NewsTracker Answers for week of July 29, 2024

Q: Two leaders of Mexico’s Sinaloa drug cartel were arrested last week after their plane landed in El Paso. Sources said one of them had arranged to give himself up and lured the second cartel leader onto the plane. Where is Mexico?

Circle the area on this map

Q: The violent drug gang is active across much of Mexico, but it gets its name from a northwestern Mexican state on which gulf?

A. Gulf of Cadiz

B. Gulf of California

C. Gulf of Cazones

D. Gulf of Mexico

B. The Gulf of California is the section of the Pacific Ocean that separates the Baja California peninsula from the Mexican mainland. The Gulf of Mexico is on the country’s east coast and is part of the Atlantic Ocean.

Q: Some observers expect the arrests to trigger a surge in violence as drug gangsters fight for power. Drug warfare is the leading cause of murders in Mexico. How does Mexico’s homicide rate compare with the United States?

A. Nearly the same

B. 2 times higher

C. 4 times higher

D. 6 times higher

C. Mexico has 28.4 intentional homicides for every 100,000 people compared with a rate of 6.4 per 100,000 in the United States. In addition to killing each other, Mexico’s drug gangsters kill tens of thousands of civilians, including politicians and journalists. The Mexican cartels sell nearly all their drugs to the United States where they buy nearly all of their weapons. This trade has been estimated to be as high as $50 billion a year.

Q: Last year, the United States did $798.83 billion in legal trade with Mexico, its biggest trading partner. How long is the border between the nations?

A. 140 miles

B. 372 miles

C. 1,241 miles

D. 1,954 miles

D. The border with Mexico is a total of 1,954 miles long, including 140.4 miles shared with California. 372.5 miles shared with Arizona, 179.5 miles shared with New Mexico, and 1,241 miles shared with Texas. It is the world’s most frequently crossed border, with about 350 million documented crossings annually.

Q: Some U.S. politicians have advocated shutting down the border or even sending troops into Mexico to stop the flow of drugs and undocumented immigrants. How much of Mexico did the United States acquire in the Mexican-American War of 1846-1848?

A. More than half

B. About a third

C. Less than a quarter

A. The war was triggered when the United States annexed Texas in late 1845, after Mexican warnings that the breakaway territory was still part of Mexico. U.S. forces defeated Mexican troops and seized the capital of Mexico City. In the peace treaty, the United States got what is now Texas, California, Nevada, Utah, and parts of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming in exchange for $18.25 million in damages and debt.