EIA country Brief on Mexico
From the EIA
Quote:
In 2006, Mexico was the sixth-largest oil producer in the world, and the second largest in the Western Hemisphere (behind the United States). State-owned Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) holds a monopoly on oil production in the country and is one of the largest oil companies in the world. However, oil production in the country has begun to decrease, as production at the giant Cantarell field declines. The oil sector is a crucial component of Mexico’s economy: while its relative importance to the general Mexican economy has declined, the oil sector still generates over 10 percent of the country’s export earnings. More importantly, the government relies upon earnings from the oil industry (including taxes and direct payments from Pemex) for one-third of total government revenues. Therefore, any decline in production at Pemex has a direct effect upon the country’s overall fiscal balance.
2006 Production numbers for oil were 3,707 thousand barrels per day
US Congressional Research Service Report on Mexican Drug Cartels
Posted to the FAS website
Quote:
Mexico, a major drug producing and transit country, is the main foreign supplier
of marijuana and a major supplier of methamphetamine to the United States.
Although Mexico accounts for only a small share of worldwide heroin production,
it supplies a large share of heroin consumed in the United States. An estimated 90%
of cocaine entering the United States transits Mexico. Violence in the border region
has affected U.S. citizens. More than 60 Americans have been kidnaped in Nuevo
Laredo, and in July 2007, Mexican drug cartels reportedly threatened to kill a U.S.
journalist covering drug violence in the border region. The United States and Mexico
are reportedly negotiating a new counternarcotics initiative.
Although Mexican drug cartels, or drug trafficking organizations, have existed
for quite some time, they have become more powerful since the demise of
Colombia's Cali and Medellín cartels in the 1990s. Mexican drug cartels now
dominate the wholesale illicit drug market in the United States. Arrests of key cartel
leaders, particularly in the Tijuana and Gulf cartels, have led to increasing drug
violence as cartels fight for control of the trafficking routes into the United States.
The Gulf and Sinaloa cartels reportedly use personal "enforcer gangs" to perpetuate
violence and intimidate Mexican citizens and public officials. Mexican President
Felipe Calderón has called drug violence a threat to the Mexican state.
This report provides an overview of: Mexican cartels and their operations,
including the nature of cartel ties to gangs such as the Mara Salvatrucha; Mexican
cartel drug production in the United States; and the presence of Mexican cartel cells
in the United States. Mexican cartels allegedly have used their vast financial
resources to corrupt Mexican public officials who either turn a blind eye to cartel
activities or work directly for them. Since 2005, the Mexican government has made
numerous efforts to purge corrupt police. In December 2006, President Felipe
Calderón launched operations against the cartels in 9 of Mexico's 32 states. He has
pledged to use extradition as a tool against drug traffickers, and sent 64 criminals to
the United States as of August 2007, including the alleged head of the Gulf Cartel.
WaPo - Mexico's Police Chief Is Killed In Brazen Attack by Gunmen
WaPo - Mexico's Police Chief Is Killed In Brazen Attack by Gunmen
Quote:
MEXICO CITY, May 8 -- Gunmen assassinated Mexico's national police chief Thursday, blasting him with nine bullets outside his home in the capital and dealing a significant setback to the government's campaign against drug cartels.
Edgar Eusebio Millán Gómez, the public face of Mexico's offensive against drug cartels, became the highest-ranking law enforcement official to be killed since the launch of the effort 17 months ago. The assassination could give new confidence to drug cartels blamed for 6,000 killings in the past 2 1/2 years, and embolden other anti-government groups in this violence-plagued nation.
Hand To Hand Combat And Mexico's Small War
As many of you know I am a big fan of Colonel Rex Applegate...so what does that have to do with Mexico. Alot. I have been searching for this article for awhile and I finally found it. Rex was warning back in 1995 how dire the situation in Mexico was becoming. It fell largely on deaf ears. After WW2 he spent many years in Central and South America, Mexico as Law and Order consultant :wry: and developed great insight into the problems down there. Enjoy the article
http://www.cs.uwaterloo.ca/~alopez-o.../timebomb.html
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia
I recently saw the film "The Wild Bunch" again. I had not seen it in 20 years, so I'd forgotten quite a bit of it. Great film. Lots of "small war" issues and angles there.
Another interesting Mexico film from Peckinpah is his "Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia". It starts out as though it is from a different time long ago, but then you realize it is in modern times. This is a polarizing movie, either you really enjoy it, or can't stand it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bring_M...Alfredo_Garcia
Warren Oates is the lead actor in this one.
Bring Air Support to Spring Break, kiddies
Travel Alert
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Bureau of Consular Affairs
This information is current as of today, Mon May 19 2008 07:48:05 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time).
