The American Spectator : Mexico Lost

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Mexico Lost

Even the tourist spots are now drug cartel country -- just in time for Spring Break.

The Mexican drug cartels up to last year had avoidedscaring the tourists: no battling in Cancun -- at least not right in the resort areas themselves -- no shooting in Acapulco; and so on. That's over now. At the height of this year's February tourist season, 15 taxi drivers and a few passengers were killed in Acapulco. This followed a mid-January slaughter of 31 in that resort area. The year before in March a total of 17, including 6 police, were assassinated in what has been referred to as Mexico's Pearl of the Pacific. The drug cartels are no longer honoring their deals with the resort owners.

According to local journalists, the taxi drivers in years past acted as the eyes and ears of the police. It was a convenient arrangement. The cops were able to keep a discreet eye on the always vulnerable but wealthy tourists, and at the same time the taxi drivers received some protection for their "guide" activities in recommending everything from high stakes poker games, incidental drug availability and, of course, prostitutes. It was all quite circumspect and traditional to resort communities in many parts of the world. The drug gangs took them over and the result has been taxis are now the couriers-of-choice -- and fair game.

The resort owners of Cancun employed the same local toughs who later became the soldiers of the cartels to provide protection for their guests from traveling scam artists, thieves, and that part of the underworld that preyed on Cancun's seasonal target of students on school break. The arrangement took a great weight off the job of the underpaid local police and provided useful local employment. Now drug trafficking has increased employment, but also local insecurity and premature death among the formerly ubiquitous "beach boys." Two were killed in January. Nonetheless Cancun remains Mexico's preferred beach resort, if one doesn't mind vacationing under the protection of Los Zetas.

The cartels have destabilized the entire "hand-in-glove" system that had existed for years between law enforcement, the holiday industry, and the security provided by traditional Mexican organized crime. If the Corleone family actually had existed outside of their Hollywood creation, they would have lamented the fact that the drug cartels were "ruining the neighborhood."

The real test will come in the next month as American college students begin their annual Spring break. The Cancun hotel association is doing everything it can to create a secure environment, but the cartels are just not playing ball. The government of Felipe Calderon, as previous Mexican administrations before him, counts on the tourism industry for a major portion of their yearly service sector income and employment. The impact of the ongoing drug wars now adversely affects broad areas of society, even as the profits continue to buoy up investments.

When 30,169 people are killed as a result of drug wars in the four years of a presidential administration (Mexican Govt. statistics 2006-2010, including 12,456 Jan.-Nov. 2010), there must be a recognition that a civil war exists. And yet Mexico is still treated as a friendly neighbor with an unfortunate problem by the White House. The Mexican government may be quite correct when it points to the U.S. narcotics consumer as the reason for the scope of the illicit trade, but it is also true that Calderon encourages the Obama Administration to pretend there is no connection between the cartels' smuggling of humans and drug trafficking.

The latest example of purposely unexplored action has been the movement in Pima County, Arizona to secede from Arizona in order to establish a 51st state on the Mexican border. Apparently, certain Pima County authorities want to ensure freer access for all goods and human travel between the two countries. To suggest that this initiative is unconnected to the conflict over illegal immigrants challenges the public's intellect.

Another puzzle was created recently when the combined forces of ICE, FBI and DEA acted in swift response to the killing in Mexico of ICE Special Agent Jaime Zapata and wounding of his companion S.A. Victor Avila. The result of this joint task force operation in a matter of a few days was the arrest of more than 100 people, the seizing of $4.5 million in cash and sizeable quantities of meth, cocaine, heroin and marijuana in several hundred locations around the U.S. Los Zetas members are the prime candidates for the shooting and it is presumed that those arrested in the raids principally had connections to this group.

Carl Pike, assistant special agent of the DEA Special Operations Division, said the raids were designed "to disrupt drug trafficking operations in the U.S." It is obvious that the entire operation was definitely "personal not business" -- all of which is quite understandable. The question arises, though, of how more effective similar activities could be if the secretary of homeland security, Janet Napolitano, unleashed her considerable anti-drug trafficking forces on a regular basis rather than restricting such actions to such a "personal" reaction to one agent's tragic death.

The Homeland Security department has allowed false stories to be perpetuated such as the reverse traffic in guns from the U.S. to Mexico. Why is that? It has turned out that detailed analysis by the independent STRATFOR group indicated that the figure of 90% of smuggled guns into Mexico was in itself off by 90%.

