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Police corruption in Mexico is currently one of the greatest challenges facing the country's law enforcement agencies and politics.
Corruption in Mexico has its roots in colonial times. [1] With the arrival of conquistadors, the Spanish crown began assigning offices of power to certain wealthy and influential people. [2] These offices were often short-lived because officials were charged with collecting revenue, maintaining order, and sustaining their regions while relying on only local sources of wealth and sustenance. People began to learn how to manipulate their local political leaders and would hold fiestas to gain favor with political leaders. This system of bribery and purchasing one's way into power and influence continued into post-colonial times, where the Mexican society organized itself into a pyramid-like hierarchy with the rich and powerful at the top. [3] After independence, corruption was used not only as a means of advancement but also as a means to provide goods and services. [4] In this way, corruption became a method for lowly-paid bureaucrats to raise revenue in order to boost infrastructural and social projects as well as supplement incomes.
Some causes of corruption exist as a means to either boost one's standing in the local community or to supplement the extremely low incomes that most of the Mexican population receives.[ citation needed ] Corruption can also be caused by a desire to manipulate and influence other people.
Corruption in the Mexican police can take many forms; it ranges from taking bribes to ignore crimes to active participation in criminal activity such as extortion, drug trafficking, and assassination. The Mexican police are notorious for their corruption that is evident on all levels of law enforcement, local and federal. Some Mexican police officers enter law enforcement not because of a genuine interest in policing but because of ulterior motives. Some join to escape criminal pasts in other states, others join to earn some money before moving onto other business ventures, and others join to increase their criminal networks, allowing them to boost the influence of drugs, spread crime, and increase connections for distribution.
There are several resulting effects of widespread police corruption. Over 93% of crimes go unreported or are not investigated in Mexico. [5] More than two-thirds of Mexican citizens believe that some or all Mexican Police officers are corrupt. Only 18% of Mexicans expressed a high level of trust in public security institutions in 2017, and only 7% in the case of municipal police. Additionally, only 13% are aware of any action taken to tackle corruption. [6] Many people have reported bribing the police, even for minor incidents such as illegal parking and other traffic violations. [7] Mexico's business officials have noted that police corruption has had a severely negative influence on business and economic progress.[ citation needed ] Police corruption is also, in part, to blame for the continued spread of illicit narcotics and the growth of the drug manufacturing and distribution industries.[ citation needed ]
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The Mexican government claims to have taken many steps to combat corruption. Despite these efforts, even when individual cases of corruption are reported, the matter is seldom investigated and almost never prosecuted.
Organized crime is a category of transnational, national, or local group of centralized enterprises run to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally thought of as a form of illegal business, some criminal organizations, such as terrorist groups, rebel forces, and separatists, are politically motivated. Many criminal organizations rely on fear or terror to achieve their goals or aims as well as to maintain control within the organization and may adopt tactics commonly used by authoritarian regimes to maintain power. Some forms of organized crime simply exist to cater towards demand of illegal goods in a state or to facilitate trade of goods and services that may have been banned by a state. Sometimes, criminal organizations force people to do business with them, such as when a gang extorts protection money from shopkeepers. Street gangs may often be deemed organized crime groups or, under stricter definitions of organized crime, may become disciplined enough to be considered organized. A criminal organization can also be referred to as an outfit, a gang, crime family, mafia, mob, (crime) ring, or syndicate; the network, subculture, and community of criminals involved in organized crime may be referred to as the underworld or gangland. Sociologists sometimes specifically distinguish a "mafia" as a type of organized crime group that specializes in the supply of extra-legal protection and quasi-law enforcement. Academic studies of the original "Mafia", the Italian Mafia, as well as its American counterpart, generated an economic study of organized crime groups and exerted great influence on studies of the Russian mafia, the Chinese triads, the Hong Kong triads, and the Japanese yakuza.
The illegal drug trade, drug trafficking, or narcotrafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs through the use of drug prohibition laws. The think tank Global Financial Integrity's Transnational Crime and the Developing World report estimates the size of the global illicit drug market between US$426 and US$652 billion in 2014 alone. With a world GDP of US$78 trillion in the same year, the illegal drug trade may be estimated as nearly 1% of total global trade. Consumption of illegal drugs is widespread globally, and it remains very difficult for local authorities to reduce the rates of drug consumption.
Bribery is the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty and to incline the individual to act contrary to their duty and the known rules of honesty and integrity. With regard to governmental operations, essentially, bribery is "Corrupt solicitation, acceptance, or transfer of value in exchange for official action."
Police corruption is a form of police misconduct in which law enforcement officers end up breaking their political contract and abusing their power for personal gain. This type of corruption may involve one or a group of officers. Internal police corruption is a challenge to public trust, cohesion of departmental policies, human rights and legal violations involving serious consequences. Police corruption can take many forms, such as: bribery, theft, sexual assault, and discrimination.
A protection racket is a type of racket and a scheme of organized crime perpetrated by a potentially hazardous organized crime group that generally guarantees protection outside the sanction of the law to another entity or individual from violence, robbery, ransacking, arson, vandalism, and other such threats, in exchange for payments at regular intervals. Each payment is called "protection money" or a "protection fee". An organized crime group determines an affordable or reasonable fee by negotiating with each of its payers, to ensure that each payer can pay the fee on a regular basis and on time. Protections rackets can vary in terms of their levels of sophistication or organization; it is not uncommon for their operations to emulate the structures or methods used by tax authorities within legitimate governments to collect taxes from taxpayers.
