To the casual reader, Mexico’s recent spurt of narcotics-related violence and kidnappings appears as something from another time and place. Lurid accounts of Mexican cartels running riot through the country’s streets stir images of anarchy usually reserved for far more backward nations. Weekly reports of decapitations and violent drug-related murders recall practices associated more with the fantasies of past barbarian tribes than with modern, and implicitly civilized, societies. Yet while the astounding level of drug related violence in Mexico desensitizes the reader with its almost anachronistic brutality, the war on drugs south of America’s border poses a very real danger whose impact extends beyond that covered in media reports.

For a more visceral account of Mexico’s struggle against its incipient drug-related violence, The Dartmouth Independent interviewed Chris Bellaire, a Princeton undergraduate interning with the Mexican Secretariat of Public Security (SSP). Chris’s position within one of the Mexican government’s chief crime fighting institutions grants him a unique opportunity to observe the real impact of the war on drugs. His story confirms the instability within major areas of the Mexican state, and his perspective reveals the actual, personal concerns such instability creates. In stark contrast to the notions of antiquated civilizations and practices, Chris’s perspective transforms the violence in Mexico from abstract fantasy into consternating modern reality. Through his eyes, one finds that the threat to Mexican domestic security is present and palpable, and his account elucidates how the government is already taking unprecedented steps to secure its borders from a formidable internal foe.

You are currently working in Mexico City. How has the Mexican war on drugs impacted you in your everyday life in the nation’s capital?

To be honest, I thought that drug-related violence would be more prevalent in Mexico City itself. Mexico City is relatively secure, and without all of the media coverage, I probably wouldn’t be very aware of the situation in other parts of the country

That said, one of the biggest signals of increased tension that I notice is the heavy presence of police in the city. There is practically a cop or policeman on every corner, and police are also generally heavily armed. Many officers want to give a show of force to establish a sense of security for the citizens around them. Most agents will ride around the Federal District in the back of heavy trucks that have lights flashing, even if no crime is being committed. Seeing so many heavily armed officials was a little intimidating at first, but you adjust to it as you get used to your environment. You also notice a much larger number of military personnel in the streets, which adds to the “force demonstration” effect. I’ve already seen a number of military police demonstrations in major public squares in an attempt to show the improving level of professionalization within Mexico’s federal police forces.

What has surprised you the most about Mexico’s efforts to combat drug related gangs such as La Familia or Los Zetas?

Since I’ve been working in Mexico City, I’ve been most surprised by how hard the federal government works to turn Mexico’s drug problem around. For example, I left the office at ten o’clock tonight, and I was one of the first of my co-workers to go home. Most Americans assume that the Mexican police and government officials are somewhat lazy and caught up in the bureaucratic process down here, but everyone I see around me is seriously committed to combating Mexico’s security problems and to stemming the violence. It gives me a lot of confidence in Mexico’s ability to defeat the cartels.

Can you tell us a little bit about the group you are working for and your role within it?

I belong to the Coordinación de Asesores, which can be roughly translated as an advisory group that oversees the various projects and branches of the Secretariat of Public Security. In the next few days I will be expanding and translating a report to be sent to the US embassy and to Washington on a new police model being instituted at the federal level. The training includes a section on police integrity and respect for human rights, and the document is designed to show the U.S. that Mexico is serious about protecting human rights.

There's been a large amount of coverage in the U.S. and Mexican media about the growing drug related violence and mafia cartels in Mexico. How is the narcotics battle shaping the SSP's operations?

The SSP is in charge of the federal police force, so they are involved with felonies related to drug violence, homicide, kidnapping, and assault. Directly, the SSP is engaging in a new police-training program designed to attract university graduates to federal law enforcement jobs. As a recent example, the SSP began a new federal investigator training program on July 20 in San Luis Potosí that trains 1,000 candidates at a time for five weeks, and they intend to build two additional facilities for investigator training by 2012. Much of the SSP’s recent activity and success has been related to active participation by Mexico’s top universities, and these schools are actively sending a number of graduates for training.

