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 Green_T
Getting to the chopper
Registered: 10/02/08
Posts: 4,024
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 Q&A: Mexico's drug-fuelled violence 
#9854567 - 02/24/09 06:17 AM (3 years, 3 months ago) |
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Q&A: Mexico's drug-fuelled violence
24 feb 2009 - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7906284.stm
 Gang violence is surging in Mexico despite the deployment of 40,000 soldiers across the country to root out drug cartels.
Beheadings, attacks on police, and shootings in clubs and restaurants are a daily occurrence in some regions.
Some 6,000 people died in violence related to organized crime last year and the situation seems to be getting worse.
What is the scale of the violence?
If the violence is judged by the number of homicides linked to organised crime, the situation appears extremely serious. There were approximately 6,000 such murders in Mexico in 2008. That figure is similar to the number of US soldiers and civilians killed in Iraq in the same year. The rate appears to be increasing in 2009, with Mexican media reporting that by mid-February, there had been 1,000 killings. Government officials say that the statistics need to be seen in context, and suggest that nine out of 10 of all the deaths involve people connected with the drug trade, or law enforcement officials.
Where are the worst-hit areas? Is it spreading across Mexico?
Mexico's northern border towns are experiencing the worst of the violence, with Ciudad Juarez (just across the frontier from El Paso in Texas) standing out as the country's most violent city. The recent murder of a general in Cancun, violence in Monterrey, and arrests in Mexico City have been cited as evidence that the problem is spreading, but it is probably too early to judge. Mexico is a large country, and there are still many areas where the serious crime rate is unexceptional.
Why is the violence seemingly increasing?
There are two main points of view on this. The Mexican government's position is that the violence, however regrettable, can be seen as a reflection of the success of its policy of taking a hard line against drug running. It suggests that the "monster" has been wounded, and what we are witnessing is a brutal fight between leaderless cartels for fewer spoils. But others argue that the cartels have become so powerful that they effectively control some parts of the country, and the violence, which is getting worse, is evidence of their gang law.
President Felipe Calderon has deployed troops. Is this strategy working or is it backfiring?
Around 40,000 troops are actively involved in Mexico's war on drugs. The Mexican government says that the strategy is working. It is true that record amounts of drugs have been seized, and senior cartel leaders have been imprisoned or killed. But another consequence has been an explosion of violence, as the drug cartels fight both the army, and each other.
Why are we seeing protests against the deployment of troops?
Polls suggest that most Mexicans support the deployment of troops. The government says that the recent anti-army protests are entirely staged by the cartels. Journalists and observers in northern Mexico say there is evidence that some demonstrators were paid to attend. That in itself could be seen as more proof of the growing power of the cartels, if they are adding street protests to their arsenal of weapons against the government.
What concerns have been raised about the use of troops?
Human rights groups in Mexico caution against using the military to enforce law and order. Their main concern is a lack of accountability: if a member of the public has a complaint against the army, it is tried by a military court with military judges. Public access to such tribunals appears limited. Others say that President Calderon's extensive deployment of the army leaves him with few options in the future. They argue that if the army loses the battle, or gets so close to the drug cartels that it is itself corrupted, then there is nothing left between the cartels, and the government.
There are regular cases of police officers being arrested on corruption charges, or being in the pay of the drug gangs - how serious a problem is this?
The problem is far-reaching. One reason why the government has deployed the army so extensively in its war on drugs is that it feels the police cannot be trusted. Drug cartels with massive resources at their disposal have repeatedly managed to infiltrate the underpaid police, from the grassroots level to the very top. Efforts are underway to rebuild the entire structure of the Mexican police force, but the process is expected to take years, if not decades.
Reference is often made to Mexico's powerful cartels, who are they? Who are the Zetas?
The four main cartels are named after the places where their operations are based. They are the Sinaloa cartel, the Gulf cartel, the Tijuana cartel, and the Juarez cartel. They control the trafficking of drugs from South America to the United States, a business that is worth an estimated $13bn (£9bn) a year. Their power has increased in recent years, mainly as a result of increased US anti-narcotic operations in the Caribbean and Florida, which has pushed more of the flow of drugs through Mexico.
Los Zetas is the enforcement arm of the Gulf cartel. Most of its members are deserters from the Mexican army special forces. They carry highly sophisticated weaponry, and are dedicated to the protection of drug-trafficking routes.
Is talk of civil war, or a threat to the state, alarmist?
The Mexican government vehemently rejects suggestions that Mexico is close to becoming a failed state. As yet, the violence does not appear to be having a significant effect on the economy and most of the country is functioning normally. Government ministers do, however, concede that the stakes are high. Economy Secretary Gerardo Ruiz Mateos recently said that if the cartels were not confronted, Mexico ran the risk of having a drug-runner as its next president.