Crime is one of the most urgent concerns facing Mexico, as Mexican drug trafficking rings play a major role in the flow of cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl, heroin, and marijuana transiting between Latin America and the United States. Drug trafficking has led to corruption, which has had a deleterious effect on Mexico's Federal Representative Republic. Drug trafficking and organized crime have been a major source of violent crime. Drug cartels and gangs have also branched out to conduct alternative illegal activities for profit, including sex trafficking in Mexico. Some of the most increasingly violent states in Mexico in 2020 included Guanajuato, Zacatecas, Michoacán, Jalisco, and Querétaro. Some of the world's most violent cities are reportedly within the state of Guanajuato with extortion from criminal groups now being commonplace. The state of Zacatecas is said to be valuable to multiple organized crime groups for drug trafficking, specifically methamphetamine to the United States. As of 2021, Michoacán is experiencing increased instances of extortion and kidnapping due to a growing presence and escalation in the armed conflicts between CJNG and Cárteles Unidos on regions bordering the neighboring state of Jalisco. CJNG is also currently battling the Los Chapitos faction of the Sinaloa Cartel in the North Mexican region of Sonora.
The National Police of Colombia is the national police force of the Republic of Colombia. Although the National Police is not part of the Military Forces of Colombia, it constitutes along with them the "Public Force" and is also controlled by the Ministry of Defense. The National Police is the only civilian police force in Colombia. The force's official functions are to protect the Colombian nation, enforce the law by constitutional mandate, maintain and guarantee the necessary conditions for public freedoms and rights and to ensure peaceful cohabitation among the population.
Law enforcement in Hungary is split among the Police and Border Guards, and the Customs and Excise Authority. Since 2006, the Police has been subject to the Ministry of Justice, when the Ministry of Interior was re-structured to deal with Municipalities and Regional Development. Due to Hungary's accession to the Schengen Treaty, the Police and Border Guards were merged into a single national corps, with the Border Guards becoming Police Officers. This merger took place in January 2008. The Customs and Excise Authority remained to be subject to the Ministry of Finance.
In Argentina, the most important law enforcement organization is the Argentine Federal Police with jurisdiction in all Argentine territory. Most routine police work is carried out by provincial/state police forces. In recent years, several cities started their own local police forces to reduce the burden on the State Police. The capital city of Buenos Aires, where the Argentine Federal Police works with Argentine Naval Prefecture and Buenos Aires City Police.
Crime in Italy, though low compared to other developed countries, is present in various forms throughout the nation. Italy is notorious for its organized crime groups, which are present worldwide and collectively referred to as the Mafia. Resultantly, financial crimes like corruption, extortion, and theft are the most common type of illicit activity in the country. Violent crimes are exceedingly rare in Italy evidenced by its homicide rate of 0.51 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2021, the lowest in Europe aside from Luxembourg and Slovenia, and one of the lowest in the world.
Economics of corruption deals with the misuse of public power for private benefit and its economic impact on society. This discipline aims to study the causes and consequences of corruption and how it affects the economic functioning of the state.
Mexico law enforcement is distributed among three distinct powers of authority and jurisdiction: federal, state, and municipal. With the reform of former President; Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of Mexico’s Federal Police, the agency was replaced with the new National Guard, which serves as a federal ‘military police.’ The main goal of the National Guard is to bring justice and peace to the country. The National Guard was created because some sections of the Federal Police were involved in organized crime, corruption, and similar issues.
A drug lord, drug baron, kingpin, or lord of drugs is a type of crime boss in charge of a drug trafficking network, organization, or enterprise.
Crime in Honduras has become a growing matter of concern for the Honduran population in recent years. Honduras has experienced alarmingly high levels of violence and criminal activity, with homicide rates reaching a peak in 2012, averaging 20 homicides per day. Corruption, extortion, coercion, and drug smuggling also run rampant throughout Honduran society, preventing the nation from building trustworthy authorities like police, and severely limiting economic, social, or political progress. The situation has prompted international organizations and governments to offer assistance in combating crime in Honduras.
Corruption in Colombia is a pervasive problem at all levels of government, as well as in the military and police forces. A general culture and awareness of this corruption permeates society as a whole.
Corruption in Mexico has permeated several segments of society – political, economic, and social – and has greatly affected the country's legitimacy, transparency, accountability, and effectiveness. Many of these dimensions have evolved as a product of Mexico's legacy of elite, oligarchic consolidation of power and authoritarian rule.
Though the Cuban government does not release official crime statistics, Cuba is considered one of the safer countries in Latin America. Gun crime is virtually nonexistent, drug trafficking has been largely curtailed, and there is below-average crisis intervention from police. Murder rates are also below those of most Latin American countries, with an intentional homicide rate of 5.00/100,000 inhabitants in 2016, lower than any other country in the region.
A triad is a Chinese transnational organized crime syndicate based in Greater China with outposts in various countries having significant overseas Chinese populations.
Corruption in Myanmar is among the worst in the world. Owing to failures in regulation and enforcement, corruption flourishes in every sector of government and business. Many foreign businesspeople consider corruption "a serious barrier to investment and trade in Myanmar." A U.N. survey in May 2014 concluded that corruption is the greatest hindrance for business in Myanmar. The ongoing civil war has significantly set back anti-corruption efforts, exacerbating the problem.
Corruption in Bolivia is a major problem that has been called an accepted part of life in the country. It can be found at all levels of Bolivian society. Citizens of the country perceive the judiciary, police and public administration generally as the country's most corrupt. Corruption is also widespread among officials who are supposed to control the illegal drug trade and among those working in and with extractive industries.
