Annotated+Bibliography

Ekstrand, Laurie. "High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas' Link Investigations to International Drug Traffickers." //eLibrary//. ProQuest, 28 Jan. 2005. Web. 24 Sept. 2010. . Laurie Ekstrand is the director of Homeland Security and Justice Issues. It is an informational report by an expert in the field of drug trafficking. It is intended for an expert in the field because it is written for the government to read and make a decision on it. The thesis is proving how international drug traffickers are the main supplier of illegal drugs in the United States. She takes the position to inform the government about the problem and what the government is doing to stop this. She wants to increase the enforcements in high drug trafficking areas. The Office of National Drug Control Policy and the Department of Justice have started to collaborate to create larger specialty enforcements to control high intensity areas. The Department of Justice used some of its funds to pay for the Consolidated Priority Organization Target list. The author provides evidence to prove her point with statistics about how much money and how much the organizations are effecting the use of drug trafficking across the borders. Yes this work is logical, clear and well-researched. Yes the topic has been adequately addressed. She is motivated to argue on the side to end the drug trafficking in the United States. This source is very helpful, it is very scholarly and taught me a lot about what the government is actually doing to end drug trafficking in the U.S. It gives me one side of my argument that drug cartels are essentially taking over some governments in South America. This has helped create half of my argument about how governments need to face the problems, but cannot because of the amount of money the drug lords take in from the revenue.

"Mexican Drug Trafficking." //The New York Times// 22 Sept. 2010: n. pag. //The New// //York Times//. Web. 30 Sept. 2010. . The author of this article is not given, but most likely it is a journalist, not a scholar. The article is an editorial peice that is intended for anyone who reads the newspaper. The author is trying to show people what is going on between the United States and Mexico dealing with smuggling of drugs and weapons across the border. The author is trying to show how Mexico is attempting to diminish the problem head on by attacking the cartels, but the U.S. is not helping when Mexico believes that they are half of the issue. It is trying to show all that Mexico is doing in the situation. The main arguments are that the government is willing to be assisted in the fight against the drug cartels, and the president is showing the death toll so the people can see that the government is winning the fight. The author provides the stats of killings in the past four years to prove her information, also the author uses specific events to help prove the point. The work is very logical and clear and it seems to be very accurate and well-researched. The topic has been addressed for the most part but is somewhat left a little short of what the article could be. Like in all newspapers, there is a bias, this bias is in favor of the U.S. and Mexico to diminish the trafficking to lower the death tolls that are creating a problem for both governments. I learned from the source that cartels are not totally overriding the governments in South America, and trying to diminish a problem that has been evident for many years. It provides an argument from the other side to help show that not all the governments are essentially run by the drug lords and that the governments are facing the problems well. It helped develop and argument because now I have information on both sides of my topic.

"U.S.-Columbia Relations." //Issues and Controversies//. Facts on File, 18 Sept. 2006. Web. 30 Sept. 2010. . There is no author for the article but it is coming from a global issues database, so most likely this article is scholarly. This is an overview of the relationship between the United States and Columbia. The position that the author takes is that the relationship is getting worse and worse because of drug trafficking. The author is arguing how Columbia's government is being overrun by the cartels and the U.S. is being criticized for trying to help out Columbia. The Colombian government there for denounces the U.S. multiple times criticizing the efforts in Columbia stating that they are not needed. The author talks about how presidents have stepped up enforcement and tried to convince South Americans countries to enforce against the drug trafficking. The information is supported by statistics of how the drug use and trafficking from Columbia has been steadily increasing from 1960 to now. Also, statistics about relief efforts in the area to rid it from the drug trade. The work is logical, clear and well-researched. The topic has been addressed with the matter that it helps prove my argument. The author has taken an objective stance on the issue, but it is still biased towards everything the U.S. is doing by being good. I learned from the source specific events that help provide evidence for my argument. It shows how governments can be taken over by cartels because of the income from the trafficking. It helps build my argument that all the North and South American countries should work together to end the illegal drug trade that has caused so many casualties in the areas.

