Evelyn Krache Morris: Understanding the Drug Trade and U.S.-Mexico Relations

When talking to Evelyn Krache Morris, it becomes clear that she has never shied away from challenges in her work. Her dissertation from Georgetown University focused on a little-known Vietnam War scandal regarding a crop destruction enterprise. Now, she’s tackling another under-publicized subject: the complex topic of the Mexican drug trade and its connection to U.S. relations.

International relations and history have always been passions for Krache Morris, and at Georgetown she was able to connect the two areas with a PhD in the history of U.S. foreign relations. Her dissertation focused on the origins and effects of Operation Ranch Hand in Vietnam. Was it chemical warfare? What “disguises” were put on the program? What was its propaganda effect? Upon completion of her degree, she accepted a fellowship with the Belfer Center’s International Security Program, where she began her study of the Mexican drug trade and how it has affected U.S. relations with Mexico.

“I really liked the broad focus [and] the breadth of what people are working on here,” she says. “I love the acceptance and enthusiasm for new ideas, new topics, and new approaches.”

“The coverage of the global illicit drug trade academically and in other areas is very fragmented,” explains Krache Morris. “People will talk about the heroin epidemic, and about human trafficking, and about violence in Mexico, but almost nobody talks about all of it together, which is very important.”

Her research has made clear that the U.S. government needs to do more to eradicate the problem, she says. She advocates for more aggressive prosecution, including of the banks and bankers that make the system of illicit trade work.

Krache Morris is completing a book on this complex problem that she hopes will begin a conversation in the United States.

“I would like my book to reach the educated public,” she says, “not just policymakers, but also people who hear outlandish statements about Mexico. I would like to see my book move and expand the conversation.”