In case you don't know what is going on in
México, let me explain. We are in the middle of an escalating drug war that
shows no end. Not only are the border areas involved, but also increasingly
the interior of our country. Of course, our cousins to the North just laugh
at this and say it is because México is plagued by corruption and a broken
legal / enforcement system. While this is quite true, there is more to
consider.
Some years back, the unofficial stance of the government in México was
that as long as the product (dope) was simply transgressing México on the
way to the market (the US), why should México get so concerned about it? But
then México began to see how much damage this business was doing right here.
The side effects were increased corruption on top of the "leakage" problem
of transshipping across Mexico. That led to an increased dope use and
corruption problem right here at home. It became a problem for our own
national security, big time.
The Fox administration began a full-fledged war on the dope cartels and
has successfully jailed many of the top leaders of that business along with
many middle and lower level dope operators. While the US has concentrated on
the lower levels of dope operators, México has concentrated from the top on
down. México has also made extraditing US wanted dope operators much easier.
The result of this strategy has been to disrupt the cartels, but not
put them out of business. Instead, with many of the top cartel operators in
prison, the resulting power vacuum has fomented a war between the middle
level operators for control. And with the financial stakes as high as they
are, this has turned into world class war.
We are no longer talking about a war between cartels fought along
border towns; it is now going on in what used to be quiet tourist areas,
vital for our internal economy. Note the recent action is formally quiet
Acapulco that involved cartel members, local and federal police and warriors
disguised as police. Also note the recent "incursion" of "Mexican troops" on
the Texas border. In both of these cases, some of the fighters were probably
"rented" troops; disguised narcos or out and out military defectors now
employed by the drug lords ("Zetas").
I have also heard from people that formally lived in towns in the deep
interior of México, moving further south to get away from areas completely
overrun by high profile drug bosses that have taken control of those towns.
How can this illegal business be taking control of México? The answer
is simple: If you have an operating budget that is about as big as the
federal government's budget, you can do pretty much as you please. And that,
my friends is the truth. But let's look at where all this money comes from
and how it affects the consuming market.
Of course, I am talking about the US drug market, the largest in the
world. And the cost to the US in human lives pales the Iraq war casualties.
The related crimes and incarceration of those who have to steal to support
their habits and the two bit peddlers of the product account for about
one-third of the total US prison population. And if all the costs, both
direct and indirect for the dope plague in the US were eliminated, think of
what the US federal deficit would become. If the medical costs for treatment
were eliminated, the entire health care system in the US would be on firm
financial footing.
But does anyone in the US really care?
It would seem not. Does more than $180 billion annual cost (and rising)
in the US of drug abuse bother you? Does more than 14,000 US drug related
homicides a year bother you? (These are US government figures issued by the
Bureau of Justice and the Executive Office of the President Office of
National Drug Control Policy.) At the same time in México, direct drug
related homicide clips along at 1,000 per year and rising. Mexican police
are getting hit hard.
What we have here is another war of terror that is affecting both
México and the US fueled by US money. But it is a war that seems to get low
priority in the US.
Many in the US like to blame the situation on México, but ignore the
real root cause of the problem. I hate to say this, but the situation
reminds me of the illegal worker business in the US. In that case, there are
many, behind the scenes that like the illegal situation because it is to
their advantage. But it looks like the dope situation benefits some very
powerful interests too. And that may be the answer for the reluctance of the
US to take the necessary actions to shut it down. But the only way to so
that is to take down the market.
You might also consider this too: The "tranquility" of the dope
business in México ended with the Mexican government taking strong steps to
shut it down. With no real such effort in the US, the top end internal dope
market in the US is still running in a more or less orderly fashion. That
should tell you something.
In the Annual State of the Union message in the US, was one word
mentioned about the drug plague in the US? Has there been any real outcry in
the US Congress? But I will tell you one thing; México does not want this
business. It is killing us. But we cannot fight the US war here. It is
overwhelming us.
This war is a US generated problem, why was it pushed onto someone
else?
_____________________________________
Richard N. Baldwin T., a HispanicVista.com (http://www.hispanicvista.com/)
contributing columnist, lives in Tlalnepantla, Edo de México. E-mail at:
R1041643422@aol.com
By
Richard N. Baldwin T. /HispanicVista.com