It's about time the Obama Administration accepted its responsibility to correctly identify the scope of the issue and protect the American public from the dangers that Mexico's economic and human turmoil brings. While this may be seen as a political problem, it is even a greater issue of governmental ethics. Get some backbone, Washington! The time for symbolic action is over. That is the real way to honor Jaime Zapata.

About the Author

George H. Wittman writes a weekly column on international affairs for The American Spectator online. He was the founding chairman of the National Institute for Public Policy.

Letter to the Editor View all comments (51) | Leave a comment

martin j smith| 3.4.11 @ 7:52AM

DO NOT GO TO MEXICO AT ALL ANYWHERE AND TELL THAT GOVERNMENT THAT UNTIL THEY BEHAVE THEMSELVES AND BE GROWN UPS THEY WILL BE KEPT IN THE CLOSET. AND NO DESERT EITHER.

chuck| 3.5.11 @ 8:59AM

Invade Mexico, kill the drug lords and their soldiers, arm the citizens, install a proper government, and give all the illegals here 20 acres and a tractor back home in Mexico. Problem solved!

gsr| 3.4.11 @ 7:55AM

Mass immigration (legal and illegal) won't end until the historic American country and people - basically meaning English speaking, Caucasians, lose our population majority status. That's as simple and blunt as I can put it.

That's what it is all about. The political class desires to "elect a new people". Mass immigration is a mechanism to downgrade the USA, to weaken us, to bring us down a notch or two so we are like every other nation in the world, in true "liberal" fashion, no nation stronger, freer, more prosperous or stronger militarily than any other.

Mexico is the number one source nation for legal immigrants and the number one source nation for illegal aliens in the USA. When is enough, enough?

Mexico desires to send 30, 40, 50 million of their peasants into our country. Are we going to allow it? We are so far.

Pelligrino| 3.4.11 @ 10:02AM

gsr, I am afraid your assessment is probably dead on. (gads!)

Can anyone tell me why a Canadian PM and parliament (the non lefties there) wouldn't be screaming and reaming our current and former POTUS over this?

Sure, we know that the illegal immigration is throughout all of our lower 48 states (Alaska too?) but many have to cross over the easiest/friendliest border into the world and hunker down in Canada to burden their society, too, right?

I should think that the Canadians would be furious at the USA for its "welcome mat" pseudo-border to all of Latin America.

The law abiding, decent Canadians should be lampooning us over this....

Illegal immigrants, illegal workers, drug mules, human trafficers, terrorists, the illegal weapons trade, etc. all heads north and into ALL the Canadian provinces, too, right? (I know that the cocaine does.)

What do I fail to understand?

gsr| 3.4.11 @ 10:47AM

Pelligrino, I'm sorry but I don't quite understand your point/question. Are you asking why more Canadians can't immigrate to the US? I live close to the Canadian border and don't harbor any ill feelings toward Canadians but I am more reducing immigration into the US ACROSS THE BOARD. I don't want to discriminate against any ethnicity or nationality but I do want THE NUMBER REDUCED.

However, I do think some "discrimination" is warranted and not terrible and vile. I would consider most Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, simply....not likely to fully assimilate and become Americans. Their culture/religion is just too different from Judeo-Christian, Anglo-American values, traditions, etc.

Pelligrino| 3.4.11 @ 11:18AM

No, gsr. You misunderstand. Perhaps my fault for not making the questions (above) very clear. Let me try again.

Illegal El Salvadorans, Hondurans (percentage-wise the greatest illegal immigrants to the US), Panamians, Guatemalans, Mexicans, Costa Ricans, Columbians, etc. coming illegally north over the Rio Grande border don't just spread out to Oregon, California, Kansas, Georgia, North Carolina, Illinois, and Ohio....

Some keep on chugging northward and seek their illegal future in Canada (knowing perfectly well that a friend or relative is already in Calgary, Toronto, Vancouver, or Winnipeg), right? They do.

(Ditto the heroin, cocaine, illegal weapons that the mules smuggle -- all is trafficked into Canada's provinces having illegally first come across the US-Mexico border)

This would not be so easy for these Latin (and Caribbean) illegals to illicitly enter Canada via the US if America would get its border with Mexico SEALED TIGHT.

Thus, Canadians must/have to be thinking Americans are dimwits & daft.