What are some of the key differences between the old and new Federal Police methods and tactics?

The new police model has a few central points which include increasing coordination between law enforcement agencies, improving police professionalism, reducing corruption, and standardizing protocols. Much of the effort in changing the force has gone into consolidating all of the databases of the various police agencies throughout the state. Previous databases were oftentimes filled in by hand, so records of crimes and criminals were hard to reproduce quickly. Now, however, the Mexican police are developing an electronic system that should facilitate coordination much more efficiently. At the policy level, the Mexican government has also expanded the jurisdiction of Federal Police through a change to the 21st constitutional amendment. Also, the government is developing an entirely new police career path, designed to standardize law enforcement salaries and promotions.  This incentive structure will help stem corruption through the prospect of upward mobility within the police force. The entire Federal Police system is essentially being overhauled, and the change has been greatly needed. Even the penitentiary system has been in need of reform. In 2007, there were 445 incarceration facilities between the three levels of government [municipal, state, and federal] with 212,841 people interned. However, while 212,841 people had been officially interned, the maximum capacity of the state’s penitentiary system is only 165,970 representing an overcrowding problem of over 30 percent. That’s a major problem and a part of the obstacles facing a government that wants to efficiently deal with its drug-related criminals. By decreasing overcrowding, the SSP is seeking to prevent criminal networks from forming within prisons so that petty thieves don’t come out as hardened criminals but rather as rehabilitated citizens. New police methods and capacities are a key part of working toward this goal.

What are some of the main goals for the SSP in terms of successfully stemming the violence in Mexico?

One of the specific aims of the SSP is to recruit at least 10,000 newly trained federal investigators. The ultimate goal is to establish a new, stronger police force with greater capabilities to combat the drug cartels and other criminal networks. These capabilities include improving actionable intelligence, investigative methods and criminal prevention. Getting enough men on the ground is the first step towards all of these initiatives.

What’s the biggest challenge ahead for the SSP and the Mexican government?

Recruitment remains one of the largest challenges for two reasons. First, the SSP performs stringent checks and demands a lot from its applicants, so few are selected. Second, Mexico is still by and large plagued by a stereotype that Mexican police are corrupt and untrustworthy, which discourages some graduates from applying. However, I get the impression that that reputation is slowly being turned around. Earlier this week, I visited two training facilities for SSP investigators. I met with very talented and dedicated candidates, with degrees ranging from psychology to chemical engineering. Also, as part of their training, the investigators receive instruction on integrity and human rights, which we hope will improve the public’s perception of the police force. July 2009 saw 827 people killed from drug-related violence, and over 4,200 people have been killed this year so far. The casualty numbers are large, and more law enforcement is needed to curb the violence, so there is still room for improvement. When you combine the small pool with the stringent standards, recruiting a large enough number of quality officers gets increasingly challenging. The qualities of a ‘good’ officer are difficult to define, so the process is complex, and more-well trained officials are still needed.

What’s the one thing most Americans don’t know about Mexico’s war on drugs that would help them understand the situation more completely?

To me, I thought that the war on drugs and the violence was more or less homogenous and spread all throughout the country. In reality, the violence is extremely concentrated. For example, one-third of all police executions by narco-traffickers in July occurred in one state, Michoacán. (There are 32 states in Mexico, including the Distrito Federal, which technically isn’t a state). Looking at the Texas border and certain coastal regions is incredible. Most Americans would not believe that some of the cities in these areas exist in real life. Certain zones seem like they are out of the Wild West with their incredible violence and heavily armed cartels, yet at the same time I feel separated from most of the drug violence here in Mexico City. Living in a large city includes its own dangers and risks, and certain everyday services such as taxi-cab rides include more risk than you might find in average American city. Nevertheless, I think people should take some time to recognize that, in many aspects, Mexico is a modern and capable country that takes these issues very seriously.