9781422286906

Timeline

1994

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) goes into effect in January.

2000 2006

Vicente Fox, a PAN candidate, is elected president.

The United States begins to construct a controversial fence along the border with Sonoma and Baja California, to reduce drug smuggling and illegal immigration. In December, Mexican president Felipe Calderón orders federal soldiers and police to intervene in turf wars among powerful drug cartels, beginning a period of violence known as the narco war. PAN candidate José Guadalupe Osuna Millán is elected governor of Baja California. Despite the efforts of Mexican law enforcement agencies, drug- related gang violence remains a major problem in the northwestern states near the U.S. border as drug cartels fight for control over smuggling routes. The Mexican government reports that more than 6,500 people were killed in drug-related incidents during the year, making it the deadliest year of the narco war. The San Ysidro Land Port of Entry Expansion Project, to ease congestion at the Tijuana-San Diego border crossing, begins. Enrique Peña Nieto is elected president of Mexico, receiving 38 percent of the vote. His election returns the PRI to power after 12 years of PAN rule. He is sworn in as president on December 1. Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, leader of the powerful Sinaloa drug cartel, is arrested by the Mexican military.

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2007

2008

2009

2011

2012

2014