http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44166524...news-americas/
Nothing new here, but still interesting to me for the following reasons.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.
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?
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.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.
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.
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