Thus, Canadians ought to be screaming at Americans WEEKLY. Right?

This massive influx of illegal contraband, huge amounts of drugs, and illegals that prey upon the Canadian welfare system has to also be placing the Canadian nation's future in grave jeopardy. California cannot afford its overflow of illegals. Why should it be any different in British Columbia or Alberta?

Why do I not hear the real Canadians with fury screaming at Obama, Biden, McCain, Reid, Schumer, Pelosi, Boehner, DHS Neapolitano, Gates, and, yes, former President Bush?

loulou| 3.4.11 @ 1:42PM

In my experience Hindus and Buddhists become very good Americans. They are the kind of immigrant we want--intelligent, educated and law abiding.

On the other hand, the Mexicans, etc. are the lumpenproletariat of their countries. They are dumped here by their governments. That's exactly what we DON'T need--uneducated manual laborers who drive drunk, don't understand the concept of private property and are from a place where the age of consent is 12.

As far as the Muslims, what are they doing here except to enable jihad?

Jacob R| 11.27.11 @ 7:38AM

Spoken like a lazy American who couldn't do half the work that Mexican Americans do on a daily basis.

There are plenty of bad, lazy blood suckers from every race (Caucasians have more than their fair share) but I know plenty of Latinos who are smarter and harder working than the bitter anachronistic commenters here.

Spectator is a place for intelligence, not pathetic bigotry that actually makes leftists right when they talk about persisting racism and xenophobia on the right.

It's not racist to want to protect your country, it is racist to hate an entire race over the actions of some of its members. And you look pathetic when you talk about the nobility of your people as they buy and consume all the drugs the Mexicans at least do some work to supply them.

You're a fat Roman calling a Goth farmer lazy. And 80% of you are more committed to TV shows and movies leftists make than living up to the American virtue you claim to be such a staunch defender of.

Occam's Tool| 3.4.11 @ 6:53PM

Eliminate any currency transfer to Mexico under $100,000. That would eliminate the small workers. Tweak law as necessary. In addition, cut off all Mexican Nationals from free Medical care---pay in advance or leave bleeding. Cut off Mexico from US dollars in this fashion and watch the illegal immigration go down.

Jacob R| 11.27.11 @ 7:40AM

How does that make you feel that the most successful CEO of the last several decades is half Syrian?

You must hate people who are part Semitic like me and Mr Jobs since we're only half god-Caucasian!

Mike W| 3.4.11 @ 8:34AM

Apparently we don't have the will to stop the Mexican invasion. McCain and Graham and Obama are all in agreement in our quest for national suicide.

Bob K.| 3.4.11 @ 8:59AM

We are watching the slow and inevitable devolution of America. California is for all practical purposes now a 3rd world nation. Arizona and new Mexico will follow. And so will Texas unless it joins with Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas and secedes taking along with it the Military bases within their borders.

The geographical uniqueness that made America possible can make it's breakup possible also. The forces of Democracy, Populism and Nationalism, which cannot be controlled are making this possible and likely inevitable.

This country can no longer be governed by, and largely in, a small, heavily populated and urbanized population concentrated on two seacoasts over 2000 miles apart and in the rotten boroughs along the rust belt of the Great Lakes.

gsr| 3.4.11 @ 9:31AM

Well put Bob K. - As you point out, our country is "ruled" by the huge populations of, shall we say, very liberal and/or non-white peoples of NY, LA, Chicago, Wash DC. The rest of us have to live by the edicts that they proclaim.

The nation is being "Latino-ized" as well as "Islam-i-zed" through mass importation of those peoples.

Nightmare on Obama Street| 3.4.11 @ 9:32AM

A fine article but it seems to miss a glaring fact. It is puzzling why so many respected people continually call on the Obama administration to take logical actions that should already be in place in so many areas such as illegal immigration, drug smuggling, violence along the border, the economy, health care, enforcement of the law regardless of race, energy policies, the list is endless. A fundamental fact that needs to be recognized is that this administration does not have the best interests of the citizens and the Republic, for which they took an oath of office, at heart. Rather they are driven by a marxist ideology which requires the weakening and tranformation of this great nation into a socialist monstrosity which will ensure a permanent grip on power by the marxist democrats. The border could be sealed in a matter of weeks if the administration acted decisively and yes Bush could and should have taken this action. Until we have a real, patriotic president in office, this problem with the border and Mexico will continue to fester and will grow worse. Look for the violence to spread in the near future, among all of the American communities in the Baja area which until now have been relatively unscathed. . The brutal reality is that anyone who vacations in Mexico is gambling with their lives. It is safer in Iraq now than in Mexico!

