Mexico's Drug War

[Hanzo]

I don't know if many of you know this but many parts of Mexico are under siege. Mexico has recorded over 7,000 drug related murders since January of 2007. Many occurred last year when the country recorded nearly 6,000 murders in one year. This recent spike in violence started right around the time American and Colombian drug forces scored major victories in Colombia toppling the Medellin and Cali cartels. However, these efforts sparked some unexpected results. The decentralization of the drug trade in Colombia left the remaining fragmented factions to take less sophisticated measures in exporting their drugs. Why build a submarine (YES Colombian drug leaders had actually hired engineers to build a submarine so they bring drugs into the United States via submarine) when you can just bring the drugs up Latin America. This is where Mexico comes in.

Cocaine and Marijuana are produced and processed in Colombia. The drugs are then shipped from Colombia threw Panama and Guatemala into Mexico. Of course, the drugs are then smuggled into the United States. Well, this has not been the predominant method to bring drugs into the United States, but since drugs have been shipped up Latin America it has made Mexican drug dealers quite wealthy. Many believe that the drug dealers in Mexico have in fact become more wealthy then the Mexican government itself. The drug dealers use their wealth to buy weapons from all over the world but particularly the United States. This has led to a bloody war between government officials and drug cartel guerrillas.

The Los Angeles Times has compiled six months worth of reporting into a series it has called: Mexico's Drug War. The series takes a chilling look at a war that many don't even know is happening.

http://projects.latimes.com/mexico-drug-war/#/its-a-war

I'm sure many of you are thinking, well how does something that is happening in Mexico effect me? When you take a good look at the situation it is really easy to see how. The United States government recently sent 100 million dollars of aid money to Mexico to help fight this war. This money comes from American taxpayers. One of the most violent cities in the world is Ciudad Juarez. It is a Mexican city that is close to the US-Mexican border. Well... injured Mexican police officers, citizens, and sometimes drug dealers are carried by ambulance from Ciudad Juarez to El Paso, Texas for treatment. Treatment is often given free of charge at the expense of the citizens of El Paso and you guessed the American taxpayer. Also, smuggling drugs into the United States comes with a big price for some Mexican-American smugglers. The kidnapping capital of the United States is Phoenix, Arizonia. Phoenix is 2nd in the world in ransom kidnapping. This is because smugglers or those affiliated with smugglers are kidnapped at ransom to repay some sort of drug debt.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-drug-kidnappings12-2009feb12,0,1264800.story

Something I thought I would share with board.

[Bishop]

Good post. A lot of this is new to me. Thanks.

[coyoteblack]

Ssomeone who watches Lo Dobbs........ good post

[btbesq]

of course I'm all late responding to this one...but it's an American war...i.e. South, Central and North America...that has been and will be coming to a city near you...and will probably get worse before it gets any better...Got fam in Phoenix and the kidnappings aren't making them panic...cuz it's mainly gang related. Kinda like crack wasn't a concern to it hit mainstream U.S.A.

And then my friends from El Paso, right across the street from Juarez, tell me how it goes down there. It's scary, because justice in Juarez is not what we have come to hate in the U.S...And it's only a matter of time before all of the Americas are going to feel it.

Awesome post Hanzo!

[uthamanj]

Many believe that the drug dealers in Mexico have in fact become more wealthy then the Mexican government itself.


I believe that for sure, when he was alive, Pablo Escobar had offered to pay off Colombia's national debt which was about $10 billion.

[toa]

Good post. But maybe Americans should stop providing the best market in the world for illegal drugs and there wouldn't have to be a drug war. I really feel that most drugs should be decriminalized. That would stem the violence everywhere and maybe some of these kids would have aspirations other than being a dealer.

Big pharma doesn't want that though.