Crime

U.S. President Barack Obama (R) meets with Mexico's President-elect Enrique Pena Nieto in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque).

Blog Post

President Obama’s Visit to Mexico: Key Anti-Crime Issues

April 26, 2013, Vanda Felbab-Brown

Unable to arrive in Mexico next week having delivered on the sticky bilateral issue of tighter U.S. gun control, and with immigration reform still in debate, Barack Obama should wholeheartedly support Enrique Peña Nieto’s top security priority of criminal violence reduction, writes Vanda Felbab-Brown, and particularly a prioritized interdiction approach that rather than simply targeting top capos, carefully considers how criminal groups respond to various law enforcement actions.

Recent Activity

Refine by: Latin America and the Caribbean | Counternarcotics Policy | Mexico | Corruption

Interview | Journal of International Affairs

Transnational Organized Crime: Whither Antidrug Policy?

Fall/Winter 2012, Vanda Felbab-Brown
In the News

Simply putting more police on the streets might be one of the most cost-effective ways to reduce crime.
October 3, 2012, Jens Ludwig, USA Today
In the News

It doesn't look like the Colorado shootings will galvanize the gun control issue. The National Rifle Association has a solid lock on the gun issue and effectively is preventing any serious discussion of gun violence. Americans don't like to connect our gun policies on assault weapons with violent crime and it doesn't look like that is going to change any time soon.
August 1, 2012, Darrell M. West, Xinhua
In the News

Already the [Mexican] government is taking flak for letting less violent and ostentatious criminal groups off the hook. It will be an even more sensitive issue for Pena Nieto because he has all the PRI baggage of negotiated deals.
July 3, 2012, Vanda Felbab-Brown, Bloomberg
In the News

There have been many, often credible allegations of the complicity of Venezuelan officials in the drug trade. Areas bordering Colombia are a major springboard for the cocaine trade onward, and the Venezuelan military is widely believed to be taking a cut on the trade, with complicity reaching high levels of the government.
April 28, 2012, Vanda Felbab-Brown, The Telegraph
In the News

Africans must focus on building strong institutions to deal with human rights violations ourselves, else we should not claim to be independent and instead should let others define and enforce the rules.
April 26, 2012, Mwangi S. Kimenyi and John Mukum Mbaku, The Guardian
Interview | PBS Frontline

Why Eradication Won’t Solve Afghanistan’s Poppy Problem

January 3, 2012, Vanda Felbab-Brown
Podcast

@ Brookings Podcast: Mexico's Cartel Violence Escalates

August 27, 2010, Vanda Felbab-Brown
Interview | WUSF Radio

The Connection Between Drugs and War

May 14, 2010, Vanda Felbab-Brown
Interview | The Diane Rehm Show

The Obama Administration's New Strategy to Fight Illegal Drug Use

May 13, 2010, Vanda Felbab-Brown