Will| 3.4.11 @ 9:40AM

"Plug the damn hole!"

-Ubiquitous Urban Politician

Boycott Mexico, screw 'em. Spend your Spring Break dollars in the U.S., take your vacations in Florida. Those businesses need your money, not Mexico. Build the wall, call it the "Calderon Line" get the ol' 7th Cav back on station. Stop the exodus or redirect it to China, Zimbabwe or the moon.

Pelligrino| 3.4.11 @ 9:50AM

If Gov. Rick Perry wants to make a difference in his lifetime (to be someone who really matters and not just another "stiff" passing through), why doesn't he just lead the charge?

Texas does not need to wait on the US National/Federal government for squat. (though you'd probably get lots of Feds who'd man up & aid a governor who finally means REAL business)

I bet a lot of DEA/DHS/Dept. of Defense federal assets would gladly (quietly, tacitly) aid -- particularly those that are 1,900+ miles from the capitol.

Seriously. What significant resources does Texas (all by itself) lack? It has the GDP ranking probably of the 20th richest country in the world, right?

Team up with the governors of Arizona and New Mexico....

That's leadership. That's real leadership.

Screw Washington, D.C.

Don't wait on the diaper boys (White House, all of Congress, many cabinet level deparments, etc.) in Washington D.C. to give you your permission slip.

(but somehow I sense the Rick Perrys of this world just want to go on Fox TV --- like he did the other night -- and just whine to Greta about it)

chris haynes| 3.4.11 @ 10:22AM

Keep your shirts on. Put this in perspective.
12,000 murders a year, in a country of 112 million?

That is 10 per 100,000.
The President's city Chicago is 15, Baltimore 35, New Orleans 50. Hartford Connecticut 26.

And the FBI leaves out murders in abortion clinics. The real figure for the US is 400 per 100,000. For New York City 1200 per 100,000. We need to send the marines to New York.

Bob K.| 3.4.11 @ 10:34AM

That is 12,000 that were counted.

WJ| 3.4.11 @ 10:48AM

Good job at trying to put the numbers in context. One thing to consider, the US City numbers you reference are probably ALL murders.

We don't have the ALL murders number for Mexico, just the number of murders related to the drug war.

What is the additional number of non-drug war murders in Mexico?

Seek| 3.4.11 @ 7:41PM

That 10 per 100,000 figure represents intra-drug dealer violence. There's plenty more where that came from. As for abortion, Mexico long has had plenty of it, so much of it, in fact, that the government lifted its decades-long ban on the practice, knowing enforcement was futile.

Aside from the arrogance of treating abortion as murder for statistical purposes, you might try getting with reality before sending in the Marines. I think Tom Lehrer a number of years back had a great song parody called "Send in the Marines."

gsr| 3.4.11 @ 10:54AM

I simply think what we have here is a difference of philosophy. Those who think the United States exists merely as a "place" for half the world to move to and "get a job" and those who believe the United States was created by people (the Founders) who were mostly all born here as were their parents and their parent's parents. In other words, the American people existed before the nation formally did.

I reject the notion that we "are a nation of immigrants" or "we're all immigrants". Both of those are hogwash. The same could be said of many, many nations around the world. Besides, even if true, it's no way to develop a prudent immigration policy.

I'm not against immigration but....for the last 20 years or so, the numbers coming in are just too high. I am for significantly reducing the numbers for say, ten years, then re-evaluating the situation at that time.

It's the numbers that must be reduced or the nation will not survive as one, whole, fifty state country, speaking one, common language and having things in common. Too much "diversity" is not a strength but a weakness.

Al Adab| 3.4.11 @ 1:21PM

The situation along the border is analogous to Pancho Villa and his attack on Columbus New Mexico. The question for our Federal Government is, "Where in Genl Pershing and the 'Puntative Expedition'?"

Occam's Tool| 3.4.11 @ 6:55PM

I don't know if the numbers are too high, but we should be selective in who we get. Adopt New Zealand's policy and forcibly remove others.

