Drug trafficking is a highly controversial topic because it is an illicit business that generates billions of dollars for cartel leaders. Thanks to this revenue, the fight against drug trafficking has become a priority for the Mexican government since 2006. Illicit drugs are illicit because they pose a threat to the health of users. And more often illicit drugs are presented as part of the daily lives of millions of people. For Mexico, drug trafficking represents one of the 10 most important industries in the country due to the popularity that drug trafficking has gained. National and bilateral efforts to combat drug trafficking have not worked because of the scale of drug trafficking and because the negative aspects of drug trafficking, corruption and violence, and harmful macroeconomic effects, far outweigh the positive aspects , i.e. the microeconomic benefits. Drug trafficking offers many benefits to the Mexican population. economy, including employment, investment and cash flows (Rios, 2008). To analyze these benefits it is first necessary to draw up a list of those who benefit from drug trafficking. Starting from production, everyone involved in the production phase benefits from drug trafficking. Farmers, drug mules, truck drivers, chemists, street vendors, informants, armed security guards and sicarios (hired killers), all those who have worked for a drug cartel receive payments for their work. Although some evidence shows that these workers only receive about 1% of all money earned, the drug trafficking market is estimated at $320 billion and 1% is still a good amount of money (Rios, 2008 ). Workers choose to work for the cartels because of the profits, even though working for the cartels is neither the easiest nor the safest job. Furthermore, employment generated the main reason for...... half of the document ......Masthead%26pgtype%3DHomepage%26module%3DSearchSubmit%26contentCollection%3DHomepage%26t%3Dqry153%23%2Fenrique+pena+nieto +and +the+war+on+drugsRiddell, T., Shackelford, J., Schneider, G., & Stamos, S. (2011). Economics: A Tool for Critically Understanding Society (9th Edition). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc. Reichel, P. (2005). Handbook of transnational crime and justice. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications, Inc. Rios, V. (2008). Evaluation of the economic impact of the drug trafficking industry in Mexico. Retrieved from Harvard University Department of Government website: http://www.gov.harvard.edu/files/Rios2008_MexicanDrugMarket.pdfRobles, G., Calderon, G., Magaloni, B., (2013). The economic consequences of drug trafficking violence in Mexico. Stanford University. Retrieved from http://iis-db.stanford.edu/pubs/24014/RoblesCalderonMagaloni_EconCosts5.pdf