Posted on 12/23/2008 8:55:35 AM PST by SwinneySwitch
CHILPANCINGO, Mexico - The decapitated bodies of the soldiers lined a major boulevard, accompanied by a sign: ``For every one of mine that you kill, I will kill 10.'' A bag of their heads, some still gagged with tape, was found nearby.
The discovery in Chilpancingo, an hour north of the resort of Acapulco in southern Mexico, marked the most gruesome attack yet against the Mexican army in its half-century battle against drug gangs.
The government honored the dead Monday in a high-profile ceremony aimed at reassuring the nation that it won't surrender, despite escalating violence that has killed 5,300 people this year and the betrayal of more than a dozen top law enforcement officials accused of accepting money to protect cartels.
The beheadings also came as Mexico prepares to use $400 million in U.S. aid to fortify its war on traffickers.
President Felipe Calderon said the attack shows that his government's crackdown is putting pressure on the cartels, and he promised ``firm action'' in response.
``We are well aware that these cowardly assassins are trying to terrorize the state and society,'' Calderon said at a speech in Mexico City. ``We will not take one step back in this fight nor will there be any deal or mercy for the country's clear enemies.''
Calderon didn't attend the memorial, but his defense and interior secretaries stood before flag-draped coffins at the army base in Chilpancingo.
Regional military commander Gen. Enrique Alonso Garrido said the beheadings were an ``offense against Mexican institutions and especially against those who wear a military uniform.''
``These criminals made a grave error with this audacious act,'' he said. ``There will be no concessions, and what's more, we will not rest until we have put them in their place.''
(Excerpt) Read more at valleymorningstar.com ...
Ping!
If you want on, or off this S. Texas/Mexico ping list, please FReepMail me.
“`These criminals made a grave error with this audacious act,’’ he said. ``There will be no concessions, and what’s more, we will not rest until we have put them in their place.’’”
Yet when they show up in the USA, commit their criminal deeds, Mexico defends them!
If US border agents gunned down some members of the Mexican military while they were caught escorting drug smugglers into the US and shot dead on US soil, would the Mexican government honor those soldiers too?
I just have to ask.
“...as the country’s drug battle escalates.”
It isn’t about the drugs, it is about the money and corruption.
It isn’t like drugs are the only area of corruption over there. Make it legal and you’ll see that the crime won’t go away.
Yet, we still can’t seem to get the border wall fully built.
“The beheadings came as Mexico prepares to use $400 million in U.S. aid to fortify its war on traffickers.”
I wonder how much of the $400 million will find its way into the hands of the traffickers?
No. They’d be rogues or zetas.
Report: Third of members of Mexican drug gangs are former soldiers
Posted : Fri, 12 Dec 2008 16:54:17 GMT
Mexico City - One in three members of Mexican drug gangs is a former soldier, the Mexican daily El Universal reported Friday, citing Defence Minister Guillermo Galvan. According to the report, Galvan said at a private meeting with leftist legislators that the Mexican Armed Forces suffer some 20,000 desertions every year, and that one third of the 500,000 Mexicans involved in the drug trade have been in the military.
When asked about by Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa, the Defence Ministry declined to confirm or deny the report.
The presence of deserters from the Armed Forces in Mexico’s drug cartels has been well-known for years, although there are no precise official figures on the issue.
In the 1990s, members of an elite group in the Army deserted to create the group of hired killers called Los Zetas, which was born as the armed wing of the Gulf Cartel and currently acts as a dangerous independent gang dedicated to organized crime.
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