Gang Violence In Canada Linked To Mexico Drug Wars
Posted March 3, 2009 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Police are drawing a direct link between a surge in gang violence in Canada and the bloody drug cartel wars in Mexico.
The Mexican government has been struggling to crack down on the cartels, which are responsible for about 7,000 deaths in the last two years.
The United States is also trying to stamp out Mexican cartel operations within its borders.
These enforcement measures are curtailing the supply of cocaine, and that’s bringing out the guns in Canada.
The RCMP says the fight for a piece of the shrinking pie results in turf wars in places such as Vancouver.
Almost all the cocaine in Canada comes from Mexico, either directly or through the cartel’s distributors in the United States.
A spokesman for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency says Canadian gangs often trade ecstasy and marijuana for the cocaine.
Photo Credit: Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP/Getty Images