Mexico
April 14, 2008
This Travel Alert updates information for U.S. citizens on security situations in Mexico that may affect their activities while in that country. This supersedes the Travel Alert for Mexico dated October 24, 2007, and expires on October 15, 2008.
Violence Along The U.S.-Mexico Border
-------------------------------------
Violent criminal activity fueled by a war between criminal organizations struggling for control of the lucrative narcotics trade continues along the U.S.-Mexico border. Attacks are aimed primarily at members of drug trafficking organizations, Mexican police forces, criminal justice officials, and journalists. However, foreign visitors and residents, including Americans, have been among the victims of homicides and kidnappings in the border region. In its effort to combat violence, the government of Mexico has deployed military troops in various parts of the country. U.S. citizens are urged to cooperate with official checkpoints when traveling on Mexican highways.
Recent Mexican army and police force conflicts with heavily-armed narcotics cartels have escalated to levels equivalent to military small-unit combat and have included use of machine guns and fragmentation grenades.
More on the unraveling situation at
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_p...a/pa_3028.html
Looks like the plan is to cut off the cash at the lower levels.
Soldiers, Police Occupy Two Mexican Cities
Mexico, May 14 (Prensa Latina) Over 2,700 strongly-armed soldiers, sailors and policemen occupied Wednesday the cities of Culiacan and Novolato, in the Mexican state of Sinaloa, to stop the wave of violence gripping this country.
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The contingent is made up of 1,433 soldiers, 500 sailors, 740 federal policemen and 50 agents of the Republic's Public Prosecution Office, who came in armored vehicles and airplanes to support the two municipalities.
http://www.plenglish.com/article.asp...7D&language=EN
Mexico, May 15 (Prensa Latina) The Mexican army, backed up by the police, closed down 26 money exchange places in the state of Sinaloa, for suspected links with drug trafficking, according to reports from Culiacan.
http://www.plenglish.com/Article.asp...7D&language=EN
Meanwhile, the American public gets fed agenda-driven drivel like this
http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=4711745
HE Frag grenades, HE rounds for M203s and M60s don't come off of American gunstore shelves but I'll bet the serial numbers can be traced back to the Mexican Army.
James Verini - Arming the Drug Wars
James Verini - Arming the Drug Wars from Portfolio Magazine.
Quote:
Alfredo Beltrán Leyva was arrested on January 21 in Culiacán, capital of the Mexican state of Sinaloa. The circumstances of his arrest lived up to his high standing in Mexico’s criminal underground, caught, as he was, driving a BMW S.U.V. in which federal police found eight pistols, an AK-47 assault rifle, and two suitcases containing about $900,000 in cash. Until his arrest, Beltrán Leyva was a top lieutenant in what may be the most profitable and far-reaching drug-trafficking organization in the world: the Sinaloa cartel, presided over by Joaquín Guzmán, often referred to as Mexico’s Pablo Escobar. Beltrán Leyva—known as El Mochomo after a vicious night-crawling ant—is thought by police to have been a Guzmán favorite, carrying out multiple murders while moving tons of drugs and millions of dollars for him.
The day after Beltrán Leyva’s arrest, federal police raided two mansions in Mexico City. They nabbed 11 members of his hit squad and discovered an arsenal including dozens of high-powered rifles, fragmentation grenades, thousands of rounds of ammunition, and Kevlar vests stamped FEDA. The police believe this stands for Fuerzas Especiales de Arturo, or Arturo’s Special Forces, a reference to Alfredo’s older brother, who ranks even higher in Guzmán’s organization.
State of Siege: Mexico’s Criminal Insurgency
State of Siege: Mexico’s Criminal Insurgency
By John P. Sullivan and Adam Elkus, Small Wars Journal
State of Siege: Mexico’s Criminal Insurgency (Full PDF Article)
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Mexico is under siege, and the barbarians are dangerously close to breaching the castle walls. Responding to President Felipe Calderon’s latest drug crackdown, an army of drug cartels has launched a vicious criminal insurgency against the Mexican state. So far, the conflict has killed over 1,400 Mexicans, 500 of them law enforcement officers. No longer fearing retaliation, cartel gunmen assault soldier and high-ranking federale alike. The criminal threat is not only a threat to public order but to the state. A top-ranking Mexican intelligence official has noted in interview that criminal gangs pose a national security threat to the integrity of the state. Cartels are even trying to take over the Mexican Congress by funding political campaigns, CISEN director Guillero Valdes alleged. Should Mexico’s gangs cement their hold further, Mexico could possibly become a criminal-state largely controlled by narco-gangs. This is not just a threat to Mexico, however.
