Criminal justice and the law in Mexico

Abstract

Law enforcement in Mexico has not effectively prosecuted participants in organized crime and drug trafficking. Enforcing current laws to prosecute criminals is difficult because members of the cartels have infiltrated and corrupted the law enforcement organizations that are supposed to prosecute them, such as the Office of the Attorney General. Changes in Mexican criminal law in 1996, like harsher sentences for those who participate in organized crime, offer a legal foundation for improvement; additional changes should be considered.