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At Large
To Shoot or Bribe in Mexico
Pick your poison: Los Zetas vs. the Sinaloa Federation.
Just a few months over three years ago the chief anti-drug officer of Mexico, Noe Ramirez Mandujano, was arrested for providing aid to two of the most powerful figures in the Sinaloa cartel. Reportedly Ramirez Mandujano was paid nearly half a million dollars a month for his assistance. This type of corruption that extends from the local cop to the highest security officers is the reason today why it is possible to maintain the vast drug trafficking empire that is Mexico.
This payoff/bribery system, however, is backed up by physical intimidation. The choice of which method to use has more to do with the background of the leadership than it does the perceived tactical requirements. Some of the organizations running the drug traffic have been in existence for many years. The Sinaloa umbrella of organized crime traces its existence to the days when the “Mafia” bosses from the U.S. Northeast and Midwest States moved a portion of their operations to the West during and after World War II.
It was the connection of American crime syndicates with Mexican, Cuban and Central American governmental authorities that provided the supplier/distributor nexus on which the current immense traffic is based. The old “families” on both sides of the border have been replaced by new generations of criminals, some more business than strong-arm oriented. Mexican government sources have made a point of characterizing the current rivalry between the two most powerful illicit drug enterprises, Los Zetas and Sinaloa Federation, in terms of the difference in their methods of operation.
The idea that the use of bribery rather than violence is a less dangerous or even less criminal methodology is a very convenient public relations device for the Sinaloa connections in particular. A business that grosses billions of dollars annually eventually will develop a tendency to want to be viewed with a certain sense of benevolence. It’s quite valuable in suborning government officials on the state and federal level that they are encouraged to believe their cooperation is contributory to reducing violence — especially when that mayhem could be directed at them.
The classification of pro-bribery versus pro-violence is played out currently in an effort to characterize the Sinaloa alliance’s rivalry with Los Zetas as personified by the latter’s preference for quick violent action as their method of persuasion. By contrast, the Sinaloa leadership supposedly takes a longer and less murderous view of its ambition — an image of the Sinaloa contrived to gain it public and political support. Members of the Zetas and their affiliates tend to view the Sinaloa groupings that follow these principles as weak and even cowardly. That, too, is a convenient characterization.
Machismo plays a large part throughout the entire breadth of illicit drug trafficking, and the Sinaloa consider Los Zetas to be comparatively unsophisticated — which is a pretentious way of saying they think their rivals are dumb. It is true that Los Zetas were created from former Mexican Army special forces cadre and that may be why they have gained the reputation of “maim and kill first — gain cooperation after.” In reality the Sinaloa alliances of northwest Mexico are just as capable of brutal action but find cooperation in their part of the country over the years has been gained more easily through carefully applied corruption. Operations against aggressive rivals, however, are as bloody as required.
Violence in drug trafficking sometimes rises to the point of clear-cut paramilitary activity. When this occurs it is virtually always based initially on revenge or what might be referred to as “market maintenance and/or expansion.” In less benign terms it would be called carving out a hunk of the other guy’s business by killing off the competition. An example is the current war between the Gulf Cartel (though traditionally eastern-based, now affiliated with the Sinaloa Federation) and Los Zetas for control of the Monterrey region.
In the instances where Zeta members have been caught and successfully interrogated, the story is usually the same: A Zetas lieutenant approaches a target and demands cooperation. The target refuses to help as desired and is killed and perhaps mutilated along with some relatives and friends. If the target cooperates properly, he may be financially rewarded. Sometimes the cooperating target is killed after the cooperation is accomplished. Such action is usually for personal reasons, but the word is put out that the his cooperation was somehow inadequate. Retaliation begins and everything escalates.
The Zetas show a greater insecurity in their control of the northeast than the Sinaloa Federation does in its turf in the northwest. This along with Los Zetas’ personal psychological and/or organizational proclivity for violence as a method of intimidation and dominance influences their style of operation. In the end, the result is the same between the Sinaloa Federation and Los Zetas. The only real operational difference is that the Sinaloa mobsters play the bribery card before killing and the Zetas shoot first in order to gain cooperation afterward.
The Mexican banking, real estate, and construction industries benefit in any case, as the illegal cash from the drug traffic must be cleansed no matter how it was obtained. Reportedly the Mexican Marines and Naval Special Operations have offered to take on the responsibility of “cleaning out” northern Mexico. Unfortunately that would have to include punishing most of the Army and police there. Neither President Calderon’s party (PAN) nor his political rival (PRI) is willing to go that far.