As the intensity of the violence grows, so does the possibility that Tijuana and Juarez’s high-intensity street warfare will migrate north. Recent cartel warfare in Arizona indicates that America has become a battleground for drug cartels clashing over territory, putting American citizens and law enforcement at risk. But the northward migration of cartel warfare is not the worst consequence of Mexico’s criminal insurgency. A lawless Mexico will be a perfect staging ground for terrorists seeking to operate in North America. American policymakers must act to protect our southern flank...
LA Times - In Mexico, a police victory against smuggling brings deadly revenge
LA Times - In Mexico, a police victory against smuggling brings deadly revenge
Quote:
Juan Jose Soriano, deputy commander of the Tecate Police Department, helped U.S. authorities find a drug-smuggling tunnel. The next morning, gunmen shot him 45 times in his bedroom.
It just gets better and better..
..south of the border, while the rest of the country remains engrossed in the Madonna/Guy Ritchie divorce. :wry:
http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_10741408
JUAREZ -- A shootout with the Mexican army left two men dead and another in custody late Wednesday in Juárez as the violence continued in the city.
http://www.kveo.com/news/local/31147224.html
A gun battle, south of the border in Mexico involving grenades and assault weapons, kills and wounds several. These are pictures from the scene, courtesy of Mexican newspaper, "Expreso Matamoros". As you can see military officials around a home and on the streets, heavily-armed.
Our News Center 23's Kenny Lopez was at the scene, where it all happened, and he now has the story from the Browsnville/Matamoros International Bridge.
See also
http://www.newschannel5.tv/2008/10/1...e-in-Matamoros
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/14/wo...html?ref=world
Two men attacked the United States Consulate in the northern Mexican city of Monterrey early Sunday morning, but damage was minimal and no injuries were reported, the authorities said. One man fired at the office and another lofted a grenade that did not explode, officials said. The F.B.I. will lead an investigation into the attack. Although there were no immediate suspects, speculation fell on narcotics traffickers.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5g...EFfHAD93RFO200
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — The U.S. State Department has added the border city of Nogales to its list of places in Mexico where American travelers should be wary because of increasing violence.
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"Some recent Mexican army and police confrontations with drug cartels have taken on the characteristics of small-unit combat, with cartels employing automatic weapons and, on occasion, grenades," the alert said.
Now it's just become another Tarantino movie
MEXICO CITY, Mexico (CNN) -- Ten suspected drug dealers have been killed in a gunbattle with police in northern Mexico across the border from Arizona, authorities said.
Four officers were wounded in the battle Thursday in Nogales in the state of Sonora, according to Inspector David Palomares of the federal police. Police said they detained one suspect as he tried to flee.
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/am....drug.killing/
ROSARITO BEACH, Mexico, Oct. 22 (UPI) -- Mexican officials say federal army troops have arrived in Baja California to battle a relentless wave of drug gang slayings in the state's border towns.
The troops took up positions Tuesday in Rosarito Beach, Mexico, to help local police curb the violence, which by some estimates has claimed at least 140 lives since Sept. 26 in and around Tijuana, The San Diego Times-Union reported.
Rosarito Beach officials said they have asked the federal government for even more assistance. Mexican military officials wouldn't say exactly how many troops have been deployed to the state, but at least 50 soldiers had arrived by noon Tuesday, the newspaper said.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/10/...3271224697166/
23rd Regiment Motorized Cavalry lost?
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 10.31.2008
Seven armed Mexican soldiers aboard a military Humvee were taken into custody early Friday morning on the Arizona side of the U.S-Mexican border near Yuma in what officials called *coff, coff* an unintentional and non-hostile incursion.
http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/hourlyupdate/265093.php
Sounds like another delivery escort got caught. Meanwhile, on the strategic side...
http://www.haber27.com/news_detail.php?id=15275
Two senior officials in a major Mexican anti-narcotics agency have been charged with passing information to a drug cartel in return for millions of dollars.
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Even better, when US personnel are put at risk:
Mexican media also reported a protected witness has told authorities that he spied for the Beltran Leyvas on US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents while employed as a criminal investigator at the US Embassy in Mexico City.
DEA's intelligence chief Anthony Placido said he could not confirm that the embassy had been infiltrated, adding it was too early to pull out undercover agents for fear their identities may have been compromised, AFP reported.
Mexico’s Criminal Insurgency
Mexico’s Criminal Insurgency - John P. Sullivan and Adam Elkus, Defense and the National Interest
Quote:
Grenades are thrown at popular gatherings. Mutilated corpses flood the morgues. Heavily armed gunmen blast police to shreds with high-powered automatic weapons. Just another day in Iraq or Afghanistan? No-all of the events described occur regularly in Mexico. Our southern neighbor is imploding under the weight of a criminal insurgency just as dangerous any crew of bomb-tossing jihadists–an insurgency that may soon envelop our borders.
