Posted on 01/03/2011 12:18:13 PM PST by Kaslin
We know about barbarous cartels. But more terrifying is their cancerous spread through Mexican government, and societal decay caused by a state with no justice. There is no avoiding the problem: we need to know all of Mexico, now.
For years now, the drug war raging between the well-armed Mexican drug cartels and the Mexican government has been well documented by the international press. And with that war now spilling into American cities located near the Mexican border, news agencies here are paying more attention to the escalating violence. But while there has been no shortage of reportage on the drug war, few reporters are investigating the rampant corruption within the Mexican government itself that has facilitated the spread and growth of that drug trade — and in many cases has participated in it.
Today, as Mexican drug cartels become more emboldened and lawlessness spreads throughout the country, the Mexican government is struggling to maintain control. One by one, cities within Mexico are being taken over by drug lords and criminal kingpins, as mayors, police chiefs, and police officers are either bought or assassinated by the cartel leaders.
During his campaign for president in 2006, Mexican President Felix Calderon vowed to go after the drug cartels and to reduce drastically the drug-related crime wave that besieged the nation. However, what President Calderon apparently did not take into consideration when making this campaign promise was the rampant corruption within the government itself, from its judicial system to law enforcement, which has allowed this unprecedented growth in power and influence by the Mexican drug lords.
Only four short years ago, it seems Felipe Calderon had no idea how insidious the corruption had become. In a leaked diplomatic cable from the U.S. embassy in Madrid, a conversation in 2007 between the Mexican president and the visiting former Spanish President Jose Maria Aznar reveals that Calderon had admitted that the Mexican government had completely miscalculated the corruption in Mexico and the influence wielded by the drug cartels:
Aznar had just completed a trip to Mexico and believes that President Calderon is doing a “credible job.” Aznar said Calderon admitted to having completely misjudged the depth and breadth of corruption in Mexico and that the pervasive influence of narcotics in the country was beyond comprehension.
The “credible job” Aznar referred to is debatable when you consider that three years later the drug war in Mexico has only gotten worse, and the corruption that has permeated the Mexican government has grown and continues to provide aid and shelter to the criminal rings that operate virtually unchallenged within the country. It is estimated that 90% of the cocaine that is brought into the U.S. comes through Mexico, and while close to 40,000 Mexicans have been killed by drug violence in the past four years, only 2% of the crimes committed are ever punished. This gives the drug lords an immense advantage not only over the Mexican president, but over the Mexican population as well, which is powerless to combat the violence.
What hope for a normal and safe existence can a law-abiding Mexican have when he or she knows that for every 100 of their fellow countrymen beaten, raped, or murdered, only two will see justice prevail?
Even when the Mexican government manages to capture one of the capos, as they refer to the drug kingpins, too often these ringleaders go free due to lack of evidence, legal errors, or unlawful actions committed by government law enforcement officials during their investigations. Blog del Narco (www.blogdelnarco.com), a popular Mexico based blog run by two anonymous bloggers reporting on the drug-related violence happening throughout the country, reported recently on five high-profile cases of captured capos who ended up going free:
Whenever the federal government captures a capo they display them like collected trophies, going as far as showing them on national television. However, when the time comes to prove their guilt to judges, all the sub-secretary of the Organized Crime Special Investigations department (SIEDO) collects is defeats.
Five cases of accused high-profile drug traffickers, some included in government television spots, have been thrown out by the judicial authorities this past year for lack of evidence, omissions or errors in the case files, or for illegal actions undertaken by the investigative authorities.
As the violence increases and the drug lords gain control of more cities, the Mexican government finds itself struggling to defeat an enemy that seems to grow stronger with each passing day. This reality calls into the question the stability of the country itself: how much longer can the government of Mexico continue to hold power while it continues to lose control?
