Newsweek

Why a Mexican Border Wall Won’t Stop the Drug Cartels

Building a wall is expensive symbolism; it won't prevent catapults, submarines or laundered cartel money.
U.S. Border Patrol agents carry out special operations near the U.S.-Mexico border fence.
03_17_Cartels_01

In every place and every era—from ancient China to East Germany—walls have created fractures, divisions, injustice. So when a politician announces the construction of a wall, the first question we should ask is: What is its purpose? And then: Will it make things better or worse?

On February 28, in his first speech to Congress, President Donald Trump affirmed his commitment to dismantling the criminal cartels that have spread drugs across the United States. He reiterated his commitment to the “great wall” along the Mexican border as a fundamental pillar of his strategy, guaranteeing that the wall will

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from Newsweek

Newsweek1 min read
Flood Hopes Stall
Young men inspect the wreck of a vehicle among piles of debris swept along by waters in the village of Kamuchiri, located roughly 30 miles northwest of Kenyan capital Nairobi, on April 29 amid torrential rain and flash floods. Officials said at least
Newsweek14 min readWorld
Trouble in Paradise
ON A CARIBBEAN ISLAND JUST 220 miles from the shore of the U.S. Virgin Islands, a black-clad Chinese security guard swept an arm at more than a thousand acres of woodland and a glittering, aqua-green marine reserve beyond. “It’s like a small country,
Newsweek1 min read
The Archives
“At midnight on June 30, after 156 years of British rule, Hong Kong returns to China,” Newsweek wrote. “Hong Kong is one of the world’s freest places—free not just in its exuberant markets but liberated also in the attitudes of its people.” Despite a

Related Books & Audiobooks