It may surprise you to learn that Sinaloa is where the cartel scourge afflicting Mexico first began. That rugged infamous state also holds the distinction for the mass murder of employees of a foreign-owned company.

We all know what happened to Vizla Silver’s 10 employees who were kidnapped in late January of this year. Of the ten abducted, nine were confirmed killed. Presumably, the other was dead, too.

According to the government, the hapless victims were mistaken for members of a rival gang. Is this the truth? Are the narcos so dumb that they can’t tell the difference between employees of a foreign-owned company and criminals like themselves?

It’s a hard pill for the government to swallow, but the fact is the cartels control vast swaths of the country. Their penetration into all levels of society is widespread. With every passing year, their power and influence grow. It’s like cancer metastasizing unchecked!

This self-evident truth was on display for the entire world to see. In late February, after the head of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel was killed in a shoot-out with the army, the narcos went on a rampage in 32 states, blocking roads, destroying vehicles, attacking banks, and setting gas stations, pharmacies on fire.

This was their message to the government: Don’t mess with us.

Porfirio Díaz, who ruled Mexico in the late 19th and early 20th century, reportedly said, “Poor Mexico, so far from God and so close to the United States.

More than a century later, Mexico is far more prosperous now, but the fact remains: The country cannot escape its geographic fate. It is heavily influenced by what goes on north of its border.

In the final analysis, as long as demand for drugs from the United States remains strong, Mexico’s civil society and political institutions will continue to be under
siege from the narcos.

Dig deeper into the demand and uncomfortable questions surface:

• Why is there a constant demand for illicit drugs in our society?
• How much of it is linked to stress, trauma, or social isolation?

Could it be true that people are using drugs as a temporary means to escape from their unhappy lives?

Living in the world’s richest and most powerful country, why wouldn’t Americans be happy?

How about you? Are you happy? Is your work meaningful? Does your work give you joy? Are you using drugs to alleviate boredom?

It’s tempting to view drug use as a private choice. But those choices, multiplied millions of times on a daily basis, inflict fear and suffering on a staggering number of people far beyond our homes.

Can you imagine the terror and anguish those Mexican employees of Vizsla must have felt as they were herded to their gravesite?

Perhaps the deeper question isn’t about drugs at all. It’s about why in a world of abundance many still feel compelled to turn to drugs to escape their reality.