México is the convenient scapegoat for U.S administrations to distract voters away from the real problems in Washington. The Drug War also conveniently funds many government workers and even allows for the U.S. government to mount clandestine and, sometimes, illegal operations away from the eyes of the electorate. México and Mexicans have paid a heavy price for the U.S. addiction to drugs.
Mexicans have been pointing this out for many years but U.S. voters love the narrative where Mexicans are the culprit.
Imagine my surprise when Secretary of States Rex Tillerson recently agreed that the drug war battles and the mayhem, mostly suffered by Mexicans, lies squarely on the shoulders of the United States. What is more shocking is that Tillerson is a Donald Trump appointee.
On May 18, 2017, Tillerson agreed during the U.S.-México cabinet meetings that the U.S. “must own the problem.” “It is ours,” Tillerson is quoted by CNN. During the new conference, Tillerson was quoted by CNN as stating:
“We know what we own, and we as Americans must confront that we are the market. There is no other market for these activities. It is all coming here. But for us, Mexico wouldn’t have the trans-criminal organized crime problem and the violence that they’re suffering,”
Tillerson added, “we really have to own up to that.” [1]
Because there are those readers that are so engrained into the false narrative of blaming México it is important to see other sources to ascertain whether the quotes attributed to Rex Tillerson are accurate.
On May 18, 2017, the U.S. Department of State posted on its official website a press availability of announcement. In the posting, the U.S Department of States stated, “America must also confront the reality that we are the market, but for the seemingly endless demand by addicted users and the successful recruitment of young and vulnerable new users, there would be no market.” The website posting included, “We Americans must own this problem. It is ours.” [2]
Also, Texas Monthly quoted the Secretary of State as well. According to the Texas magazine, Tillerson stated, “We Americans must own this problem” and “It is ours. There is no other market, it is all us. But for us, Mexico wouldn’t have a transnational organized crime problem.”
There you have it, what México has been saying for years – that the United States is to blame for the drug wars killing Mexicans. More importantly, this very important fact was accepted by a Donald Trump appointee.
Although the United States has officially acknowledged this simple fact, there are many U.S. citizens who will refuse to acknowledge it, pretending instead that there was no such acknowledgement or ignoring it altogether. For many it is much easier to blame México and Mexicans.
Although the fact remains that it is a U.S. problem, México must also acknowledge the part it plays in the problem. By doing so, both countries can work together in cooperation to solve the problem.
That leaves one impediment, will Donald Trump acknowledge México and Mexicans as the friends that they are and work together in cooperation, or will he continue to pursue The Wall that will never be built?
Sources:
1. Kosinski, Michelle; “’We are the market’: Tillerson faults US for evils of Mexico’s drug trade”; CNN, May 18, 2017
2. U.S. Department of States website Press Annoucement posted on May 18, 2017; “Press Availability With Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly, Mexican Secretary of Foreign Relations Luis Videgaray Caso, and Mexican Secretary of Government Miguel Angel Osorio Chong”, accessed on May 25, 2017; Link: https://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2017/05/270969.htm
3. Reigstad, Leif; “Rex Tillerson Says the U.S. is at Fault for Mexico’s Drug Violence: Your Roundup”; TexasMonthly, May 19 ,2017