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Calderon Is Getting Serious


Ajijic

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Willies right about the history, though. What we call corruption is in fact a system whereby government jobs were sold to the highest bidder who then was expected to collect mordida to pay for the job and support himself. The Spanish brought the mordida system with them and it is very ingrained in this country as well as other countries in this hemisphere that the Spanish conquered and dominated.

You may recall that Franco stamped it out in Spain basically by killing a whole bunch of folks and imposing a fascist government. IMO, this cure is worse than the disease.

Drug sales bring something like 30 billion a year into this country. That will buy a lot of government "officials." That is reality.

Personally, I think the drug "problem" needs to be given back to the U.S. and deals cut on this side that mandate the narcos do not sell their stuff here or otherwise imflict themselves on the Mexican people. In other words, sell all you want to the Americans but keep your noses clean in Mexico. Don't you kid yourselves, the major narcos would go for this in a heart beat and they would enforce it on the rest. The business they might do in Mexico is absolute peanuts compared to what they can sell in the U.S. and Canada.

They had a term for this in the EST training: Ride the horse in the direction it is going.

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"What I like is "take-no-prisoners" attitude. Prisoners only end up beating the corrupt judicial system of freed by other narcos. The criminals do not take prisoners so why should law enforcement? "

"Sadly, this is what it is going to take, massive shoot on sight of these criminals. Go Army!"

Boy! You guys need to reduce your daily testosterone dosage. The problem with "take no prisoners" and "shoot on sight" is that it assumes several things:

1. That the authorities are always sure of their targets. Suppose they mistook your car for one belonging to a cartel member and riddled it?

2. That the authorities are not often in cahoots with one cartel or another. Such policies would open the floodgates to even more carnage.

3. That the authorities are not guilty of human rights violations against those they see as political opponents under the guise of anti-cartel activity. There have been numerous reports about the army's actions in particular. Impunity for such violations is already a problem and one that will only worsen over time.

I agree with those who advocate legalization, regulation, taxation and education as the only rational solution. Will it happen? Eventually. In my lifetime? Who knows, but the only result wholesale butchery produces is more butchery, and usually of more innocent people than criminals.

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You know what? If you're running around with assault weapons and other types of military armament, and you're shooting at the police or the army, it's a pretty good bet that you're a drug criminal. In that event, I heartily endorse take no prisoners. These narcos should be regarded as terrorists and enemy combatants.

Here's a very interesting take on the whole situation from Stratfor.

http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/20110518-corruption-why-texas-not-mexico?utm_source=SWeekly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=110519&utm_content=readmore&elq=066b56d7ff2342dc8e5489a979066bc9

Corruption: Why Texas is Not Mexico is republished with permission of STRATFOR.

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Right on, willieboy.

Taking it a step further. . .there is EVERY incentive for the cartels to operate with FARC, Venezuela, and Al Qaeda. After all, the cartels have MASTERED transporting anything over the Mexican/US border, and safely into the United States.

Borders would have to be sealed immediately. Ain't gonna happen.

Legalize drugs immediately. Ain't gonna happen.

I think the stats are more like 60% of the MX economy, that's what I've read too. What would happen if that stopped overnight?

There isn't an answer. We best get used to it.

Mexican Trailrunner

The Mexican drug lords' biggest business is with Australia. Their profit in Australia is 10 times higher than with their best American clients. It was in CNN news. Unbelievable the size of that machine.

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The Mexican drug lords' biggest business is with Australia. Their profit in Australia is 10 times higher than with their best American clients. It was in CNN news. Unbelievable the size of that mach

The population of the US is approx. 308 million and that of Australia 22.5 million - per client in Australia, their take might be greater but the greatest overall take is from the US.

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The population of the US is approx. 308 million and that of Australia 22.5 million - per client in Australia, their take might be greater but the greatest overall take is from the US.

poster is referring to profit per sale - not total profit per country

Here is the link - plus a snip http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1105/11/ctw.01.html

The new development is a concern for the Australian government at the highest levels. A report by Australia's crime commission says organized crime operating in Australia, including Mexican cartels, have competitive advantage. Mexican drug cartels are apparently attracted by the high profit margins of drugs like cocaine in Australia. A kilo of cocaine bought in Columbia for $2,000 U.S. is worth $12,000 in Mexico and $28,000 in the United States. By the time it reaches Australia, its price is $150,000 -- a whopping 6,000 percent increase over the total investment.

