Of Mice and Men: Gangs, Narco-Terrorism, and the USA

[MikeF]

Two interrelated articles here....

Salinas churches pray for peace 24/7Seven pastors are hosting prayer sessions, which started Monday

SUNITA VIJAYAN
The Californian

In response to the spate of gun violence in the city, seven Salinas pastors are holding 24-hour prayer vigils at their churches...

Some of the pastors involved said they hope the effort will encourage residents to pray for peace. The prayer sessions are a direct response to the wave of violence that spanned 11 days since July 27, leaving seven people dead including a 15-year-old Salinas High School student on Thursday.

The community grassroots efforts in Salinas are a positive sign to provide a hollistic solution to the gang problem. The local police cannot tackle this problem by themselves, but I was suprised by the increasing level of violence. My assumption was that gangs would attempt to keep their violence under an acceptable limit in order NOT to gain too much attention thereby losing profits. It appears something has changed.

Mexican drug cartels smuggling oil into U.S.

U.S. refineries bought millions of dollars worth of oil stolen from Mexican government pipelines and smuggled across the border, the U.S. Justice Department said — illegal operations now led by Mexican drug cartels expanding their reach.Criminals — mostly drug gangs — tap remote pipelines, sometimes building pipelines of their own, to siphon off hundreds of millions of dollars worth of oil each year, the Mexican oil monopoly said. At least one U.S. oil executive has pleaded guilty to conspiracy in such a deal.

If the drug cartels are adding oil as another business set, at what point do they become an insurgency? Is it possible that they are currently setting up shadow governments and controlling portions of territory?

I would welcome any feedback from the Council.

v/r

Mike

[Ron Humphrey]

If the drug cartels are adding oil as another business set, at what point do they become an insurgency? Is it possible that they are currently setting up shadow governments and controlling portions of territory?

I would welcome any feedback from the Council.

v/r

Mike

Just figured that nobody ever calls them insurgents because of all the political issues with needing to keep it a LE issue on our side.

[slapout9]

They are RICO Banditos. They will sell oil,drugs,guns,people,stolen cars,stolen car parts, used bass-o-matics it doesn't matter so long as it makes a lot of money. We should not be surprised at anything they sell,steal, or smuggle.


They are literally the modern version of The Comancheros.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hC2gThsfTqg

[slapout9]

Here is the modern version...yes this is Australia



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERbKtjy_iG8

[William F. Owen]

If the drug cartels are adding oil as another business set, at what point do they become an insurgency? Is it possible that they are currently setting up shadow governments and controlling portions of territory?

They become an insurgency when they try to replace the existing government as that which exercises authority over them, and use violent means to secure that policy.

[Valin]

A very good blog following international criminal organizations
Friends Of Ours

[jmm99]

Here is MikeF's question:

If the drug cartels are adding oil as another business set, at what point do they become an insurgency? Is it possible that they are currently setting up shadow governments and controlling portions of territory?

and Wilf's answer:

They become an insurgency when they try to replace the existing government as that which exercises authority over them, and use violent means to secure that policy.

which is correct as a military definition. However, it is not the final answer as to what law and rules apply in engaging them.

Drug cartels and criminal gangs in general are Violent Non-State Actors. In their present-day highly evolved form, they are usually Transnational Violent Non-State Actors. Calling them that does not necessarily tell us what to do with them - it only defines what they are.

Nor, does it necessarily help to define them solely in terms of an insurgency. A transnational gang may not be violent on its home turf (it may already own that government, for example). It may be very violent in another country, but not have either the intent or ability to overthrow that government.

Cutting to the "cheese" (because I have an 87 year old, WWII 82nd Airborne vet, waiting to sign some docs), under US law, a state of "armed conflict" can be "declared" against a Violent Non-State Actor, as in the case of AQ.

Normally, we (US) handle gangs under criminal law enforcement rules.

[slapout9]

Copy of RICO crimes to include terrorism. A RICO organization describes very clearly what we will be facing from Mexico now and in the future.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rackete...anizations_Act

[Bill Moore]

http://www.city-journal.org/2009/19_4_corruption.html

The Mexicanization of American Law Enforcement
The drug cartels extend their corrupting influence northward.

Far less widely reported is the infiltration and corruption of American law enforcement, according to Robert Killebrew, a retired U.S. Army colonel and senior fellow at the Washington-based Center for a New American Security. “This is a national security problem that does not yet have a name,” he wrote last fall in The National Strategy Forum Review. The drug lords, he tells me, are seeking to “hollow out our institutions, just as they have in Mexico.”

http://afpak.foreignpolicy.com/posts...#comment-89222

British Muslim Gangs and the “Chemical Jihad”

Some law enforcement officials believe the British Taliban fighters may have links to criminal gangs in Britain whose members are Muslim and who have been connected to selling heroin on British streets. At least one other captured Taliban fighter was found to have British gang tattoos on his arms, according to a western law enforcement advisor to the U.S. military, and there is evidence that various British Muslim gangs have sent fighters to Afghanistan, or sell Afghan heroin on British streets. Roughly 90 percent of the heroin sold in Britain comes from Afghanistan.

"The big bosses have Taliban and al Qaeda connections and we're often told only to deal it to non-Muslims. They call it chemical jihad and hope to ruin lives while getting massive payouts at the same time," said a street dealer quoted in this British tabloid.

While the word tabloid makes me immediately suspect, there are probably legitimate sources that can validate this.

Although the DEA says less than 5% of the heroin sold on U.S. streets comes from Southwest Asia, some U.S. law enforcement authorities nonetheless fear that Afghan heroin could be headed this way. Currently the vast majority of criminal gangs tied to smuggling heroin into the U.S. are Latin American, not South Asian, in origin. That said, Canada's Royal Mounted Police recently warned that more than 60 percent of the heroin sold in Canada now comes from Afghanistan and links have been established between Indian crime rings and that emerging trend.

Interesting to see the Indian crime rings tied to the Muslim run drug trade. I guess tribal identity and patriotism only go so far. Then again they could be Indian Muslims (they only have a few million).

http://www.time.com/time/nation/arti...932030,00.html

A Major Blow to Mexico's Masters of Meth

Whether or not La Familia is Mexico's most violent drug cartel, it is certainly the weirdest. Arguably, it is the world's first "narco-evangelical" gang. During this week's raids, U.S. officials found numerous religious images, "on fireplaces, in closets, everywhere," says one. La Familia members purport to be devout Christians who abstain from drugs themselves. In fact, they insist that while they sell meth and cocaine to the U.S., they keep it away from Mexicans. They also study a special Bible authored by their leader, Nazario Moreno, a.k.a. El Más Loco, or "The Craziest One." The cartel's profits have helped it build a large network of support among the poor in Michoacán, which is also the home state of Mexican President Felipe Calderón.

Insurgent like in that the cartel is attempting to mobilize the population using religion and money to in effect undermine the State's security forces.

All very interesting, and in my opinion this presents a very serious threat.

[davidbfpo]

An update on the NPS project to help the Salinas community:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...src=newsletter

In fact, the cavalry arrived in civvies, carrying laptops rather than M-16s and software instead of mortars. In this case, the most valuable military asset turned out to be an idea: Change the dynamic in the community and victory can follow.

Cites Mike F too.

[Bill Moore]

David, thanks for the post, good to see the intellectual capital of DoD being employed to help American towns solve tough challenges. I hope it works out.