Latin American Drugs & links
Moderator's Note
Two threads on the impact of the Maras have been merged into this thread(ends).
Military Review Nov-Dec 06 - Are the Maras Overwhelming Governments in Central America?
Quote:
Location, organization, and numbers.
El Salvador’s National Police (PNC) say there are 36,000 gang members in Honduras, 14,000 in Guatemala, 11,000 in Salvador, 4,500 in Nicaragua, 2,700 in Costa Rica, 1,400 in Panama, and 100 in Belize. That’s nearly 70,000 in the region. In addition to MS-13 and 18, there are Los Cholos (The Half Breeds), Los Nicas (Nicaraguans), and Los Batos Locos (Crazy Boys) in Guatemala; La Mau Mau (derived from the name of rebels in Kenya and a New York gang in the 1950s) and La Maquina (Machine) in El Salvador; La Mau Mau, Los Batos Locos, and Los Rockeros (The Rockers) in Honduras; and the Gerber Boys and Los Charly in Nicaragua.
The maras are not just a Central American phenomenon; they are transnational. MS-13, for example, reportedly has 20,000 members in the United States, 4,000 members in Canada, and a large presence in Mexico.6 The numbers fluctuate—mara membership being dynamic, and gang membership is difficult to gauge.
The Maras: A Menace to the Americas
Military Review, Jul-Aug 07: The Maras: A Menace to the Americas
Quote:
....Although the mara problem in Central America mainly affects Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, the region’s other countries should not consider themselves immune: most of the conditions that have given rise to the maras’ appearance in the region’s northern triangle are also present in Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. Sooner rather than later, these countries will experience similar problems. The mara threat is a serious one. Not controlling it increases risks to the social and democratic stability of the region and has consequences for Mexico and the United States, our neighbors to the north....
Guatemala, ¿Estado fallido?
Ran across an interesting post in El Pais today that discusses some of the ongoing issues within Guatemala and their new president's challenges to include narco-trafficking and the possibility of failing state.
Quote:
¿Es Guatemala la Somalia de América Latina? O, más próximamente, ¿el Haití de Iberoamérica?
http://www.elpais.com/articulo/inter...pepiint_10/Tes
Panama - next narco battleground?
Panama could become next narco battleground, by Chris Kraul. Los Angeles Times, May 23, 2009.
FARC insurgents are increasingly crossing the border from Colombia. Authorities fear that they will spread the drug violence that has convulsed parts of Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras.
Quote:
Panamanian and U.S. officials say it's no coincidence that drug-related violence has risen in tandem with the more frequent sightings of the guerrillas, whom the State Department labels drug traffickers and terrorists.
U.S. counter-narcotics officials believe that the FARC and other Colombian traffickers are shipping more drugs from Colombia overland across Panama to avoid tighter control of Pacific and Caribbean coastal waterways by the Panamanian and U.S. naval forces.
All this has Panamanian and U.S. officials concerned that Panama could become the next battleground in narco-wars that have convulsed parts of Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras.
The Comancheros Are Coming
Music for the revolution 1961 The Comancheros by Claude King, John Wayne starred in the Movie a most excellent Gang/COIN Movie by the way.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hC2gT...eature=related
Trailer from the movie..pay attention to the part about a Secret Society!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMR9L...eature=related
Ecuador at Risk: Drugs, Thugs, Guerrillas and the Citizens Revolution
Ecuador at Risk: Drugs, Thugs, Guerrillas and the Citizens Revolution, by Douglas Farah and Glenn R. Simpson. International Assessment and Strategy Center, January 24th, 2010. (PDF, 77 pages)
Quote:
The changing internal situation in Colombia and the expanding influence of the Mexican drug cartels have, over the past three years, helped turn Ecuador into an important and growing center of operation for transnational organized criminal gangs. This poses a significant threat not only to the Ecuadoran state but all of Latin America and the United States.
Quote:
Research for this paper was conducted over a four‐month period, including three weeks in Ecuador visiting the border regions and Quito. It is based on interviews with Ecuadoran officials, academics and military personnel, as well as interviews with police and military intelligence officers in Mexico, Colombia and the United States. Farah also interviewed senior deserters of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) who worked in Ecuador for significant periods of time.