Abstract

CORREA-CABRERA, Guadalupe. The Spectacle of Drug Violence: American Public Discourse, Media, and Border Enforcement in the Texas-Tamaulipas Border Region During Drug-War Times. Norteamérica [online]. 2012, vol.7, n.2, pp.199-220. ISSN 2448-7228.

This article explains how mass media and U.S. political rhetoric have created a "spectacle" of border violence as an offshoot of Mexico's drug war. The study shows how some U.S. politicians and government officials have promoted their political agendas by communicating an alarmist view of the drug war within Mexico that includes a spillover of violence into the United States and narco-terrorism, which allegedly represent enormous risks to U.S. national security. The creation of this spectacle has had a real impact on specific policy areas, particularly on border security and immigration. This analysis focuses mainly on the Texas-Tamaulipas border region.

Keywords : drug violence; Texas-Tamaulipas border; American public discourse; mass media; spectacle; spillover violence; narco-terrorism; border security; U.S. immigration policy.

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