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 (34) | Leave a comment
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Mike Hawk| 2.24.12 @ 8:43AM
Mexico is a third world Kleptocracy. Why do we even deal with a criminal enterprise like that? It's no wonder its citizens want to escape.
Timothy L. Pennell| 2.24.12 @ 8:43AM
I don't get it.
He's been caught, RED HANDED, breaking International Law, and committing an Act of WAR, against Mexico. He has been caught RED HANDED, running 2,000 High Powered Weapons across the Mexican Border, to the worst people in the Western Hemisphere - The Mexican Drug Cartels. The people who leave duffel bags full of SEVERED HEADS, on the edge of town, as a warning to the others. He has the Blood of over 1,000 Mexican Men, Women, and Children, on his hands, and he could care less. He wanted to use the MURDERS of these innocent people, as a means to push more Gun Control, here.
That is the only story, about Mexico, that we need to be talking about.
Why have we heard NOTHING from the Mexican Government, concerning this Attack on their Sovereignty? Where are the ACLU Slip and fallers, on this one? Where are the Civil Rights Groups? Where are the Hispanic Groups, with their Mexican Flags?
Where is the outrage?
NOBODY Cares about anything else, from our Pathetic neighbor, to the South. It's a shame that we can't cut ourselves loose, from the Lands that Time forgot. If they're not busy re-living the hey days of the Marxist 70's, they're trying to be more like the 60's Cuba, or they're trying to re-create Juan and Eva Peron, and re-fight the Falklands War. Whatever is left over is either active in Cannibalism, Shrinking Heads, or sitting in a Hut, all day, surrounded by Topless, Toothless females, smoking some kinda Ganja, and men with even less teeth, and Bamboo Reed Contraptions, fastened to their Penis, as they hack open a wet log in the river, looking for long white worms to eat, along with the Tree Frog they just caught.
I don't think that these are the folks they had in mind, when writing the Inscription on the Statue of Liberty: "Give us your Poor and Tired Huddled Masses, and your Human Flesh Eaters, Worm eating Headshrinkers." That was the Immigration Act of 1965. Which is why we're where we are, today.
Stay Focused!
FAST and FURIOUS.
Occam's Tool| 2.25.12 @ 7:11PM
Wall.Moats.Ma Dueces. Mines. Monitors.
Elimination of cash being sent from the US to Mexico except between US citizens.
Simple, brutish, effective solutions. We want to keep people out, not keep Americans in. Ronulans don't grasp that either.
A Grin without a Cat| 2.26.12 @ 3:14PM
Ma Dueces? I'm not familiar with the term.
albert constantine jr.| 2.26.12 @ 9:53PM
Ma Deuce is an affectionate term for the M2 Browning .50 cal machine gun, rapidly approaching a century of service.
TW| 2.24.12 @ 8:46AM
To shoot or bribe? Um, I'd say they shoot, bribe, dismember, extort, explode, knife, kidnap, ambush, blackmail, and, when opportunity permits, skin a man alive -- just to 'send a message' to the locals or another gang. There is no end to the possibilities.
Er, probabilities.
Mr. Wittman, you can be glad that you practice your trade of journalism north of the border. If you are a truth-telling writer and living south of the border, well, your life expectancy in years is always less than your shoe size. (Correction, most likely, life expectancy in just MONTHS is always less than one's shoe size)
Mexico -- The land of dead journalists. Number one in the world, what, three, four, longer? years running. When is the last time the U.S. media talks about this?
Bill| 2.24.12 @ 9:02AM
"Pick you poison."
Hie thee to a nunnery.
Bill| 2.24.12 @ 9:02AM
Or pick you not poison.
Dmac | 2.24.12 @ 11:08AM
This is how the United Staes solves the problem with Mexico and illegal immigrants from Mexico.
We have millions, yes thats right millions of Mexican nationals living in the United States. They don't come here because Mexico is poor. Fact is Mexico is anything but poor. Oceans on both sides that provide many resources, in the way of fishing and oil. Natural resources in mining, oil and natural gas. A large capacity for agriculture and ranching. So why then does one out of every five Mexicans immigrate, legally or otherwise the the United States? Opportunity! The same reason our forefathers came here.