Louis Jenkins| 3.4.11 @ 10:54AM

Yes, stay in the USA. You're taking your own life and putting it in the hands of drug dealers. The Gun Walker scandal has been under going investigation since the two Federal agents were killed. Why? These arms were walked by the AFT accross our border, and used against the agents! The ATF knew of this and approved, and only recently busted the contributing perp. Jamie Zapat was killed by a weapon purchased in the US, and traced, under the approval of the ATF. And there's another agent in the mix. So go figure! We have criminals on both sides of the border. Who is watching whom? But don't worry, the Congress and Senate will pull a stitch in their backs jumping up and down applauding the Mexican el' presidentie when he come back to town. Absolutely disgusting!!

Louis Jenkins| 3.5.11 @ 11:22AM

On March 5th, the American Thinker had an article on this. Thought I'd throw into the mix.

http://www.americanthinker.com.....etime.html

No border security, no immigration controls, no nothing. Folks,we are on our own. Haven't we had enough?

Pelligrino| 3.6.11 @ 2:42AM

Mr. Jenkins, thank you for that news link to the American Thinker's article on the ATF issue with "Gunwalker."

If there is truth to all of this, it is more than explosive.

Is the American Spectator staff paying attention to the "Gunwalker" story?

Mr. Jenkins, yes, I, for one, have had enough. I call all of our national leaders cowards, weasels, and slime. All.

In my lifetime our streets are unsafe, no parent with a brain & conscience lets even a 13 or 14 year old run free in the neighborhoods. We have ghettos in the big cities of our land worse than 25 years ago. Illiteracy. Kids with high school diplomas who don't know anything. College grads who don't know squat. Drugs everywhere. Bankruptcies. Foreclosures. Bank failures. The ubiquitous single parent and a black community that has decided fatherhood is for the birds.

And illegals everywhere you look. See the other article posted this same day on the "Vanishing Newspaper boy." True. Some probably rightly conclude that the now perpetual down economy
AND illegals grabbing up the non-skilled jobs killed the all-important teen jobs scene in America.

What we have is Third World anarchy, not the blessed nation bestowed upon us by our forefathers.

What are we doing about it?

Au Contraire| 3.4.11 @ 11:20AM

How about if we start adequately punishing the Paris Hiltons and other useless scum in this country who are caught with drug purchases that support these cartels? Unless we go after both the supply and the demand ends of this thing, there's no point in continuing the drug war.

Steve A| 3.4.11 @ 12:22PM

Au C, Just lock up Charlie Sheen & demand is cut by 50%.

Bob K.| 3.4.11 @ 7:04PM

It won't happen. Coke has always been the drug of choice of the ruling class, as far back as the days of Arthur Conan Doyle and his fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. When I was in DC in the 60's I used to hear stories of silver bowls of it sitting on top of Grand Pianos at the parties thrown by the influential and famous. I never saw it of course as I never was invited.

chris| 3.7.11 @ 9:59PM

I don't know if it was quite as widespread as you were lead to believe, BK.

And there was a time when people who went skiing in Colorado would come back raving about this magical elixir called "Coors."

When it finally became available through a wider distribution, I realized that I had been had. All those jerks who'd been to Aspen were simply trying to make their lives seem even more special than mine, by recounting something that just wasn't true.

You could have put Coors side by side against Carling Black Label and nobody would have known the difference. Certainly not the posers returning from their ski vacation.

gsr| 3.4.11 @ 12:17PM

The drug war is but one problem.....related but still a problem on it's own is the fact of thousands of PEOPLE crossing the southern border, each and every day. Thousands each day. With a poor economy, high unemployment, why are we importing so many people?

Plus, the very "diversity" so many on the left and right worship, has greatly exasperated problems such as the uninsured (healthcare wise) and our public schools (so many non-English speaking kids).

ABNCP| 3.4.11 @ 12:36PM

Let me tell everyone what is happening here inArizona. People in Arizona who live within 60 to 80 miles of Arizona/Mexico border have for years now been terrorized and have pleaded for help to stop the daily invaison of human and drug smugglers without any success.

Drugs are being brought into this country in unheard of quanities with military like operations. A point man with AK-47 type weapons in front, 1/2 mile back are the guards fully armed with automatic weapons, 1/2 mile behind are the mules carrying the drugs (they are also the people being smuggled into this country),
1/2 mile back are the rear guards with more automatic weapons.

U.S. and Arizona law enforcement officers have been shot and wounded and shot and killed inside the United States by these foreign invaders.