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110526/ts_yblog_thelookout/mexican-officials-seize-narcotank;_ylt=Ao9Apsc5YfONE15BZx0sDBes0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTNjODI2OHByBGFzc2V0A3libG9nX3RoZWxvb2tvdXQvMjAxMTA1MjYvbWV4aWNhbi1vZmZpY2lhbHMtc2VpemUtbmFyY290YW5rBHBvcwM3BHNlYwN5bl9tb3N0X3BvcHVsYXIEc2xrA21leGljYW5vZmZpYw--

It's going to take a behemoth effort to wipe out the drug lords and Mexico is still not putting forth an all-out effort to do so due to the corruption within the country. It's far more than US demand that is driving the drug business in Mexico. Can you imagine drug gangs driving around the US in homemade armored vehicles with machine gun turrets on top and getting away with it? Mexico needs to get serious about wiping out these gangs.

And the US needs to get serious about securing the border. Read below.

Mexican officials seize ‘narcotank’

By Liz Goodwin

Authorities in Jalisco, Mexico, recently seized this tricked-out 2011 Ford F-350 Super Duty truck, above, that had been transformed by drug gang members into an obviously DIY armored vehicle. The steel-plated "Z Monster," as the truck was called, could fit 20 men and was outfitted with a rotating machine gun turret.

Drug gangs are crafting armored "narcotanks" in order to battle the Mexican military--and each other. Security forces complain they're battling gangs that are better armed than they are. In Colombia, gangs have been caught using homemade submarines, and other cartels use ultra-light airplanes to transport drugs to the United States without grabbing the attention of the Border Patrol. The L.A. Times' Daniel Hernandez reports that The Zetas and Gulf cartels wear military-style uniforms, making them "indistinguishable from actual soldiers" and confusing the locals.

Variations on the Z Monster--trucks with bulletproof glass, steel plates, battering rams and gun turrets--are increasingly the gangmobiles of choice, as this video (in Spanish) shows. One vehicle profiled in the video shows a special button that releases a cache of nails in the truck's path, leaving any followers with flat tires. Earlier this month, police seized another armored vehicle nicknamed "El Monstruo," which BusinessInsider reported could carry 12 people and go nearly 70 miles per hour.

Also this:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110527/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_drug_war_mexico;_ylt=AvHHX_2tP7yuYGeer0aeK7pvaA8F;_ylu=X3oDMTJvYW1vZXZ2BGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTEwNTI3L2x0X2RydWdfd2FyX21leGljbwRwb3MDMTcEc2VjA3luX2FydGljbGVfc3VtbWFyeV9saXN0BHNsawMyOWRlYWRhZnRlcmQ-

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...

It's far more than US demand that is driving the drug business in Mexico.

Could you enlighten us as to why the drug business in Mexico exists?

Is it mainly to feed the habits of the populations of Mexico?

Or maybe some other Countries in North Central or South America?

I'm sure that Just Say No has prevented any in the US from purchasing drugs smuggled in from Mexico and marketed by....

Na.....there can't be any gangs in the US.

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You know what? If you're running around with assault weapons and other types of military armament, and you're shooting at the police or the army, it's a pretty good bet that you're a drug criminal. In that event, I heartily endorse take no prisoners. These narcos should be regarded as terrorists and enemy combatants.

Here's a very interesting take on the whole situation from Stratfor.

http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/20110518-corruption-why-texas-not-mexico?utm_source=SWeekly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=110519&utm_content=readmore&elq=066b56d7ff2342dc8e5489a979066bc9

Corruption: Why Texas is Not Mexico is republished with permission of STRATFOR.

Mainecoons, you didn't address any of the three questions I asked. In support of my position, here is a report on how some of the Mexican soldiers are interpreting their orders: Mexican soldiers' confessions They are not waiting for people "running around with assault weapons and other types of military armament" but are cutting loose at anything with tinted windows and mud on the fender, and sometimes with even less justification (if possible) than that. If they make a mistake, as they apparently often do, they simply plant a gun in the riddled car and claim the people inside were traffickers. There is further information in the article about the complicity of high military officials with the cartels, as I suggested. Do you really want to proceed with your "Go Army, take no prisoners" position in light of this? Again, what if it was your car they riddled? Just another case of collateral damage?