So what't the answer? Help the Mexican nationals form a defacto governement and military here in the United States. I know, sounds wild and crazy doesn't it. Its really not though. Most Mexican nationals send a portion of what they earn back to Mexico, why? To buy land or help support family they intend to come back to. Most would stay in Mexico if there were opportunities for them, but the opportunities there come with too many strings attached. Low wages and then having to give part of your wages back to the guy who got you the job.
So why not find those individuals that have learned how to be good businessmen here in the U.S. who have an interest in returning to Mexico and cleaning th eplace up? Why not at least try to find out how many would be willing to train in the military to go back and do what has been needed in Mexico for 80 years, a real revolution by its people to insert a real democracy run by its people? I think this should be looked into and serioulsy looked into. The current government of Mexico is corrupt from top to bottom and has been fro longer than I've been alive. This isn't to say our government isn't corrupt to, it is, but at least we have relative safety here and can walk down most street withouth fear.
It's time for the Mexican nationals in this country to do what they should have done in the first place. Revolt against their government in Mexico and take their beautiful country back from the corrupt politicians and drug dealers.
One other thing I'd like to add, our government was taken to task by Mexico's president not too long ago, when addressing our Congress he tongue lashed the United States for its drug use. Isn't it time that our government responded in kind? Mr. Calderon, this isn't the case of the chicken and the gg and which came first. You were refering to drug use, well sir , and I use the term sir reluctantly, the drugs came first, and they came from your country. Drug addicts don't become drug addicts without first having the drug, the drug that came from your country. Clean your damn mess up and quit blaming the United States for your problems. We all know you don't want to stop the drug trade, you're part of it. It's how your country makes income, from addicting young Americans, our kids to your drugs. Maybe one day the government of the United States will wake up and realize what a danger Mexico's corruption is to the United States.
TNT| 2.24.12 @ 1:33PM
Dmac, I think that you are correct. The ticking time bomb that is Mexico is not going away. It is unthinkable to me that Western Europe, with all its problems, has dozens of perfectly peaceable borders between its nations. Americans love to compare the United States (and Canada, I guess) t0 Europe and loudly pronounce, "America is better! " Well, how so? With all our influence, Mexico, Latin America, Colombia, Venezuela, Cuba, so much of the Carribean.....everyone knows where I am going with this. The Western Hemisphere, aside from the U.S., Canada, maybe Chile, and a few small islands (very few!) in the Carribean is a basket case. A lot of good American leadership has done in the last 120 years.
Nothing on the scale of what is occurring inside Mexico and on the Mexican border even remotely occurs in Europe until one gets to Turkey's borders with Syria and Iraq or until one is deep into the former Soviet Union republics.
Does anyone ever think how America's Southwest would have to be ready -- any month now -- should Mexico's drug wars go haywire and just 5 or 7 million Mexicans want out? Do we have contingencies for this level of almost overnight refugees pushing northward and across the waterways?
This is serious instability.
So it is high time we adopt a real plan and execute it just as you have provided in a thumbnail sketch, Dmac.
You are right. Many Mexicans come here for work and many choose to stay here (legally) because of the safety, stability factors.
We use them and all their commitment and know-how to oust the PRI and the decades of entrenched leadership in Mexico. Why not? Utilize Mexican Americans who know and love their former homeland. Use the full backing of our U.S. military in this operation as there will be firefights with the drug cartels. Believe me, for once, we could finally (in my lifetime) cut the U.S. Infantrymen free to do what they do best -- against the drug gangs, cartels. With Special Ops, drones, Rangers, it is a mission of far, far greater significance than anything in South West Asia.
You folks have never seen what the U.S. Infantryman can do. Do this op against a narco-state in Mexico and we will have all the puppet regimes in bed with organized crime -- all of the corruptocrats in Latin America -- looking to exit fast. Strategically -- we'll need to do this sooner or later to make sure we ALWAYS have Panama Canal usage 24/7/365/Eternity.
Dmac, you are on the right track. Keep agitating.
It is long past time to turn Mexico into our second-best friendliest neighboring state, a position they should share on equal footing -- on all levels -- with Canada.
JmsA| 2.25.12 @ 10:52PM
Pretty good assessment, Dmac.