On the south side of U.S. InerState Highway 8, between Casa Grande and Gila Arizona there are warning signs that state, "Danger, do not hike or camp in this area." Folks this is 80 miles inside the United States of America. And yet Janet Incomptano says," the U.S. Mexican border is safer than it has ever been."

Thirty five per cent of Federal prisoners are illegals and twenty per cent of the Arizona prison population are illegals. In the past few years, 80 per cent of AZ law enforcement officers that have been wounded or killed have been at the hands of an illegal.

The past two Presidential Administrations have been totaly AWOL or doing the right things to control what is going on at the U.S./Mexico border. This country or any country cannot have millions of undocumented people roaming around with no control as to their whereabouts and who's primary loyalty is NOT to the United States of America. In today's dangerous and sorry world that is insane!!!

The solution is not that hard. Seal the border with the U.S. army. That will stop the drugs coming in and the weapons going out.

Put in an airtight E verify work control system. If the jobs are not there they will leave. Than bring back the bracero guest worker program..
Come on you A hole politicans get your head out of one of your larger orifices.

gsr| 3.4.11 @ 1:06PM

I hear you ABNCP, I have followed this issue for about 10 years now, read a lot about it and what you say is completely in line with what I've learned of the topic.

I live up north in Michigan,near the Canadian border and I've seen cars driving around with "La Raza" bumper stickers on their rear bumper. Not a lot but I've seen a few, way in northern Michigan. There are tens of millions of foreign born resident of our country (legal but mostly illegal), who have not interest in or loyalty to the USA. In fact, many are OPENLY hostile.

We need to "de-populate" by a good 25 million.

Occam's Tool| 3.4.11 @ 6:56PM

I lived in New Mexico for a year and worked in the prison system---dead on comments, ABNCP

Seek| 3.4.11 @ 7:43PM

If you remember, about 30 years ago there was a horrible prison riot in New Mexico in which dozens of people were butchered. Mexican ethnics were behind that one, too. A rotten country, Mexico.

wolflen| 3.4.11 @ 1:06PM

i read with amazement..obama is getting ready to bend over for when felipe calderon comes to visit..so far obama is giving him hugs & kisses: mexican trucking will now have access to ALL US highways ... the US will NOT allow any US armed guards in mexico...he reinstated his commitment to "immigration reform" - aka amnesty...and though its not reported..we know obama will give mexico more $$$ to help fight their civil war..we will keep the borders "open" so mexico can count on its second largest income source...remittances- from all the illegals sending billions of dollars back to mexico...why would mexico want to change anything..civil war included...and they can have sex with our president-whoever is in office at the time...

Al Adab| 3.4.11 @ 1:18PM

Small wonder they all want to get here. That of course doesn't excuse their actions nor our governments' inaction. The states are taking the lead on the issue and find themselves opposed by the Federal Government. What in heavens' name is going on?

ABNCP| 3.4.11 @ 1:46PM

Thanks for the kind comment GSR. I want to make sure that I am not on a anti-Hispanic diatribe. I was born and raised in East L.A. Hell until I was five years old I thought my name was Gringo. Ok, that was my poor atttempt at humor.
And we all know about the trite, " some of my best friends etc".. Well in my case it's true. I went to a high school class reunion last year, the first one I had ever gone to because of prior commentments. 28 years in the USAF. I met a lot of the guys and gals like we all do at those things.
And of course some were Americans of Hispanic desent. For the most part they wanted the border secure. A couple had been in the Marine Corps and one had been in the Army. After a few beers and insults (Air Force vs Marines and Army) I didn't notice any real differerences on that subject. Yeah, I don't think that covers any La Raza or Chicanos Por La Causa types but we need to also realize there are a large number of our countrymen who are hispanic and agree with most of us on this site.

gsr| 3.4.11 @ 3:41PM

Hey, I'm former Air Force too. :-)

I am not anti-anybody (well I am very suspicious of Muslim immigration to be honest and want it cut way back) but the main issue with me is numbers. A nation assumes the cultural "ethos" of the predominant people. For the history of the US, that means, English, Judeo-Christian, basically Caucasian cultural values.

If we import 50 million Chinese, we will import Chinese culture here. Same with latinos, same with Arabs/Muslims, same with Russians or Italians or whomever. Mexico constangly whines about us not letting more amigos into our country when they are number one sending nation of immigrants to the US and have been more 20 yrs or so now. When is enough, enough?

