Undergraduate Research at FIU (URFIU) Conference

U.S./Mexico Bilateral Security Cooperation and Outlook for American Multinational Corporations

FIU Wellness & Recreation Center

This research project seeks to analyze current bilateral security initiatives between the United States of America and Mexico in terms of tackling the issue of transnational organized crime. This project will assess the impact that past security policies have had on U.S./Mexico relations and how they affected levels of crime in Mexico. In addition, current policies will be evaluated based on their effectiveness in addressing drug trafficking and crime. This research project will also anticipate the actions of the newly elected Mexican president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, and then provide an assessment as to how his policies will affect security cooperation between Mexico and the United States. Besides that, this project will consider how the issue of transnational organized crime in relations to the Mexican Drug War might affect American multinational corporations operating in Mexico. Structured analytic techniques will be employed in this research project to carefully analyze the contemporary U.S./Mexico security environment and develop key assumptions about the future of U.S./Mexico relations with respect to transnational organized criminal syndicates. This research project will present its audience with appropriate statistical data and information that indicates certain patterns, measures the success of specific bilateral security policies, and outlines regions where there are high degrees of criminal activity and violent crimes. Ultimately, this research project will deliver an estimate detailing which bilateral security policies will change or remain the same under the Obrador Administration, how crime levels in Mexico could be affected over time, and the outlook for American multinational corporations operating in Mexico as a result of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s policies.