The cartels haven't needed "outside help"
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Originally Posted by
motorfirebox
I thought this portion was especially interesting:
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Tunnels the cartels have built that cross from Mexico into the U.S. have grown increasingly sophisticated. It is a learned skill, the agent said points to Hezbollah's involvement.
"Where are the knowledgeable tunnel builders? Certainly in the Middle East," he said.
The agent making connections between cartel tunnels and Middle Eastern orgs such as Hizballah, whether by intent or (post 9/11) knee-jerk reaction, ignores six centuries of mining history and know-how in Mexico. The modern mining industry in Mexico is huge, and a substantial portion of the population in Sonora, Coahuila, Chihuahua, Durango, Sinaloa, Nuevo Leon, and about seven other central states have been employed in it. The cartels have no need to seek outside expertise and, as far as I can tell, have not done so.
Mexico's splintering drug gangs pose new risks
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44166524...news-americas/
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They prove themselves with escalating acts of violence and earn extra cash by branching into parallel criminal enterprises like kidnapping and extortion.
"It seems like every day we hear of a new group. There are more than I can count," said a U.S. official in Mexico.
Nothing new here, but still interesting to me for the following reasons.
It addresses that the fact that killing and capturing the cartel leaders isn't having a positive effect (an old story, but one we fail to learn).
It points out that gangs are competing with each other by upping the level of mindless violence. There is no attempt by some (perhaps most) gangs to win the support of the locals, but simply to impliment more and more violence, to what end who knows?
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The expansion of Mexico's drug trade -- which rakes in an estimated $40 billion per year -- can also fan internal rivalries and divisions. Poppy cultivation in Mexico jumped 500 percent between 2003 and 2009 while marijuana growing tripled, the U.S. government says.
The opportunity to rake in profits, to achieve status, etc. is simply too great for many Mexicans to ignore. Killing off the cartel heads simply makes the problem more complex, and doesn't touch the real issue which is the huge market (demand) for the drugs.
While there have always been violent gangs/outlaws in Mexico, the level of violence now is bound to have long term and serious cultural impacts that will pose security risks for years to come.
The Author definitiely has a perspective.
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Originally Posted by
davidbfpo
Good catch David. Looks as though the author is attempting to cast blame on the 'Gun Lobby' in an attempt to deflect attention from overzealous Supervisory ATF Agents and US Attorneys and a badly flawed plan, if one can even call it that... :wry:
ATFE is not hamstrung by the so called gun lobby, most ATFE Agents are sensible and have no problem with legal use of firearms -- that is not true of the managers and senior folks who hew to the attitude of the Administration which hires them much as most street cops do not object to private firearms but their Chiefs tend to support their Mayors who often do object to weapons for political or personal reasons.
The reported effort is, IMO, an textbook illustration of why Law Enforcement agencies should generally not engage in intelligence operations other than purely local and absolutely domestic efforts with clearly defined parameters.
A Law Enforcement officer is trained and sworn to preclude or deter crime and catch malefactors. Asking one to suppress that dedication and allow criminal activity -- or participate in it -- is virtually guaranteed to have a bad outcome.
Far better for dedicated intelligence or counterintelligence agencies to perform such operations, particularly if the breaking of laws is likely to be involved. Here in the US, we have allowed politics and turf battles to intrude on that desirable separation of function. We also are rather hypocritical on the subject of breaking laws to gather intelligence or to contain criminal activity -- essentially, if an effort succeeds, all is sweetness and light, if it fails, the masterminds skate and the minions are punished... :mad:
In the case of this particular effort, the question is indeed why anyone thought this would work at all -- and apparently that the likelihood of blowback was slim. Mind boggling. :eek:
There were other ways to obtain the information desired -- but that would have entailed a competent intelligence operation focused on Mexico and not in the US...
Greetings from Xalapa, Veracruz Mexico
MD Geriatric's is my field.
Scare to death with this "Zetas " gang of nuts.
Criminal Insurgencies in Mexico and the Americas
Criminal Insurgencies in Mexico and the Americas
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Connie Mack: “State Department Not Closely Tracking Threat Of Mexican Drug Cartels.”
Connie Mack: “State Department Not Closely Tracking Threat Of Mexican Drug Cartels.”
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Mexico's "Narco-Refugees": The Looming Challenge for U.S. National Security
Mexico's "Narco-Refugees": The Looming Challenge for U.S. National Security
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