In sports or in war, one side's confidence grows and victory becomes assured when it racks up a string of gains and the other side eventually accepts that its rival has an unbeatable advantage.
With that in mind, the following Financial Times report, "Mexicans Fear Cartels Are Winning," makes me wonder how long it will be before the "successes" realized by criminal enterprises operating south of our border lead them to set their sights on their rich neighbor to the north?
There used to be a time when the municipality of San Fernando in north-eastern Mexico was known for farming, fishing and a quiet way of life. Today, it is associated with death.
This week, a young Ecuadorean with bullet holes through his shoulder and cheek told the story of how he and his travelling companions on their way to the US in search of work had been kidnapped in San Fernando by the Zetas, one of Mexico’s drug cartels.
They pulled us out of the truck violently and demanded money,” he told authorities after managing to escape, according to local press reports. “They said that they were Zetas and that they would pay us $1,000 every two weeks [if we joined them] but we didn’t accept and they opened fire.”
Mexican authorities confirmed the account when they discovered in a remote and semi-derelict grain warehouse 72 bullet-ridden bodies with their hands tied and eyes bandaged. Among them was a woman in the final stages of pregnancy.
Revelations of what has now been confirmed as the worst massacre since Felipe Calderón, Mexico’s president, declared war on organised crime almost four years ago have focused international attention on the country’s drug war like never before.
They have underlined the extent to which the cartels have moved into other avenues of crime, such as extortion, kidnapping and human trafficking. And they have left Mexicans with the increasing feeling that the government is losing the war.
It used to be possible to pay little heed to Mexico’s drugs cartels, which supply an estimated 80-90 per cent of the cocaine consumed in the US, as well as a substantial chunk of marijuana, methamphetamines and heroin. Today, the violence resulting from bloody inter-cartel battles over local markets and international smuggling routes affects just about everyone.
An air of unreality reigns. We are paralyzed. Why don't we wake up? Are we truly at the mercy of elites that have captured our government? What is the next step? I fear Americans will react and over react when it dawns on them that we are betrayed by the one that we have elected to enforce our laws.
Posted by: Dusty 'yes' key | August 29, 2010 at 05:23 PM