Small War in Mexico: 2002-2015 (closed)

[SWJ Blog]

Narco-Politics: How Mexico Got There and How It Can Get Out

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[AdamG]

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Vigilantes attacked local police officers in the southern Mexico state of Guerrero, beat them with rifle butts and machetes and handcuffed them, then stole their rifles and briefly kidnapped some municipal officials, authorities said Tuesday.

The clash Monday in Tixtla highlighted the confusion and contradictions in the Mexican government's effort to deal with "self-defense groups" that have sprung up in parts of southern Mexico since February to fight drug cartels.

Some vigilantes openly carry weapons and periodically scuffle with police and soldiers, but the most truculent of them have not been arrested even while dozens of members of smaller, more isolated self-defense groups have been hauled off to jail.

http://www.chron.com/news/crime/arti...ms-4764875.php

[AdamG]

MEXICO CITY—For the past few years this sprawling capital has weathered the country's drug war as an island largely free from the violence that the drug trade brings. But a series of high-profile kidnappings and murders has raised fears that crime is once again on the rise in Mexico City.

In contrast to the nation's cartel wars, in which thousands of people have been slaughtered by the country's drug gangs, the recent killings in Mexico City have been far fewer, and appear to involve local street gangs. But many cases have been no less grisly.

One of the most notorious involves authorities' discovery late last week of a mass grave holding the bodies of 13 people in a poor Mexico City suburb. Officials on Friday confirmed that five of the bodies belonged to a group of 12 young people who vanished in a mass kidnapping in May from a nightclub in the Zona Rosa tourist district—the first such crime the capital had seen in years.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...078593280.html

[SWJ Blog]

In Mexico, Self Defense Groups Battle a Cartel

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[SWJ Blog]

Has Drug Violence in Mexico Declined?

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[AdamG]

MEXICO CITY -- Assailants early Sunday blew up at least nine electrical power plants in one of Mexico's largest states, triggering blackouts that gunmen then used as cover to torch gasoline stations, residents and authorities said.

The attacks in Michoacan state, west of the capital, did not cause deaths or serious injuries, authorities said. But they served as a pointed reminder of the strength of drug gangs and other criminals.

http://www.latimes.com/world/worldno...#axzz2iyBZZSkV

[SWJ Blog]

Narco Armor: Improvised Armored Fighting Vehicles in Mexico

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[AdamG]

MEXICO CITY — While millions of Mexicans celebrated the Day of the Dead holiday in peace this weekend, violence erupted in numerous areas of the country as well, including a series of drug cartel-related gunfights Sunday in and around the border city of Matamoros that left at least 13 people dead.

On the other side of the country, the Mexican military on Monday reportedly disarmed the entire police force in the municipality of Lazaro Cardenas, home to the Pacific Ocean port of the same name, with troops taking over the police functions in the area.

The reasons for the military takeover of the municipality in the troubled state of Michoacan were not immediately clear. But Eduardo Sanchez, the federal government's security spokesman, said at a news conference that the government had received tips about possible "acts of corruption, acts of collusion, etc." at the port, which is known as a shipment point for the precursor chemicals for methamphetamine.

http://www.latimes.com/world/worldno...#axzz2k9Tz1PT9

MEXICO CITY — Ygnacio Lopez Mendoza was one of the few mayors from Mexico’s troubled state of Michoacan who openly sounded the alarm about the narco thugs whose extortion demands were targeting even small local governments like his.

“The insecurity … is something that everybody in the world knows, but no one talks about,” Lopez, who represented the rural municipality of Santa Ana Maya, told reporters in February. “Why? Because we have to deal with organized crime, we have to pay them.”

The Mexican government heard his complaints, promising to send more resources to the area after Lopez staged a hunger strike in Mexico City, the capital, last month. But others were listening too.