Hanson, Stephanie. "Mexico's Drug War." CFR. Council of Foreign Relations, 20  Nov. 2008. Web. 14 Oct. 2010. . The author is  Stephanie Hanson, who is part of the organization Council of Foreign  Affairs. It is an independent, nonpartisan, membership organization that is  created for government officials, and regular people to understand problems  facing the United States and the world. It is supposed to provide a non  biased view on issues in the world.It is an informational report that is  intended for the average person, but is also meant for government officials  who need a base understanding of world affairs. Her thesis is that over the  years the drug cartels in Mexico are becoming increasingly more violent as  the cartels wage war on each other and the government. She stays very  neutral in her perspective on the issue. She is arguing that the U.S. needs <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> to continue helping out Mexico in the issue because it is partly their <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> issue. To support the thesis, the author talks about how serious the issue <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> is and how the U.S. needs to start taking it as being serious. Also, to <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> support she talks about ways to stop the trafficking by starting to use <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> military and police forces to crack down on the drug cartels that are <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> plaguing Mexico. She covers the effects of the drugs cartels and the long <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> term effects of what will happen in Mexico if they do not cease the <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> trafficking. She uses facts from the International Narcotics Control <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> Strategies Report. Also, she uses quotes from government papers on the <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> issue. The whole article supports my arguments because she supports Mexico <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> and the U.S. facing the problem head on and sending out military and police <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> forces. The work is logical, clear and very well researched since it is for <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> government officials, and uses government documents as sources. The topic <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> has been addressed and it is fairly neutral so it has arguments from both <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> the U.S. side and Mexican side. The author does not take a stance besides <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> the fact that the drug trafficking should be stopped. She is motivated to <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> argue a certain point because she is from America, but her organization is <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> meant to stay neutral in the descriptions of the events. I learned from <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> this source what exactly Mexico is doing to face the problem since the <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> violence has increased a great deal over the years. It supports my argument <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> because she talks about how the drug cartels negatively affect the <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> government in U.S. It didn't help me develop my argument, but it helped <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> support my argument because it has scholarly sources to support what i had <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> before.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;">"Q&A: Mexico's drug-related violence." BBC News Latin American & Carribean. BBC, <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> 25 Aug. 2010. Web. 14 Oct. 2010. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/>. It doesn't <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> say the author of the interview and also doesn't say who is being <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> interviewed, but you can tell that they are very close to the source of the <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> President because they know about how many troops have been deployed. You <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> can tell it is scholarly because it is from a very scholarly news source <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> coming from the area so there is not as much bias on how good the <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> information is. It is an interview that is intended to show the common <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> people in the areas surrounding what the situation is in Mexico. The author <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> does not really take sides, but the person being interviewed just talks <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> about what is happening in Mexico and how the U.S. is just starting to <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> increase their help on the issue with many other Caribbean houses. There is <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> no argument in this interview, it is more statistically sound to help <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> provide a small sight into what is going on in Mexico and across the <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> border. The information that supports this is that most of the questions <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> have to deal with the strength of the cartels and the violence they are <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> creating to make the government have a hard time dealing with the issue. <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> The other topics they talk about is the mass graves that are being dug up <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> and the U.S. and South American countries increased aid to Mexico with the <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> issue. The evidence is shown in the facts because since this is a reliable <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> source the person being interviewed is going to be either an expert on the <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> situation or someone close to the high ups on both sides. So, all the facts <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> are very resourceful and is evidence to support my argument. All the work <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> is logical clear and well thought out since it is an interview. The topic <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> has been addressed very well because you get a nice point of view from <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> someone who is dealing with the situation in the area. The author doesn't <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> outright state the stance, but the person being interviewed leans towards <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> the side saying that the drug trade is getting to violent and too many <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> people are getting involved. I learned from the source where the <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> territories of the cartels are and how they are starting to fight among <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> each other for dominance. This shows a first hand view of the drug <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> trafficking effects and helps prove my argument about how it negatively <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> effects the government. As previously stated, it is a first hand account of <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> the trafficking so it will provide better insight to how the cartels can <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> negatively effect the government and the areas in Mexico.

Ramstack, Tom. "U.N. Says War Between Mexican Drug Cartels Benefits U.S." //All// //Headline News//. N.p., 24 June 2010. Web. 18 Oct. 2010. <http://www.allheadlinenews.com/>. The author of this article is Tom Ramstack who is a correspondent for All Headline News. He is not a scholar on the source but has written multiple articles about Mexico's drug trafficking issue. It is an editorial article that is intended for people who are not experts in the field and just want some information on what is going on in Mexico. The author takes the position that Mexico's war is a positive thing for the U.S. because it means that the drug use in the U.S. will most likely go down. The author is arguing that if the police keeps intercepting drugs, then soon the drug trafficking and use will go down because approximately 90% of drugs in the U.S are from Mexico. The information the author provieds is what the U.N. is saying about the situation saying how the U.S. will benifet if they help and how good of a job the president of Mexico is doing to shut down the drug traffickers. The topics he covers are how cocaine use has dropped therefore the amount of money taken in by the drug cartels on cocaine has decreased. And how the violence in the past couple of months has increase more than ever. The evidence that the author uses is the statistics of how many people have been killed and how many people buy the illegal drugs in the U.S., also specific quotes from the U.N. on the situation. The work is pretty logical, clear and well researched, it is not as well known of a site for news as like Time but it is very accurate. The topic was adequally addressed because it stayed on topic the whole time while bring in a third point of view from the UN. The author is somewhat biased because the author is against the cartels so the side they are supporting is the side to stop the violence and drug trafficking. I learned from the source the UN's view on the situation which shows how a group specifically created to help world conflict wants it to end before it gets to violent and errupts in to a full war. The evidence it provides from my argument is it shows how my view is the same as the UN and both governments to end the drug trafficking and how that will effect the countries. It didnt really help develop my argument except for the part about the UN because now will quotes from the UN supporting my view the argument becomes very one sided.

