Mexico’s drug war is giving growers a break

Washington Post ^ | October 23, 2011 | Nick Miroff and William Booth,

[Cincinatus' Wife]

EL BARRIL, Mexico — The Mexican government is allowing domestic marijuana and opium poppy production to climb to record levels, as soldiers who once cut and burned illegal crops here in the vast Sierra Madre mountains are being redeployed to cities to wage urban warfare against criminal gangs.

Since President Felipe Calderon ordered his troops into the streets in late 2006, the acreage dedicated to marijuana farming has nearly doubled in Mexico, according to technical reports by the U.S. government and the United Nations, data provided by the Mexican military, and interviews with law enforcement agents and growers.

The acreage devoted to opium poppies has also soared, according to the U.S. State Department, making Mexico the second-leading heroin producer in the world, after Afghanistan, whose crop goes mostly to Europe and Asia.......

“Yes, it is a change in strategy, as the army now gives priority to catching criminals and seizing cocaine, which is far more valuable to the cartels” than marijuana or heroin, said Raul Benitez, an expert in drug trafficking and national security at the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

The Mexican government, Benitez said, also cares less about marijuana cultivation these days because the U.S. government appears to care less.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Rick Perry: ...."We’re not going to compromise with our national security. And that is true when it comes to defense spending and when it comes to border security. And let me say this about border security. I have lived and breathed this issue for over a decade as a border governor. I’ve signed budgets that contained a total of $400 million dollars of state security operations along that border. I’ve dealt with the carnage caused by those who traffic in drugs, weapons and people. As border governor, I know first hand the failures of our federal border policies and I know the answers to those failures is not to grant amnesty to those who broke the laws to come into this country.

I was proud to sign legislation requiring a photo voter ID to vote in order to protect the integrity of our elections. And for the obvious security reasons, I vetoed legislation to give drivers licenses to illegal aliens. There is no homeland security without border security. Let me repeat that, there is no security without border security. And make no mistake about it, what we are seeing south of our border is nothing short of a war being waged by these narco-terrorists. They represent a clear and a present danger to our country - they are spreading violence to American cities; they are peddling poisons to our children. In the face of this threat, we shouldn’t take any operations off the table, including security operations in cooperation with the Mexican government, as we did with Columbia some years ago. You can’t have liberty - you can’t have opportunity - you can’t have prosperity, without security."...... [Values Voters Summit -- Oct 7, 2011]

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[Rick Perry Speech and Q&A at Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition] October 21, 2011

[Cincinatus' Wife]

What is wrong with this picture?

Gov. Perry asks for drones and technology, and more boots on the U.S. Mexican border. Meanwhile Texas Rangers are patrolling the U.S. Mexican border (1250 miles) the best they can -- salaries paid by the citizens of Texas. The International border with Mexico is a Federal responsibility but they refuse to do their sworn duty. Instead we find out the U.S. Federal Government bought and GAVE guns to Mexican drug cartels.

Jaime Zapata, a U.S. Special (ICE) Agent from Texas who was investigating human trafficking (required to be unarmed in Mexico -- so the U.S. knew he was a sitting target) was murdered in Mexico (information coming out points to many more murders and crimes tied to the transfer of these guns to Mexican criminals). And Gov. Perry is the headline.

Gov. Rick Perry states that fencing in urban areas is effective but drones and Intel is needed for the rest of the border. His written and personal requests for the U.S. government to seal the border is ignored by the Obama administration and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. Instead DHS has for years used a drone for patrolling sections our border with Canada and is discussing wider drone patrols and more boots on the ground – on the northern border.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Medical help for illegal immigrants could haunt Mitt Romney “Reporting from Washington— The Massachusetts healthcare law that then-Gov. Mitt Romney signed in 2006 includes a program known as the Health Safety Net, which allows undocumented immigrants to get needed medical care along with others who lack insurance.

…………….The Romney campaign referred questions to Tim Murphy, who served as Romney's state health and human services secretary. Murphy said the governor never intended the Health Safety Net to serve undocumented immigrants. "Our view when we signed the law was that all benefits would be for people in the commonwealth who were here legally," Murphy said, noting that the regulations implementing the program were written after Romney left office in 2007.

But Massachusetts officials involved in crafting the healthcare law said there was broad understanding when Romney signed it that at least some people who would benefit would be in the country illegally.”……

That's -- I'm running for office, for Pete's sake, I can't have illegals. [video clip] -- Mitt Romney, GOP presidential debate - October 18, 2011 - Las Vegas, NV

Rudy Giuliani asked Mitt Romney the same question in the 2008 CNN debate that Rick Perry asked him during the CNN 2011 debate -- Mitt lost it both times.

Nov 28, 2008 CNN-YouTube Debate: Sound familiar? [LOOK who interrupts whom!!]

Funny Accent Mitt Romney, discussing reports illegal immigrants did landscaping at his home: It would "not be American" to check workers' papers simply because they have a "funny accent." [acknowledges need for giving health care and education to illegals]

Sound familiar? Mike Huckabee, replying to Romney's criticism of providing college scholarships to children of illegal immigrants: "In all due respect, we are a better country than to punish children for what their parents did."

At the same debate: John McCain: "We must recognize these are God's children as well. ... I will enforce the borders first. But we won't demagogue it."

[Cincinatus' Wife]

I'm sure that Obama didn't say these things to La Raza nor would Mitt Romney:

VIDEO of Gov. Perry's speech:

Gov Rick Perry spoke to LaRaza about the drug cartels, shared responsibility of border security and that it is Washington's responsibility to secure the border -- that the Federal government should support the military, deliver the mail and secure the border -- and they aren't doing their job. [HE RECEIVED a lot of applause] He spoke of the money Texas spends securing the border, that it must be sealed and then we can sustain legitimate commerce...He told about protecting the sanctity of the vote and strengthening our shared values, family, faith hard work -- they are TEXAS values and we should unite as citizen's of one Nation under God and concentrate on what unites us. He told his Cuervo joke and they found it funny unlike the Liberal Latino Leaders Give Perry Lukewarm Response (or more likely they'd heard it before)

[Venturer]

The Mexican Government is a joke.

The Cartels are running the country, and Mexican officials are afraid to do their duty. Even the military is frightened, and yet we do not close our borders.

No, we allow illegals to walk across carrying anything they like ,we supply Mexicans with guns, We encourage the Occupy scumbags to invade our cities.We send our industry to foreign countries.

Is there any hope for America?

Not with Obama and not with Romney, and not with Democrats and Faux Democrats called RINO’s in the seat of Government.

[WellyP]

They can grow all the drugs they want. Who cares? We’re going to build a border fence and man the border. Orders to “shoot to kill” may be a little extreme but it’s always an option!

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Not with Obama and not with Romney, and not with Democrats and Faux Democrats called RINO’s in the seat of Government.

The Mexican government (if you can call it that) must help build a Mexican middle class (which Gov. Perry has been telling their presidents they must do). They have resources and could be a strong, prosperous country if they had a "Mexican spring" (to borrow the newest term).

I believe President Perry would push Mexico in that direction. A lot of people here in the U.S. (legally and illegally) would return to Mexico to help build on that goal. Which would be a win-win for the U.S.

[Ken H]

One of the biggest obstacles is the fact that drug revenues from the cartels bring in about $14B (2005 numbers) from the US alone. For comparison, Mexican oil exports brought in $36B.

(I'll search and provide a link if anyone wants those numbers confirmed)

[shield]

Perry Ping....

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[Cincinatus' Wife]

That’s interesting information.

And it does tell us a lot.

No wonder taking a life has become so “easy” in these cartel border wars.

This has to be dealt with and cleaned up.