> Funny how none of this happened before NAFTA. But when the Mexican farmer could no longer make a living selling crops -- because subsidized U.S. corn put him out of business....well, now there's a drug problem.
No. It is much older than that. Mexican weed and Columbian cocaine were both being smuggled into the US in large amounts in the 60s, and for all I know earlier.
The rise of enormous heavily-armed drug cartels seems to be much more recent, though. I'd be interested in an analysis of how that happened and whether it was influenced by US policies, US covert action, and/or corruption in client governments. My guess would be yes on all three, but I do not actually know.