Mexico: Concerns Grow Over Expanding US Role in Drug War

October 26, 2011 from Al Jazeera English

Mexican officials are trying to calm concerns over reported US infringement of its southern neighbor's sovereignty. According to a New York Times report, US intelligence agents are operating in Mexico more than ever before to infiltrate drug cartels in Mexico. The newspaper cited security officials who said US unmanned surveillance planes and sophisticated human-intelligence gathering systems have helped Mexican authorities to kill or capture dozens of other prominent suspects involved in the drug war. Al Jazeera's Franc Contreras reports from Mexico City.

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Mexico

Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by t... Explore this topic

Mexican Drug War

The Mexican Drug War is an ongoing armed conflict among rival drug cartels fighting each other for regional control and against the Mexican government forces. The government's principal goal has been to put down the drug-related violence that was raging among dueling drug cart... Explore this topic

Illegal drug trade

The illegal drug trade is a global black market, dedicated to cultivation, manufacturing, distribution, and sale of drugs, which are subject to drug prohibition laws. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs by drug prohibition laws while... Explore this topic

Drug cartel

Drug cartels are criminal organizations developed with the primary purpose of promoting and controlling drug trafficking operations. They range from loosely managed agreements among various drug traffickers to formalized commercial enterprises. The term was applied when the la... Explore this topic

Mexico City

Mexico City is the Federal District, capital of Mexico and seat of the Mexican federal government. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole. Mexico City is the country's largest city as ... Explore this topic

CIA

The Central Intelligence Agency is one of the principal intelligence-gathering agencies of the United States federal government. An executive agency, it reports to the Director of National Intelligence. The CIA has three principal activities: gathering information about foreig... Explore this topic

FBI

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is a governmental agency belonging to the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency. Also, it is the government agency responsible for investigating crim... Explore this topic

DEA

The Drug Enforcement Administration is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice, tasked with combating drug smuggling and use within the United States. Not only is the DEA the lead agency for domestic enforcement of the Controlled Sub... Explore this topic

Informant

An informant is a person who provides privileged information about a person or organization to an agency. The term is usually used within the law enforcement world, where they are officially known as confidential or criminal informants, and can often refer pejoratively to the ... Explore this topic

Drone

An unmanned aerial vehicle, commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without a human pilot on board. Its flight is controlled either autonomously by computers in the vehicle, or under the remote control of a pilot on the ground or in another vehicle. There are a wide variety ... Explore this topic

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Mexican Drug War

Mexico

Illegal drug trade

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