Grillo, Ioan. "Mexico's Drug Wars: Finally Going After Number 1." //Time//. Time Inc., 31 July 2010. Web. 18 Oct. 2010. <http://www.time.com/>. The author of the article is Ioan Grillo, who is a correspondent for many magazines including Time. He is considered a specialist reporting on organized crime in Mexico. This is an editorial article that is from Time magazine that is intended for the people who read Time magazine which are mostly people who are not experts in the field. The author's thesis is how the president of Mexico is now starting to try and stop the violence which is a step forward to stop the trafficking. He takes the position that the step by the president is a vital part to stopping the organized crime that is rampant throughout Mexico. The author is not really arguing a point, more like providing a point of view on a situation that not many people are aware of. The information the author uses to provide is the facts about what the president of Mexico is actually saying on the war on drug cartels. How he is picking away at all of the drug cartels bit by bit to hopefully end the reign of the drug cartels. He covers the topics of the presidents answers to the critics that he is supporting some of the drug cartels. Also he covers how if you keep arresting the drug workers then the cartels will get more and more violent. The evidence used to support this is that the president of Mexico has arrested important people in all of the cartels in Mexico proving he has no link to any of the cartels. Alos it is shown that the cartels are getting more violent because as more people get arrested, the cartels have gotten increasingly more violent in the past couple of years. The work is very logical, clear and well-researched since he knows what he is talking about. The topic has been adequately addressed with a point of view and the criticism on the point of view. The author somewhat takes a stance, saying how the drug cartels need to be stopped and the violence needs to be stopped, but because it is in a magazine there is a bias against the violence because it is from a person against the cartels. I learned what exactly the president of Mexico is doing to deteriorate the manpower of the cartels to slowly wipe out the drug trafficking. Also, how the violence is from a direct correlation from the police and FBI intercepting mass amounts of drugs and weapons from the cartels. It provides evidence of what the president of Mexico actually said from questions about the drug trafficking into the U.S. It helped because it got information from the source, especially since the person is an expert on organized crime in Mexico.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;">Wilkinson, Tracy. "Mexican drug lord Ismael Zambada, in a rare interview, says <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> his death wouldn't hurt drug trade." Los Angeles Times 5 Apr. 2010: n. pag. <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> Web. 21 Oct. 2010. <http://articles.latimes.com/>. The author of the <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> article is Tracy Wilkinson, who is the Mexico City bureau chief for the Los <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> Angeles Times. She is writing an editorial off of an interview which is in <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> the news paper so it is for anyone to see, not necessarily an expert in the <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> field. The author doesn't really have thesis on this more talks about the <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> interview and how he thinks the drug trafficking will go on no matter what <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> happens to him. The person being interviewed is arguing that the police <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> have closed in on him and instead of being captured would kill himself <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> because he thinks the drug trade will go on with out him. The information <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> the person being interviewed provides is how he is a billionaire because of <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> being the leader of the drug trafficking cartel that has been around for <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> the longest time and he is wanted for all the illegal things he has done <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> and has been on the run for many years. The evidence is that it is an <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> interview and he is saying how he would not be taken, so he would like to <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> think that he could kill himself. It shows how the police are starting to <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> get serious on the cartels and trying to cut the heads off of the cartels. <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> The work is logical and clear and not really well researched because it is <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> off of an interview so it is from one source. The topic has been adequately <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> addressed because it talks about how he thinks that the cartel would still <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> go on strong without them. There is not really a bias because it is many <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> quotes from an interview. There is no motivation to argue a certain <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> position. I learned from this source how the police is going after the top <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> of the cartels to try and cut off the head of the cartel to hopefully end <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> the trafficking. The evidence it provides is the guy being interviewed said <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> that the cartels would go on without him so it doesn't help my argument, it <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> hurts it because it is saying that no matter what, the cartels can not be <span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;"> stopped.

