In Douglas, 10th and G streets are lined with locals casually window-shopping. In one store, mothers and daughters sift through sale racks looking for that just-right something up to 60 percent off. 

This is a Friday afternoon like any other in Douglas. A tourist passing through would be completely oblivious to the violence or uneasiness of a Mexican drug war 10 minutes south in the sister town of Agua Prieta.

“The drugs and violence create fear in people,” said Les Stimac, a Douglas local and employee of the visitor center. “If the drug war was gone, it would be better.”

South of the border, two large drug cartels, the Gulf Cartel and the Sinaloa Cartel, are fighting for control on the Arizona border.

“Arizona is such a key place for smuggling people and drugs,” said Mike Scioli, public affairs officer for Tucson Border Patrol. “Basically, they see how lucrative the business is, and one of them is trying to own it.”

Many locals see combined efforts from law enforcement and Border Patrol, and feel their safety is not at risk.

“If you’re going over at 2 a.m. trying to buy drugs, you can potentially be in trouble,” Stimac said. “But if you’re not part of the drug culture, you’re going to be safe.”

The majority of smuggled drugs going through Douglas are methamphetamines, marijuana, cocaine, and heroine, said Sgt. Hugo Valenzuela, an officer with the Douglas Police Department. Valenzuela grew up in Douglas and has worked in local law enforcement for the past 14 years.

Valenzuela says Douglas has the same type of drug smuggling as other major border towns, just on a smaller scale. 

Border towns like Nogales and Agua Prieta have had an increase in violence, but the people getting killed in Mexico are not American.

There has been and is an underlying message not to kill Americans that all gangs in Mexico follow, Stimac said.

This year there have been about 3,000 deaths by armed gangsters in Nogales and border towns, according to the State Department of Customs and Border Protection. 

There has been more killing sprees and violence in Nogales, Scioli said. 

“I don’t know how much has spilled over to other areas,” Scioli said. “But our main focus is on Nogales.” 

This year, the chief of police of Sonora, Mexico was slain over cartel violence, and a year and half ago the police chief of Agua Prieta was killed by drug cartels.

“It was a typical gangland murder,” Stimac said. “It was a message saying, ‘do not mess with us.’”

The Cochise County Sheriff’s office has taken precautions with the drug violence with increased officer safety and higher awareness.

“Officers are always aware of what can potentially happen,” said Carol Capus, Cochise County public relations. “We liaison with Mexico, border officers and Department of Public Safety. It’s very beneficial because we find out what’s going on there.”