Calvin| 2.24.12 @ 11:26AM
Imagine a county with no conservatives. Where there is nothing but left wing promises and the reality of left wing government. You will have something like Mexico, or Detroit or Washington D.C. or California or New York or any of our major cities. Some cases are not as advanced but Mexico is their future, corrupt government in bed with criminals and government leadership that is gutless and impotent. We have a President that makes Calderon look like a hero and the Democratic Party that is already at PRI levels of corruption. The people that elected these turds are already debased and incapable of rational thought. All we need is the so-called middle to totally put their blinders on and we will be there. Mexico is what "Progressives" are progressing towards.
Dmac | 2.24.12 @ 11:37AM
Calvin,
Don't forget about the elitest we have right here in our own country who believe they have no responsibility towards their fellow American. We are becoming an elitest nation just like Mexico, just two classes of people, the haves and the have nots.
ABNCP| 2.24.12 @ 12:00PM
What no one is talking about not even the Republican politicans running for President is this. For a long time now the Mexican smugglers have been bring over groups of OTM's (other than Mexicans) across our southern border. These smugglers will bring over anyone who has the required money to give them for the trip. Count on it, some of these people are sleeper cells from countries that want to do serious harm to this country. Our Intel people know Hezbolla now has perhaps a strategic presence in South and Central America. Hezbolla now pretty much controls an entire island just off the coast of that wonderful country run by are good friend Hugo and with his cooperation. Hezbolla now has a strong presence in this hemisphere. Hezbolla is just an arm of the Iranian government. If, as I and others believe those sleeper cells are being put in place so that when we finally have to do something about Iran
they will be in place already to attack the U.S.
This President and his administration will then have the blood of many American civilians all over them. Only a weak and pathetic nation will continue to allow itself to be subjected to this madness.
TrueBlue | 2.24.12 @ 1:17PM
Sadly it will take repeated attacks against us for people to realize that it's better to fight wars elsewhere than to have them attacking us here at home.
Sure, being forward deployed to a warzone sucks. But would you rather have them attack you overseas, or in your own home where your spouse and children are?
TrueBlue | 2.24.12 @ 1:20PM
The world is much smaller now than the world that Ron Paul still remembers (and his followers for some reason believe). When you can get halfway around the world in 12 hrs, trying to take the pre-WWII attitude of "non-intervention" just doesn't work.
TNT| 2.24.12 @ 1:57PM
Also as regards to what Ron Paul said the other night and those who are like him in his thinking, I think we now must consider -- in this modern world: Nice, formal declared wars with full Congressional approval -- well, that might have to be a thing of the past.
A president must almost act completely uninterested in a military action.
The moment a Congressman's third tier staffer tweets the Congressman that he has to break off his seminar with Georgetown U. poly sci kids to rush to a special hearing on the Hill to prepare for such a national go-to-war vote, well, in that same "tweet moment" every paragraph of what is being planned, considered, debated is already in the hands of our enemies in Moscow, Peking, Tehran, Caracas, and even humpty dumpy Havana. It is also in the hands of our "allies" in Paris, Berlin, Madrid, London, Ottawa, and Rome so they can connive how to stonewall, posture for their liberal bases, ask for more time, agitate, agree but only if they wrangle more $$ aid, deny overflights, etc.
A President wouldn't even be into his final secretive? War Room meeting with the Joint Chiefs, NSA, etc. and he'd be told that Sarkozy, Cameron, Merkel and others are on the line to "reason with him just a bit."
There are no real ruses to be done anymore. No surprises that can achieve a quick, unknown devastating military strike. This can only still now work against very small entities without the big resources. Global satellites and "friends" like China who will sell -- within seconds -- military intel to anyone make the days of "Shock and Awe" or "Blitzkrieg" unthinkable.
We can surely debate whether is was right or not. That is not why I use this example. I use it because it is very, very current. Libya. Even an unsophisticated country like the one with Tripoli as capital city was not the least surprised by the first NATO active actions.
Thus, whatever we do with Mexico (and sooner or later it will be direct U.S. military involvement), keep in mind that the first strikes can be utterly devastating if done right. Usually this means maximizing surprise.
The worst case scenario for cleaning up Mexico will be urban warfare. And that is what the drug lords would try to mastermind. They will hope to win using time, using the big cities, having taken hundreds if not thousands of human shields.
TrueBlue | 2.24.12 @ 2:13PM
The Declaration of War by Congress is actually one of the few things I agree with Ron Paul on. We haven't had an actual DoW since WWII, just votes to allow military action and/or provide funding.