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I've been talking about the US legalizing drugs as the only possible solution to this problem for years but lately it has come to me that isn't enough. The only solution to illegal drugs is international legalization and regulation. Uniform rules through out the world with consistent rules around addiction treatment being available to those who want it and low cost drugs available for those that choose that path. Taking all of the motivation, money and power away from the worlds most corrupt and violent people. Right now the terrorists here in Mexico are totally funded by drugs, the terrorists in Afghanistan partly funded by it and the crime syndicates in south east Asia as well. It's too bad the UN doesn't have the teeth or power to make some rational rules around this but some sort of international treaty is our only hope.

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Personally, I think the drug "problem" needs to be given back to the U.S. and deals cut on this side that mandate the narcos do not sell their stuff here or otherwise imflict themselves on the Mexican people. In other words, sell all you want to the Americans but keep your noses clean in Mexico. Don't you kid yourselves, the major narcos would go for this in a heart beat and they would enforce it on the rest. The business they might do in Mexico is absolute peanuts compared to what they can sell in the U.S. and Canada..

You might be interested to know that "official"(whatever that means) sources have allowed that the "War on Drugs" being waged by the US is a failure and the intelligent move would be towards legalization and control... and taxes.

Follow the $$$$.

And as BillinaBus said... this would have to be a world wide effort... even Mexico has it's share of harmless pot heads, who cause way fewer problems that the hard drinkers. (Now there's a nasty drug!) It's the hard drugs and abusers of Rx drugs who, along with the alcoholics create a huge drain on the system. Lizzy

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I'm all for legalization. However, that would have to happen in the U.S. and Canada and I sure don't see that happening any time soon. In the meantime, Mexico is caught right in the middle and bearing the brunt of yet another U.S. government failure. My suggestion is that Mexico just get out of the U.S. war and let them continue to fight it unsuccessfully.

Given the reaction to the recent call for legalization from people who really do know what they are talking for, I don't see this happening either. The carnage will continue.

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Why mess with trying to stop the drugs coming in. Simply stop the banks from transferring money out. But as the following states, this just isn't going to happen. The US can't stop the drugs or the money? Of course it can, but it's not in the US interest to stop it.

Quote.

“Drug profits, in the most basic sense, are secured through the ability of the cartels to launder and transfer billions of dollars through the US banking system. The scale and scope of the US banking-drug cartel alliance surpasses any other economic activity of the US private banking system. According to US Justice Department records, one bank alone laundered $378.3 billion dollars between May 1, 2004 and May 31, 2007 (The Guardian, May 11, 2011). Every major bank in the US has served as an active financial partner of the murderous drug cartels...

“If the major US banks are the financial engines which allow the billion dollar drug empires to operate, the White House, the US Congress and the law enforcement agencies are the basic protectors of these banks.....Laundering drug money is one of the most lucrative sources of profit for Wall Street; the banks charge hefty commissions on the transfer of drug profits, which they then lend to borrowing institutions at interest rates far above what – if any – they pay to drug trafficker depositors. Awash in sanitized drug profits, these US titans of the finance world can easily buy their own elected officials to perpetuate the system. ("How Drug Profits saved Capitalism" , James Petras, Global Research)"

Unquote.

The US is the biggest grower of opium poppies. This is in large leased tracts in Sinaloa and has been done continuously since the 1st world war. We actually started the drug trade by getting soldiers hooked on morphine.

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Here's my outside-the-box idea,which can work and involves no new technology: Do away with coins and paper bills larger than say,50 pesos or 5 US dollars. Everyone would need to use bank debit cards for all transactions except the very small things like buying a cup of coffee or a newspaper. 25 years ago we lived in Europe and people were using bank debit cards for even a 1 dollar toll even then.

If everyone buying drugs or selling them had to do it via a traceable financial transaction the risks of doing drugs would increase substantially. A drug dealer would be unlikely to handle 150 million dollars in the form of 10 peso coins.

That means there would be no underground economy of any kind. Everyone would pay tax on all income. That's a new concept.

