten journalists have been killed since 2011. [1] Had independent journalists stumbled upon the information of General Ochoa’s corruption they certainly would have had this same fear. Not only has corruption undermined the democratic processes, but is has also caused Mexican journalists to be biased or untruthful on controversial subjects. Although rooting out institutional corruption can be viewed as positive, political will must come from within Mexico rather than relying on Washington to fix or address Mexico’s historical internal problems, corruption etc. Further, there needs to be a joint effort to fight this form of corruption among other Latin American countries as the war on cartels is not confined to only Mexico.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Aron, Research Associate at the Council on the Hemispheric Affairs

In response to the New York Times: Hand of U.S. is Seen in Halting General’s Progressive Rise in Mexico

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