HispanicVista Columnists

Of course we’ve noticed there is a war going on in Nuevo Laredo and other border cities.

By Patrick Osio, Jr./HispanicVista.com

August 8, 2005

 

    

Reflecting a widely held opinion in the United States regarding Mexico’s killing crime wave in Nuevo Laredo, the border city across from Laredo, Texas, the El Paso Times published an editorial praising U.S. Ambassador Tony Garza, a Texan, for having shut down the Nuevo Laredo US Consulate office. The editorial noted how the Mexican government’s called closing the consular office as an “extreme” measure only done during war time.  To which the editorial noted, “In case no one has noticed, there is a war going on in Nuevo Laredo and other places along the border.” It then notes that Mexico “unable to quell the violence has resorted to blaming the United States” for the volume of high-technology weapons that enter Mexico for use by professional criminals including in Nuevo Laredo.

 

To this the El Paso Times editorial says, “There's undoubtedly some truth to that, but it shouldn't be an excuse for governmental failure to take substantive action.”

 

Then the Times adds, “A case can also be made that if there weren't such high demand for illegal drugs in the United States, there wouldn't be all this violent jockeying for power between drug cartels.’

 

“Again, there's truth to that, but again, it must not be used to divert attention from the real problem -- Mexico's inability to control violence throughout its own country” the editorial adds.

 

So let us see if we understand correctly – criminals are better armed than Mexican law enforcement officers. In fact so well armed that they have a plentiful cache of shoulder missile launchers, rocket propelled grenade rifles (in one encounter the criminals leveled a house with rockets), machine guns capable of firing 600 rounds per minute, AK-47s in large quantities and all the ammunition they want, and it comes from the US, but this is no excuse for the Mexicans to be losing the war against drug barons.

 

The US Consular January 26^th warning stated, “Violent criminal activity along the U.S.-Mexico border has increased as a product of a war between criminal organizations struggling for control of the lucrative narcotics trade along the border.” But what it didn't say was that “the lucrative narcotic trade” was in the U.S.

 

So the weapons come from the U.S. and the “lucrative narcotic trade” is in the U.S. but despite this its all Mexico’s fault because of its “inability to control violence” in the “war going on in Nuevo Laredo and other places along the border.”

 

The Consular travel advisory points out, “The leaders of several major criminal organizations have been arrested, creating a power vacuum. This has resulted in a wave of violence aimed primarily at members of those trafficking organizations and criminal justice officials.” From this observation it seems that Mexican authorities are attempting to control the violence. And, most of those being killed are Mexican citizens, be they the criminals themselves, law enforcement officers in the line of duty, prosecutors, investigative journalists, or innocent bystanders.

 

If the El Paso Times editorial has merit, can it be compared to other similar situations? Let me see, where is there another similar situation – hey, how about Iraq?

 

Iraqi authorities cannot stop the violence that has engulfed it. And while there may be some truth that weapons and criminals are coming across the Syrian and Iranian borders, that is no excuse for Iraqi not being able to control the violence. So what if weapons and criminals were to stop illegally entering Iraq the violence would be manageable and eradicated in short time. The fact that it is happening is not an excuse for the failure of the Iraqi government to stop the violence, and this, with U.S. military help.

 

The El Paso Times is wrong in so lightly dismissing the effects that arms smuggling has on the violence in Mexico, as it is in also in so easily dismissing that it is U.S. citizens use of drugs that create the “lucrative market.”

 

Neither country can afford to fall into “It’s not our fault excuses are better than your it’s not your fault excuses.” The fact is that both countries have to stop making excuses and work together to curtail gun smuggling, drug usage, and drug smuggling on both sides of the border. The citizens of both countries deserve better – no excuses.

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Patrick Osio, Jr. is Editor of HispanicVista.com (www.hispanicvista.com). Contact at posiojr@hispanic.sdcoxmail.com

(The opinions expressed by Patrick Osio, Jr. are solely his and do not necessarily reflect those of HispanicVista.com, editorial board of advisors or it’s contributing writers.)

Patrick Osio, Jr. has written a short but intensive manual on the Mexican perspective on numerous issues between our two countries. The manual is an in depth primer on the culture and protocol for better understanding Mexicans that in turn allows establishing personal and business relationships, and how to avoid the most common faux pas that can ruin relationships and business deals.

The manual is available through Electronic delivery for $9.95 making it possible to download the manual to save on your hard drive, printing its entirety or particular sections while reaping considerable savings over printed copies.