A nation sharing a border with the U.S. descending into anarchy is a frightful thought for Americans, and the obvious implications of such an event should be causing concern throughout the halls of the White House and the State Department. To complicate matters further, consider that Mexico is home to over 112,000,000 people and is an important trading partner to the U.S. And in spite of the corruption and mismanagement, the country is one of the world’s top producers of petroleum with an impressive trillion-dollar economy. A collapse of the government there would not only cause a security threat on our southern border, it would also send harmful shockwaves through the American economy and the world economy as well. And that would only be the beginning.
The corruption within Mexico does not only manifest itself in the drug trade, it is apparent in society as well. With its trillion-dollar economy and petroleum production, Mexico still manages to have 47% of its population living below the poverty line according to 2008 figures. This makes the narcotics trade not only a viable and acceptable option for many Mexicans, but in some cases an unavoidable one.
Nothing illustrates the societal shift away from the rule of law that appears to be taking place south of the border better than the latest trend among Mexican children. Instead of emulating superheroes and sports stars during playtime, children are now emulating drug cartel assassins.
In another report from Blog del Narco, we learn that Mexican children have given up playing typical children’s games such as soccer, and have traded in their soccer balls for toy weapons in order to play “assassins”:
It may seem incredible to some that the children no longer play soccer on the streets as before. Now they pretend to be assassins. They form teams, just as before, but now they arm their mini commando units to engage in imaginary battles that perhaps in the future will be their reality.
The girls too form part of this game, leaving their dolls to the side to turn themselves into assassins. Some are even the commanders in these play groups of children.
The situation with the Mexican children has gotten so out of hand that parents have begun prohibiting their children from having plastic guns and weapons. Even the Mexican government’s consumer protection agency, PROFECO, launched a campaign during the Christmas season exhorting retailers to remove plastic guns, rifles, and machine guns from their toy shelves.
The drug war taking place in Mexico deserves the coverage it has received, but the corruption within the Mexican government and its inability to effectively combat the drug cartels merits as much or more of that coverage. It is a deadly combination that threatens to destabilize a nation with 112 million inhabitants to the point of anarchy. A nation bordering the U.S. with an out-of-control drug war is a serious threat. A nation bordering the U.S. in a state of anarchy, with the only authority being well-funded and well-armed drug kingpins, is a clear and present danger.
Mexico is not a failed state. In order to achieve that status Mexico would at one time have to have been a functioning society based on the rule of law. This is something in it’s nearly four-hundred year modern history it has never been. What it has been is a racist, class-ridden kleptocracy. Only now with the infusion of the lawlessness and ruthless violence of the drug trade and the money involved it is now a veritable madhouse soon to collapse entirely. There is a flood coming this way from south of the border and when it gets here there will be Hell to pay.
This can’t be good.
Thank you for the ping SwinneySwitch.
I tend to agree with jmacusa. The notion that Mexico ever was a functioning state overlooks the fact that it was run for decades, on and off, by Santa Anna; that in 1911 the government was in such shambles that Pancho Villa was viewed as a hero; and that we had to stage one bailout in the 1980s.
“close to 40,000 Mexicans have been killed by drug violence in the past four years, only 2% of the crimes committed are ever punished”
Mexico = Corruption
And if you think Mexico is stopping terrorism from coming over our border, think again!
The latest from Nafbpo
http://m3report.wordpress.com/
Obama Administration moving towards a “Trusted Traveler” plan that will eliminate US Boundaries with Mexico and Canada
PREMEDITATED MERGER
U.S.-Mexico border vanishes under Obama agency program
‘Trusted traveler’ plan eliminates U.S. boundary with Canada, too
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=247113
La Prensa (Honduras) 1/3/2011
Paraguay Announces Main Prison Closure
(Assumption, Paraguay) The Paraguayan government has announced it is closing the overcrowded prison at Tacumbú and will transfer the 3, 000 inmates to another prison. President Fernando Lugo has pledged to reform the prison system which will require $20-25 million. Tacumbú Prison is located in a populous neighborhood, and was built for 1, 000 prisoners but now holds 3, 000.
http://tinyurl.com/23r9v52
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El Imparcial (Mexico) 1/3/2011
Marijuana Found Between Tomatoes
(Nogales, Sonora) A shipment of more than 2 tons of marijuana was the last recorded seizure at the Nogales Port of Entry (into the U.S.), and was discovered among a shipment of tomatoes. Per the (U.S.)