"Colombian Trafficker with Links to Mexican and Colombian Cartels Extradited from Mexico to the U.S." //Justice News//. The United States Department of Justice, 17 June 1010. Web. 26 Oct. 2010. <http://www.justice.gov/>. There is no author of this article, but the article is scholarly source because it is from a government website. It is an informational report that was created for experts in the field because it is government website that is created to provide information on the topic to other experts in the field. There really isn't a thesis in the article, but it is about Pedro Antonio Bermudez who was arrested for illegal drug trafficking in Mexico. The author takes a postition saying Bermudez was an intermiadary for one of the cartels in Mexico. The author is not arguing anything, but is pointing out how Colombia and Mexico are intertwined in the drug trade in getting tons of cocaine from Colombia to Mexico, in which it goes through the Southwest border into the United States. The information the author provides is about the court date of Bermudez, who is being charge for the drug trafficking for the Notre Valle Cartel, which the author then goes into information about the cartel. The author covers the topics of what the DEA is doing on diminishing drug trafficking, what the court system is doing to take away the drug cartel members, and what the cartels are doing to get the drugs into the United States. The evidence the author provides is that the U.S. is getting help from the Colombian and Mexican governments to combat the drug trafficking in these countries. The work is logical clear and well-researched. Yes the topic has been adequately addressed. The author does not take an objective stance, but shows how they side to stop the drug trafficking through the Americas and agree with the governments to combat the cartels. I learned from this source what the court sentance for a drug cartel mediary in the drug trafficking ring, which would not be as bad as a sentance as a drug cartel leader or higher up. I also learned that the Colombians and Mexicans are doing business to smuggle the cocaine into the United States. Last I learned that the U.S. government has been working with Colombian and Mexican governments to stop the trafficking. It helps support my argument because the governments are starting to crackdown on the drug cartels and catch members of them to start diminishing the drug trafficking.

"Mexican Drug Wars." //Issues and Controversies//. Facts on File, 22 May 2009. Web. 26 Oct. 2010. <http://www.2facts.com/>. There is not author of this article, but it is a very scholarly article since it is on a scholarly database dealing with issues like this one. It is an informational report that is meant for students. It is not for average people because it is not in a newspaper that everyone reads, but it is also not for experts because it is a basic overview of the situation for people like students who need a background on the issue. The author's thesis is how the U.S. and Mexico need to take more of an initiative to stop the trafficking of guns and drugs. The position is that the U.S. needs to do something to stop the arms and drugs from going across if that means joining groups or legalizing drugs. The author is arguing that the U.S. and Mexico are trying to stop this, but they need to work better in stopping the trafficking if it means joining committees that are created to stop military style weapons from getting to Mexico, along with anti drug groups. The information the author provides to support the thesis is joining the CIFTA or the inter-American Convention Against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives and Other Related Materials. The topics that are covered are the increase in violence in Mexico and how the U.S. is needs to do more. The evidence that is shown is how the president of Mexico has numerously called on the U.S. to help them with the situation. The work is very logical, clear and well-researched. Yes the topic has been adequately addressed. The author does take a stance saying how the U.S. is not doing enough and even with critics pushing them to do more have not done anything. I learned from this source all the things that the U.S. needs to reinstate to ensure that they will help diminish the availability of arms to be traded for the violence and drugs. The information in this source helped show me how the drug trafficking of other countries can effect a country to help and the causes of these drug wars.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;">Stilson, Tom. "A Brewing Storm: Mexican Drug Cartels and the Growing Violence on our Border." ////The Stanford Review////. N.p., 27 Feb. 2009. Web. 17 Jan. 2011. <http://stanfordreview.org/>.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;">"Mexico Under Seige." ////Los Angeles Times////. N.p., 15 Jan. 2011. Web. 17 Jan. 2011. <http://projects.latimes.com/>.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;">Miroff, Nick, and William Booth. "Mexican drug cartels bring violence with them in move to Central America." ////The Washington Post////. N.p., 27 July 2010. Web. 17 Jan. 2011. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/>.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;">Wilkinson, Tracy, and Ken Ellingwood. "Mexico drug cartels thrive despite Calderón's offensive." ////The Seattle TImes////. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Jan. 2011. <http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/>.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; white-space: nowrap;">"Senators want to fight Mexican drug cartels' expanding influence." ////CNN//// ////Politics////. N.p., 17 Mar. 2009. Web. 17 Jan. 2011. <http://articles.cnn.com/>.