Mexico has always struggled with crime and corruption, but its present troubles can be traced to the mid-90s downfall of the Colombian cartels. Those mega-cartels, epitomized by the excess of Pablo Escobar, directly threatened the Colombian state and lost. As nature abhors a vacuum, the gap was filled by Mexican drug cartels bolstered by gargantuan drug profits. These cartels burrowed into the superstructure of the Mexican state, corrupting the poorly paid civil servants and police officers that make up the Mexican bureaucracy. Those who refused to take a bribe earned a bullet to the brain for their scruples. The cartel evolution in political and financial affairs was matched by a rise in military power, as the narco-gangs built up a capable cadre of enforcers poached from the Mexican military’s Special Forces. These men, known as the Zetas, enabled the cartels to gain a tactical advantage against the poorly equipped Mexican local and state police.
Worst of all, the sheer size of the black economy–$40 billion as estimated by Stratfor’s George Friedman–strangles legitimate enterprise and concentrates power in the hands of a few narco-warlords. These criminal enterprises amass power and legitimacy as the Mexican state loses the trust of its citizens. As a result, Mexico’s periphery has become a lawless wasteland controlled largely by the drug cartels, but the disorder is rapidly spreading into the interior. In a cruel parody of the “ink-blot” strategy employed by counterinsurgents in Iraq, ungoverned spaces controlled by insurgents multiply as the territorial fabric of the Mexican state continues to dissolve...
Houston Anti-Kidnapping Expert Kidnapped in Mexico
Houston Chronicle, 15 Dec 08: Houston anti-kidnapping expert kidnapped in Mexico
Quote:
An American renowned as an anti-kidnap expert has himself been abducted in northern Mexico after several days of seminars in which he was teaching police and citizens how to deal with kidnappings.
Felix Batista, 55, is a senior consultant with
ASI Global, a Houston-based firm that assists clients with security issues, including both preventing and resolving kidnappings. He was taken Wednesday evening outside a restaurant in the industrial city of Saltillo in the state of Coahuila, which borders Texas....
Forget the serious discussion,
The title of this thread is hilarious, it wins my vote for the amateur sub-editorial title post of 08,
It really appeals to my aussie sense of humour.
Mark
General Barry McCaffrey: Mexico Trip Report
General Barry McCaffrey: Mexico Trip Report
General Barry McCaffrey (USA, Ret.) an Adjunct Professor at West Point, visited Mexico 5-7 December 2008 as part of an International Forum of Intelligence and Security Specialists.
In his report, General McCaffrey notes that drug-related violence in Mexico is as severe as terror-related violence in Afghanistan and calls on the new Administration to urgently focus on the growing security threat to the US southern border.
Latest Academic Mexico Trip Report - December 2008 (Full AAR)
Good post and on target I believe.
We have not been very nice to either of our neighbors...
That's generally considered to be not very bright and to breed resentment that regardless of wealth and the size of your lot can lead to power outages, disrupted water lines and their dogs using your turf for a dumping ground.
We should do better.
David has a point. Barry's previous job did give him
some familiarity with the problem but my suspicion is that a flying two day visit and speaking to folks on high -- you can rest assured he did not speak in depth with any peons (LTC and below in his eyes, I suspect) -- does not really give him the depth of current knowledge to be making policy prescriptions. Not that such fact would deter him...
Not having ever been a McCaffrey fan
I would still suggest to all that we don't underestimate his experience with Mexico or his insights. He was, after all, not only the Director ONDCP (Drug Czar) but also CINC USSOUTHCOM at a time when that command had some major responsibilities toward Mexico even though it was not technically in his AOR.
That said, I agree with Ken's assessment about who the General talked with.:wry:
Cheers
JohnT
Is Legalization the Answer?
Major Marginal said:
"This will not go away. There is de facto legalization in most of urban America. In most of urban America you can sell drugs all day long. All strata of society use illegal drugs. It's time to re boot and think about legalization and regulation."
I agree that we need to re-think our drug policy. We spend billions of dollars on drug enforcement every year and little to show for it. I do not believe that law enforcement has ever changed the American public's drug use/consumption, or even mores. either.
Meanwhile, look at what the "drug war" is doing to democracies in Central and South America, it's absolutely tragic.
Would the world be worse if the US legalized (and taxed/regulated) narcotics like Heroin/cocaine, and of course, the no-brainer marijuana? I suspect not.
I hope more Americans start discussing our current drug policies, and the possibility of legalization, intelligently in the near future. . .