Customs & Border Protection, unusual images were detected on X-ray and as they climbed pallets to check, the canine alerted to the drugs. (Estimated value $4.2 million; both drugs & tractor trailer were
seized)
http://www.elimparcial.com/EdicionEnLinea/Notas/Noticias/03012011/
487779.aspx
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La Cronica de Hoy (Mexico) 1/3/2011
Narco Tunnel Found near Nogales Border
Mexican Army personnel located a tunnel at an abandoned house along the border. The tunnel did not extend into the U.S. The tunnel was 60 by 45 inches in diameter, 1.5 meters deep and 30 meters long. No drugs or weapons were found.
http://www.cronica.com.mx/nota.php?id_nota=552768
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Frontera (Mexico) 1/3/2011
Bus Bomb Leaves Five Dead in Guatemala
(Guatemala, Guatemala) At least five people were burned to death Guatemala and more than a dozen suffered severe burns, including a child. Gangs target buses for extortion, making drivers pay a ‘road
tax’ in exchange for not attacking.
http://tinyurl.com/33zecq3
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Violence continues:
- Decapitated male head only, and a female body with a narco message- Tijuana
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/lt_drug_war_mexico
- Explosions & shooting in Monterrey Monday afternoon
- Public safety deputy director assassinated in front of wife & child
Monday-Sonora
Domestic News – United States
Mexico drug war a nightmare scenario
http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/01/03/frum.mexico.risk/
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FM 755 Exodus-Texas-family being forced to move due to cartel danger
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pP0xXcAUISU
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Mexico cites breakdown in La Familia cartel
http://tinyurl.com/28agkwn
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Report: Many Americans still re-entering U.S. without proper documentation
http://tinyurl.com/29qqrf6
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Want a false Social Security card? There’s a blog for that
http://tinyurl.com/2678cvd
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Border Patrol agents find marijuana in Hidalgo sewer-Texas
http://m3report.wordpress.com/
” They are on borrowed time.|
Both we and Mexico are on borrowed time.”
Precisely.
U.S.-Mexico border vanishes under Obama agency program
‘Trusted traveler’ plan eliminates U.S. boundary with Canada, too
Jan. 3, 2011
U.S. borders with Mexico and Canada simply have been erased under a program run by the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol that issues The Trusted Traveler of North America cards.
Instead of a representation of the United States, the cards issued by the agency under Barack Obama’s leadership carry a logo that depicts North America as a continent, without borders to identify the United States.
WND previously reported that on Nov. 30, 2010, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano and Mexican Ministry of the Interior Secretary José Francisco Blake Mora signed an agreement expressing their intent to develop a global entry international trusted traveler pilot program between the United States and Mexico.
WND Exclusive PREMEDITATED MERGER
U.S.-Mexico border vanishes under Obama agency program
‘Trusted traveler’ plan eliminates U.S. boundary with Canada, too
Posted: January 03, 2011
9:37 pm Eastern
By Jerome R. Corsi
© 2011 WorldNetDaily
U.S. borders with Mexico and Canada simply have been erased under a program run by the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol that issues The Trusted Traveler of North America cards.
Instead of a representation of the United States, the cards issued by the agency under Barack Obama’s leadership carry a logo that depicts North America as a continent, without borders to identify the United States.
WND previously reported that on Nov. 30, 2010, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano and Mexican Ministry of the Interior Secretary José Francisco Blake Mora signed an agreement expressing their intent to develop a global entry international trusted traveler pilot program between the United States and Mexico.
(Story continues below)
Mexican officials believe it would allow 84 million Mexicans to apply for Trusted Traveler of North America biometric border pass cards for rapid entry into the United States.
Trusted Traveler logo displays North America
But on the CBP website that instructs applicants how to obtain a Trusted Traveler of North America biometric card, a generic sample of the card is presented, complete with the logo of North America in the upper right hand corner.