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This is a bit of a read, but to me it shows a view that I hadn't really considered. I have always liked the no paper money idea. Heard it first on a radio show out of Saint John, NB a few years back.

EA Trafficker’s Paradise

In the United States, the most sought after drug market on Earth, are there are no outstanding drug kingpins with names that make for legends?

*By Francisco Martín Moreno

Do you know the name of a single American drug kingpin of our times?

I am of course not referring to the infamous "gangsters" of the prohibition era in the United States, such as Capone, Dillinger and Frank Nitti (among so many underworld characters) who found in the United States the fertile ground necessary to develop and reach international “prestige”.

We knew García Abrego, Caro Quintero, “El Güero Palma”, the “Lord of the Heavens”, the Arellano brothers, etc. among other leaders of our meager underworld.

But I insist: In the US, the most coveted drug market on Earth, are there are no outstanding drug Kingpins (whose names must now form a proud part of the criminal legend of their country), when they deal in a drug business worth over 500 billion dollars?

Is there no last name that stands out for its efficiency and popularity or is it simply that there are no drug traffickers to shame the longstanding American criminal tradition?

I know! In the US, drugs are dealt “by themselves”.

The drugs are dropped off at the border by Mexican or Latin American “mules” and reach (as if by magic) the hands of consumers “by themselves”.

Of all the marijuana that is consumed in that country for example, 35% is produced in Texas, Arizona and California without the authorities ever finding a plantation, any drugs incinerated in public, or anyone being placed in federal prison and their assets sold at auction to the highest bidder.

I guess the marijuana was planted by itself, harvested by itself, distributed by itself and the resulting proceeds laundered by themselves...

Is this not truly amazing?

We never hear of a harsh blow being dealt to drug trafficking in the United States as is commonly done in Mexico, in a consistently recurring form.

We never see photographs of American drug Kingpins arrested and covered in blue FBI jackets, hands and feet in shackles, wearing bulletproof vests and helmets, with a huge police escort to prevent an attacks on their life that could prevent them from informing of the identity and activities of their associates...

In Mexico, the capture of "famous" drug Kingpins occupy the front page of newspapers, besides receiving ample Radio and Television coverage.

We publicly display the incineration of narcotic drugs as soon as they are found. Photos of heroic soldiers fallen while fighting thugs are published. We have pictures of former State prosecutors massacred at their doorsteps while engaged in private law practice after retiring from fighting crime.

The multiple and ostentatious properties seized from the Kingpins are a matter of public knowledge.

The efforts of Mexican soldiers to win this battle against the production and sale of drugs are evident.

Only that battle will hardly be won if in the US the unhampered sale of 500 billion dollars’ worth of narcotics in the streets continues with no one seeing or doing anything. Since our "Puritan" neighbors never catch a Kingpin, no arrests are announced, no soldiers or drug agents or judges or prosecutors die, no assets are seized and no names of corrupt government officials are published.

Nothing, no one knows anything...

Why doesn't anyone know? Very simple: because an incredible number of members of the State and Federal Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches of government are on drug Kingpin’s payrolls.

If nothing is done, and nothing is known it’s because from the Secretary of State on down, Governors, Legislators, Senators and especially Judges, journalists, police officers of all kinds, FBI and DEA agents up to and including the famous and not the least feared Border Patrol, everyone could be deeply involved with drug traffickers and making juicy profits just as they did during prohibition.

There is nothing new under the Sun.

Even less now, when a group of thugs has more power than the State itself.

Never in the history of mankind has a gang of criminals had so much money as to enable it to buy authorities, journalists and whole countries if it so decided.

All this thanks to the US, who provides the dollars to make this possible.

What do drug Kingpins prefer in exchange for heroin, Mexican pesos or American dollars? It’s quite clear, isn't it? What sovereignty does a State have when a drug Kingpin can’t be judged in his country of origin because doing so could bring about the destabilization of the country with disastrous consequences for millions and millions of people?

Are we not facing a newfound power phenomenon in the hands of a single individual?

Where are North American drug Kingpins? Why not I start the prosecution of major drug traffickers in the United States?

I know: Because neither consumers nor authorities nor the Kingpins nor the press want you to know who they are.

This is good business for everyone. Everyone is involved.

Better, much better to blame Mexico for all its problem...

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