As for Congressmen or their staffers tweeting information like that, put them in jail for violating their contract to keep SECRET information SECRET. A couple of monster fines and serious jail time will take care of that problem.
As for Mexico, I'm in agreement that eventually military action will be required. Assuming we don't fall under the weight of our own debt I would expect Mexico to become another group of States after all is said and done. The situation in Mexico is not much different than Afghanistan was before we went in. Terrorist organizations in charge of the government. The difference being that we are being attacked at home for actually trying to stay out of it, and yet people are STILL offended at the very idea of us actually doing something about it. It may well take a massive refugee swarm to wake people up.
Dmac | 2.24.12 @ 2:42PM
Lets not use U.s. troops. Lets train Mexican nationals that are here in the U.S. legally or otherwisw and train them to fight. They can then go take their homeland back from the corrupt politicinas and drug dealers. By the way, the only way the drug dealers exist like they do in Mexico is with the blessing of politicians.
TrueBlue | 2.24.12 @ 3:52PM
Training their guys is how Mexico got Los Zetas to begin with.
Dmac | 2.24.12 @ 5:52PM
What I'm saying is train the ones that live in the U.S.. They've learned a bit about freedom, hope, and opportunity. They may be the ones we need to go back to Mexico and straighten it out.
RR| 2.25.12 @ 12:11AM
I'd say, no, Dmac. Include some Mexican-Americans. Certainly those who are presently in the U.S. military and those who are veterans. Otherwise, just use the U.S. military just as they are. We keep making the mistake of trying to use indidgenous people for the eventual heavy lifting. No, this hasn't worked in either Iraq or Afghanistan. It takes too long, and, well there is always the 100% trust factor. The two U.S. servicemen shot yesterday in Afghanistan would -- if they could come back from the grave -- probably tell us a lot about that "trust factor."
And no coalitions. Just use the U.S Armed Forces; joint operations are tough enough to coordinate. Throwing in another nation's forces is unnecessary. It only complicates.
We have countless Americans in our ranks who speak Spanish adequately enough to communicate properly and effectively with the peace loving, decent element of the Mexican population that we want to aid.
Mount up. The time is now.
cicero| 2.24.12 @ 7:45PM
The people of Mexico are , by and large, not any different than any others. On the several times I had the pleasure of visiting the country, I found the folks kind, helpful, industrious, and good natured. They were just like us. The difference was always the government. Most of the time, the government was run by kleptocrats, You could tell who was in charge by the dollar/peso exchange. On most of the occasions I went, the exchange was in the 15/25 peso to the dollar range. On one trip, which I believe was in the early 90s, the exchange was 2 to 1. That was during the time of an administration that ran the country honestly. There was full employment, and the people lived well. That did not last long.
At the time, the Presidents made about $39,000.00 per year. They served a 4 year term. During most of the time, after his 4 years in office, the President wouldd build a mansion in the hills surrounding Mexico City, have a residence in some swank American suburb, and have millions in the bank. If only I could have discovered who their investment advisor was . . .
The only way to head off the complete collapse of Mexico into a drug lord run hell hole is to put down the cartels with ruthless brutality. This will take the Mexican military that has not yet been corrupted. If the leadership has no stomach for it, we can only seal off our boarders, wait for the revolution (which will be years coming), and help them pick up the pieces.
POST American| 2.24.12 @ 10:04PM
---AND WHY were our jobs
and our economy handed over to RED China?
--when we could have solved many problems
by sharing the economy with our southern
neighbor?
Of course this was deliberate.
And NOW in 2012, we have 40,000 dead
on the southern border, and the stealth
franchise slum 'a--mal--game--ation' of
North America.
Receivership to the USURY and US tax payer
created RED China 'Meer--ICK--cull' is
probably just a few years away.
---NAFTA ---GATT on and on.
UNTIL our commentators are brave,
and honest enough to break ranks
with their capstone bennies
-------discussion on this level is
worse than a waste of time.
UNTIL further notice
ALEX JONES ---IS---THE PRESS.
AND
------------------HUAC/ NUREMBERG ---------------
------IS THE ANSWER.
Patricia Teel| 2.24.12 @ 10:36PM
I am certainly going to take a bashing for this opinion but it would end 99% of the drug problem. Legalize it and tax the heck out of it like they do cigarettes.