FAST is identified on the CBP website with a logo that includes the three flags of the North American countries – the United States, Canada and Mexico:
The developments are just the latest in what apparently was launched on March 23, 2005, at the conclusion of their trilateral summit in Waco, Texas, when President George W. Bush, together with then-President Vicente Fox of Mexico and then-Prime Minister Paul Martin of Canada, declared the participation of their nations in the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America, without any specific congressional approval or authorization.
Under the SPP, the U.S., Mexico and Canada organized some 20 different “shadow government” bureaucratic working groups composed of agency heads and undersecretaries in the three nations, spanning a wide range of policy areas, from e-commerce to aviation policy to borders and immigration, trilateral travel, transportation, energy, environment, food and agriculture, health, and financial services.
[snips]
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=247113
La Prensa Grafica (El Salvador) 12/28/2010
Salvadoran Killed During Abduction in Mexico
The Salvadoran government confirmed that a 41 year old Salvadoran national was killed on December 16th in Oaxaca, Mexico while trying to escape from his kidnappers. A group of gunmen kidnapped him and 5 other Central Americans from a freight train as they traveled to the U.S.. This was the third kidnapping of Salvadoran migrants in December in Oaxaca, Mexico.
http://tinyurl.com/294cvvm
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El Universal (Mexico) 1/1/2011
Nuevo León Police Threatened
(Monterrey) Two new simultaneous attacks by cartel gunmen against police in metropolitan Monterrey injured three policemen. A previous attack this week left four policemen and an on duty physician dead to grenades and assault rifles.
http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/734303.html
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Terra (Mexico) 12/27/2010
The Bravest Woman of Mexico
The Spanish daily El Pais included Marisol Valles Garcia, the police chief of Práxedis G. Guerrero, among the 100 People of the year, which included music stars like Shakira and Nobel Vargas Llosa, among other leaders, researchers, politicians and athletes.
She appears as number two in the special edition “Heroes of the street. Exemplary Men and Women. “ In a large photograph it shows her with arms crossed, sitting on the desk and with her supporters. At the back of the office is the official photograph of the president, Felipe Calderón Hinojosa.
She is the only Mexican that appears in the annual count of the prestigious Spanish newspaper and posted on its website www.elpais.es.
(Note: a poll with the article asks if she is the bravest Mexican woman. Of 238, 52% say no and 48% say yes.)
http://tinyurl.com/2b7ghag
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La Hora (Guatemala) 12/31/2010
2010: Little Progress in Security
The year 2010 has left more than 6, 000 dead in Guatemala. The presence of drug traffickers has been visibly strengthened by extortion, robbery, gang rivalry and land disputes. Both U.S. & German embassies warned citizens not to go to Guatemala due to violence and theft. In early December, a heavily armed group of the Zetas broke an assassin out of jail. They have continued to attack in
villages, leaving gruesome scenes to frighten and intimidate. A security analyst believes the government urgently needs to take action to keep the situation from worsening. He recommends an intelligence strategy along with a unified command for combined forces.
http://www.lahora.com.gt/notas.php?key=78809&fch=2010-12-31
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Blog del Narco 1/1/2011
Consulate employee is shot dead in Guerrero
A 40 year old Mexican Consulate employee from Chicago, visiting relatives, was executed as he drove to a relative’s home. (Note: a reader posted a comment that he was there at the shooting and says 8 were killed & 15 injured by AK 47’s.)
http://tinyurl.com/27pr792
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Most of the media for the various areas has titles such as ‘First executions of 2011’; ‘First Bodies found’; etc. There were also many with opinions/editorials on how to address the continuing violence
within Mexico, as well as the increasing violence south of Mexico as the cartels spread outward. This just adds to the already serious crime problems found in Central & South American countries such as
Guatemala, Costa Rica, Honduras, El Salvador, and Colombia.
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NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FORMER BORDER PATROL OFFICERS
Visit our website: http://www.nafbpo.org
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