On Friday, the director of the Assn. of Local Authorities of Mexico said in a radio interview that Lopez had been abducted, tortured and killed. Lopez's body was discovered Thursday in his truck in the neighboring state of Guanajuato.

http://www.latimes.com/world/worldno...#axzz2k9Tz1PT9

[SWJ Blog]

Documents Show Depth of US Concern over Mexico Violence

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[SWJ Blog]

'Narco Cultura' Film By Shaul Schwarz Exposes Drug Culture, Narcocorridos In Mexico

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[Bill Moore]

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-...-another-town/

Mexican vigilantes, battling cartel, take over another town

Vigilantes belonging to a "self-defense" movement took over another town in the Mexican state of Michoacan Saturday amid confrontations that left two people dead and three wounded.

Residents in about a half-dozen Michoacan towns have risen up since February to shake off the dominance of the pseudo-religious cartel, which levied heavy and wide-ranging extortion payments on the population.Authorities have said that some of the vigilantes are supported by a rival drug cartel from the neighboring state of Jalisco, an accusation the self-styled "self-defense" forces deny.

Another case where a particular criminal or insurgent has overstepped resulting a backlash that is beyond their capability to handle. If the allegation of another DTO supporting them is true it makes perfect sense for another DTO to leverage this situation to remove a competitor, and it would make equal sense for the government to co-opt this movement to establish control of the region.

This particular situation nests with a theory and model that are worth considering. Kilcullen's "Theory of Competitive Control" which he expresses as,

"In irregular conflicts (at least one combatant is a nonstate armed group), the local armed actor that a given population perceives as best able to establish a predictable, consistent, wide-spectrum normative system of control is most likely to dominate that population and its residential area."

From his book, Out of the Mountains The Coming Age of the Urban Guerrilla.

The model was one that then LTC(P) Wendt referred to in his article Strategic COIN Modeling, called the equivalent response model.

http://www.dvidshub.net/publication/issues/8238

p.4 (more at the site)

The equivalent-response model demonstrates that for insurgencies to achieve their desired and necessary growth, they must keep their
actions within a “band of excellence,” between the maximum and
minimum acceptable thresholds for violence (V-max and V-min).

While the model focuses on violence, it clearly can be applied to any behavior that exceeds what the population will tolerate to include extortion. The various cartels/DTOs battling one another along with the state and now the vigilantes all have to operate/compete with between V-Max and V-min to establish competitive control of a region.

[SWJ Blog]

Researchers Note: Acronyms of the Mexican Drug War

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[SWJ Blog]

Think Again: Mexican Drug Cartels

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[SWJ Blog]

Helicopter Gunships Used in Mexico Resort Battle

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[AdamG]

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Nine people were killed during a gunfight at a prison in Mexico's violent Guerrero state, after a gang dressed as police officers gained entry on Friday, authorities said.

Six gunmen wearing police uniforms were allowed to enter the prison by unsuspecting guards who believed the men were delivering another prisoner, state prosecutors said.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/nine-dead-a...225239715.html

[AdamG]

Mexican vigilante gunmen disarm local POLICE so they can rid town of feared Knights Templar drug cartel

Residents living in fear of violent criminal gangs in south-west Mexico are taking matters into their own hands
Yesterday 600 vigilantes seized control of town of Paracuaro in Michoacan state in bloody battle that left one dead
Convoy of 'autodefensas', or self-defence groups, drove into the town controlled by drugs gang in blacked-out SUVs
They took back control from the Cabelleros Templarios (Knights Templar) gang which terrorised local residents
In neighbouring Guerrero state, vigilante group the Public Safety System marched in honour of first anniversary

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...ug-cartel.html

[carl]

It was interesting to see the mix of weapons and ages in the two local self defense groups pictured in the story Adam G linked to. The one group appeared to be mostly well armed young men, the other mostly older men with shotguns, at least in the photos shown.

[SWJ Blog]

Vandals or Complex Criminal Networks in Mexico?

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[SWJ Blog]

Mexico: Crucible of State Change

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[SWJ Blog]

Hong Kong Triads Work with Mexican Drug Lords on Methamphetamine

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