But Mexico is a large country with a large population (and throw in Central America too). There has never been such a siesmic cultural shift in our country's history. Is it really that important to bring half of Mexico here? Isn't it better for Mexicans if Mexico reforms itself politically/economically, instead of shedding it's people?

Cris Worth| 3.4.11 @ 4:52PM

My late father in 1969 warned me Mexico was an enemy. They will tweak us at every turn and do as much harm to America as they can. Dad was prophetic and brother was he right on this issue in spades.

QuietPro| 3.4.11 @ 5:31PM

Why on earth would ANYONE want to vacation in a 2nd world, crime-infested, drug-ridden, kidnap- fest like Mexico? A land populated by incredibly poor, desperate people who have totally surrendered control of their countries and lives to the cartels? Why, oh WHY, would anyone head down there?!

Richard Baker| 3.4.11 @ 9:52PM

Mexico is a failed country which has become the largest narco-state on Earth because of US druggies but the process started long ago. Read their national history. It ain't all the fault of the Yanqui.

Dee See| 3.4.11 @ 10:11PM

---RELAX!

It's been about franchise slum standardization,
melding into one great disfunctional,
globalised post-industrial borg and eugenics
state all along.

----The agenda's right on schedule!

---------EVERYTHING'S UNDER CONTROL!

John II| 3.4.11 @ 10:35PM

Yes, it started about 500 years ago. Among all the nations south of the border, the only one that resembles a sane and stable social order is Costa Rica--which, not surprisingly and like North America in general, was settled by merchants and farmers rather that footloose conquistadores looking for quick wealth and easy pickings.

The cumulative viciousness and imbecility of it all is matched only by a norteamericano romanticism that thinks it charming.

We have a colossal crisis brewing southward, and a smug child occupying the White House.

Tina B| 3.6.11 @ 9:09AM

Why vacation in Mexico?

Well, pre - the rising drug cartels' violence, it was a real impressive vacation experience: inexpensive rentals, magnificent Costa Mayan beaches and ruins, a resort (Excaret) which is unlike anything America has built using nature to its finest. The average folk were welcoming, engaging and helpful.

I am just speaking here of the area I got to travel, the Yucatan coast and seaside villages. I was dreaming of taking my kids and grandkids on a family journey someday soon, and now, I would fear for their safety.

How sad that our corrupt ATF, and hence the corrupt leaders under whose watch or according to whose plan this corrosion has taken place, are one of the underlying causes.

Just explaining why one might want to vacation in Mexico, and regret being unable to do so now with a good conscience.

Richard Baker| 3.6.11 @ 11:54AM

QuietPro:
On this subject, you and I are in complete agreement. Question: What could we possibly learn from the Mexicans that we want to emulate? Answer: Absolutely nothing.

goat| 3.6.11 @ 1:43PM

When Chavez of Venezuela buys a manufacturing plant to build AK/103/105 assault rifles, part of his strategy along with China /Iran is to cripple America. This is where Mexico comes into play, with weapons purchased from Chavez and more weapons on the way, no wonder a drug war of epic proportions is thriving, and border incursions are a daily routine. China sent Chavez soldiers trained in espionage, infiltration, and subterfuge, if you think the massive illegals crossing the border with the rampant drug epidemic is a problem, wait until the real plan is activated and your cities come crashing down around you, now thats terrorism!

NJK| 3.6.11 @ 5:22PM

Apparently Obama, Holder, and the ATF are providing the weapons to the drug cartel in Mexico to shoot our border patrol agents and citizens. Doesn't this make them an accessory to murder? It was one of the guns provided by the ATF at the direction of Obama and Holder that killed border agent Brian Terry. I know it's hard to believe, but Germans didn't want to believe they elected someone who was killing the jews for a long time either. Obama is a sociopath. He doesn't feel period.
Whistleblower ATF Agent John Dodson Exposes Deadly Operation "Fast and Furious"
http://youtu.be/SvRzrSXota8

Sydney Escort| 3.7.11 @ 3:20AM

I had my honeymoon in Mexico. Beautiful beaches, nice people and great food. Not sure if we would go back now. The Drug gangs seem to have no code of honour, just violence. Very scary.

weddingdresses| 6.24.11 @ 2:11AM

العاب بنات| 4.11.12 @ 6:02PM

Spectator is a place for intelligence, not pathetic bigotry that actually makes leftists right when they talk about persisting racism and xenophobia on the right.