To what extent is the violence spilling over the US-Mexican border? What has been the US response so far?
Most of the violence remains firmly on the Mexican side of the border, although there is some evidence of increasingly violent attacks on US border patrol agents by drug traffickers. A US Congress report last year drew on evidence from intelligence sources suggesting that Mexican cartels have also been forging closer links with established drug gangs inside the US. Congress has authorised the spending of $1.6bn (£1.1bn) dollars to confront the threat of drug trafficking and organised crime from Mexico and Central America. So far, $197m (£138m) has been released for military and law enforcement training and equipment in Mexico.
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"I have sworn upon the altar of god eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man" - Thomas Jefferson
Legalize Meth | Drug War Victims
Their vial of acid, which is on the table over there, tastes vile because they're incompetent chemists.
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veggie
Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 13,985
Loc: 
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 Re: Q&A: Mexico's drug-fuelled violence [Re: Green_T]
#9854591 - 02/24/09 06:31 AM (3 years, 3 months ago) |
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I'll add one more question...
How to end the violence?
End Prohibition
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Same problem ... Same solution!
TAKE ACTION TO END TODAY'S FAILED PROHIBITION
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HybridprX
Biodegrader of coir
Registered: 01/29/08
Posts: 1,511
Loc: In a labyrinth
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Re: Q&A: Mexico's drug-fueled violence [Re: veggie]
#9854732 - 02/24/09 07:30 AM (3 years, 3 months ago) |
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Take away the drug trade and they'll resort to extortion and kidnappings, there's only one way to solve this problem, send in U.N troops to take these fuckers out.
It's not the drug thats causing the violence but it defiantly helps fund them.
So even if they end prohibition the violence will get even worse until they either kill each other off or the world goes in with military force to root them out, I hope they do legalize the drug trade and then everyone on shroomery will understand that these guys will stop at nothing to make a dollar.
The U.N should have been in Mexico years ago up-rooting these guys.
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I stare in amazement, I can't believe this is where I live
Every breath I take, I feel my lungs seal. This breeze feels more like shards of glass, I'm more scar than skin.
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Green_T
Getting to the chopper
Registered: 10/02/08
Posts: 4,024
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Re: Q&A: Mexico's drug-fueled violence [Re: HybridprX]
#9854855 - 02/24/09 08:04 AM (3 years, 3 months ago) |
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It got so bad because of the extended effects of prohibition. Mexico is like a scaled up version of 1920's Chicago. These guys have had decades to invest their black market profits, and have become very powerful in the process. If we take away their funding, they will try to stay alive and float, but it will become much more difficult.
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"I have sworn upon the altar of god eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man" - Thomas Jefferson
Legalize Meth | Drug War Victims
Their vial of acid, which is on the table over there, tastes vile because they're incompetent chemists.
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OrgoneConclusion
Pharoah & Balanced
Registered: 04/01/07
Posts: 29,358
Loc: Luxor
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Re: Q&A: Mexico's drug-fueled violence [Re: Green_T]
#9855219 - 02/24/09 09:22 AM (3 years, 3 months ago) |
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Quote:
The Mexican government's position is that the violence can be seen as a reflection of the success of its policy of taking a hard line against drug running
No violence would equal failure? Great logic!
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This is your drain on brugs.
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zorbman
Be Prepared
Registered: 06/04/04
Posts: 5,475
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Re: Q&A: Mexico's drug-fuelled violence [Re: Green_T]
#9856075 - 02/24/09 11:47 AM (3 years, 3 months ago) |
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Quote:
The Mexican government vehemently rejects suggestions that Mexico is close to becoming a failed state.
Of course they would deny that like any politicians but it does look like they are getting shakier every year. In addition to the problem with violence and corruption stemming from the drug trade their largest oil field, Cantarell is rapidly depleting. Oil is the largest source of revenue for the Mexican govt and I believe they are the U.S.'s second largest exporter of oil.
The U.S. military recently singled Mexico out as one country which could suffer sudden collapse- the other being Pakistan. Another good article here:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123518102536038463.html
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Men occasionally stumble over the truth but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened. - Winston Churchill
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 Velazquez
Stranger
Registered: 08/26/08
Posts: 60
Last seen: 2 years, 2 days
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Quote:
OrgoneConclusion said:
Quote:
The Mexican government's position is that the violence can be seen as a reflection of the success of its policy of taking a hard line against drug running
No violence would equal failure? Great logic!
And I'm sure if they did nothing the violence would just stop amirite!?!
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