Tuscalusa| 2.24.12 @ 11:59PM
Patricia Teel: Looking forward to see how you'll be when your "Kids and grandkids" have soccer coaches snorting lines of coccaine pre and post practices and before driving the team bus to the away games. The coach? He's also just started a school county bus route in the mornings (to help with his, um, financial needs) Guess who is on his morning route?
POST American| 2.25.12 @ 12:40AM
"Fast and Furious'? --DON'T you
get it yet? ---The government --IS--
the ILLEGAL drug trade."
-ALEX JONES
In this age of absolutely full spectrum
cyber and satellite surveillance and
tracking ---is there ANYONE out there
who really believes the mega banks
and Globalists are NOT behind
--are not the very force behind
the drug problem ---LEGAL and
ILLEGAL.
Dope was programmed into
mainstream culture FIRST
after WWI ---along with the
'quickener' or romance and
allure ---Prohibition.
It FAILED because, as the likes
of Globalist H G WELLS complained
--America still had a fearless,
intact Calvinist church culture to call it out.
It also failed because 'the pill' and
'--a--bore--shun' were NOT available
to handle the 'down side'.
---Thanks to 6 decades of Rockefeller
'World Counts--ill of Churches' infiltration,
buy-offs and subversions ---that's NO LONGER
the case.
"Traitors are the plague."
-CICERO
---From our VERY churches
------------------TROJAN HORSE TREASON.
SO, enjoy your dope, LEGAL or ILLEGAL,
here in POST OPRAH---ville. . .
Richard Baker| 2.25.12 @ 3:13AM
Said it many times before but Mexico, which was already a mess, is under siege by the narco-killers because the Yanqui can't restrain themselves in drug abuse/addiction. Americans have become the major cause of this problem and if I were a Mexican citizen I'd be sore as Hell at the gringoes.
PL| 2.25.12 @ 1:42PM
Mr. Baker, please add Canadian users to your ire. I agree; however. I would love to enact the hangman's noose for cocaine users and other narcotics abusers. Literally, three strikes and you're out. Or, 3x and you're hung. Shown on public TV at these monthly hangings for those too stupid to live right.
Rich Rostrom| 2.25.12 @ 5:59PM
Thousands of brave Mexicans have stood up to the cartels, and many have paid with their lives.
The cartels have a simple offer to police and other officials: "Plata o plombo?" (literally, "silver or lead" - meaning "money or bullets")
I don't think there's much difference between Sinaloa and the Zetas.
JmsA| 2.25.12 @ 10:54PM
I don't know what plombo means, but plomo means lead.
PL| 2.25.12 @ 11:44PM
Mr. Wittman, nice try. No, no fault of yours. You are trying to help bring a vital topic front and center.
I just read an article today coming out of Chicago where residents there on the Southwest side are furious over the Mexican cartels movement into that area of greater Chicago. To the residents this is the war they are facing, the war on their doorstep, not something pointless like training Afghans that wait for an opportunity to shoot U.S. military trainers in the back of the head (like that is really bold and brave). These Chicagoans know where the real war is.
But -- do TAS readers? Only 29 comments after two full days here, as this has been an article posted Friday morning. I guess TAS readers are just too distracted by MLB preseason, NBA Allstars, their Netflix, and Oscars?
We really are a nation of dunces.
What I firmly believe: The completely open border of the last 30 years has permitted Latin American crime of every stripe into every city in America, nearly every county. It is not just southside Chicago that will pay for this, we all will.
I think people need to spend a little more sober time (yes, emphasis on sober) looking at images and stories on a site like borderlandbeat . com How soon will these acts of horrid evil be done right here? Maybe they are already when they uncover bones or dredge lakes looking for something else and find human remains.
What's it going to take? A beheaded journalist with head mounted on the Liberty Bell? No, Mr. Wittman, that won't wake up the lazy, the deluded either.
albert constantine jr.| 2.26.12 @ 9:56PM
Sometimes Mr. Pennell has said just about everything that needed to be said.
Pete | 2.26.12 @ 4:30PM
I hightly recommend Charles Bowden's incredible, haunting book "Down by the River" about the narco wars. If somehow the "War on Drugs" succeeded in Mexico, the country would collapse. It is a narco-state. If illegal immigration were completely stopped, Mexico would also collapse----it provides a safet valve. Our leaders know this, and in order to prevent this collapse, the U.S. continues a theatrical "war" only on both illegal drugs and illegal immigration. Read the book. It is heartrending. Interview with author: Google (or Startpage): Buzzflash Interview with Charles Bowden.