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JESSE
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Is the U.S. doing enough to help dying Juarez?
Thursday, March 18, 2010
THE BRUTAL slaying of three people connected to the U.S. consulate in Juarez, Mexico, last weekend has called attention to a crisis that is getting
too little attention and resources in Washington: Mexico's desperate battle against drug traffickers. For Juarez, and for the democratic government of
Felipe Calderón, this has become a fight for survival -- a war as bloody and as important as those being fought in Iraq, Afghanistan or Pakistan. But
though Mexican stability is a vital interest of the United States, the federal government's investment in the problem is far below what it should be,
on both sides of the border.
The assassination-style killing of the two Americans and a Mexican married to a consular employee as they drove home from a children's birthday party
was shocking -- but no more so than scores of other incidents in Juarez. The city of 1.3 million, which is adjacent to El Paso, Tex., has suffered 500
murders so far this year -- and 2,600 in 2009. This is in spite of the deployment of 10,000 troops in the city by Mr. Calderón, who declared war on
the drug traffickers after taking office in 2006. Juarez is dying: Thousands of shops have closed, and as many as 200,000 people have fled the city.
The good news here is that security cooperation between the United States and Mexico has improved enormously during Mr. Calderón's tenure. The Merida
initiative, launched by the Bush administration, has provided $1.3 billion in aid since 2008, including the supply of helicopters, scanners and other
equipment for Mexican security forces. But the bad news is that the aid has been painfully slow in coming -- the Mexicans are still waiting for
Blackhawk helicopters -- and now it is set to decline. The Obama administration is proposing $310 million in aid for Mexico in next year's budget,
down 30 percent from current levels.
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Administration officials say that the aid decline is sensible because Mexico has obtained funding for the expensive equipment it needs. A new
four-pronged architecture for Merida has been drawn up that adds police and judicial training, border projects, and the promotion of civil society and
human rights to the original focus on attacking drug gangs and their leaders. The new programs are to be ratified next week at a bilateral cabinet
meeting in Mexico that will be attended by a host of senior U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Defense Secretary
Robert M. Gates.
The broadening of the Merida program is logical. Mr. Calderón has recognized that military force alone will not save Juarez, and in any case the
Mexican army and Congress remain cautious about further expanding such collaboration with the United States. Still, given that the level of violence
is still rising, the sharp reduction in U.S. assistance makes little sense. The United States should be doing everything that Mexico will allow it to
do to aid its security forces. It also should be doing more on the U.S. side of the border. While the Obama administration has taken some steps to
crack down on the trafficking of guns to Mexico, most of the guns of the drug gangs still come from the United States.
The administration has an abundance of foreign challenges. But it's hard to think of a higher priority than stabilizing a neighbor and major trading
partner. The Obama administration and Congress should be expanding, not cutting back, funding for the Merida initiative.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03...
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sancho
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Ran across an article on blueroadrunner, the San Felipe
site, stating a novel suggestion, at least to me, of
stemming the Mex Cartel influence. Only when the DEA
was sucessful at elimating the So American drug
route up thru the Carribean, did the favored route change
to Mexico. The article outlines legalizing Marijuana
in the US, and relaxing the enforcement in the Carribean,
thus causing the So American cartels to again began
using the Carribean. It would 'destablize' some Carribean
Isles, but possibly taking the clout out of the Mex Cartels
and hopefully end some of the Cartel violence
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Hook
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Someone posted on a San Carlos board that the FBI has tentatively concluded that those three slayings were a case of mistaken identity and the victims
were not targeted by virtue of their consular ties. I find that hard to believe as they were two separate incidents.
Anybody seen a news article claiming this?
[Edited on 3-18-2010 by Hook]
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DENNIS
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| Quote: | Originally posted by JESSE
Is the U.S. doing enough to help dying Juarez?
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Mexico won't allow too much overt assistance, soverignty and all. There should be so many Drones flying overhead they would look like a flock of
geese.
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Bajahowodd
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It may be a conclusion drawn by the poster coming from an FBI statement that was quoted in the press that basically said there have been past mistakes
made where the wrong individuals have been targeted, so as of the time of their statement, they were not prepared to consider it a targeted attack on
US personnel. Just guessing.
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k-rico
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Mistaken identity blamed for drugs hit on US staff
But nobody really knows, yet.
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DENNIS
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I wonder if the car had one of those Consulate license plates.
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Bajahowodd
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Is it just me, or does that article just continue the speculation? I do not see anyone at the FBI directly quoted to support the headline.
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Woooosh
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I don't think anyone outside of Mexico can help at this point. As you have pointed out- the political parties at the top levels are involved with the
drug gangs. Once a political party with drug ties wins the election, they get the Military too. You have a ruling party aligned with a narco group
with the military to back it up. Everything goes downhill fast from there, especially when the gang you are supposed to control doesn't respect you
and the other gangs are against you and the gang you are protecting with your Military. With the #1 drug guy being a billionaire on the Forbes Rich
List, there's no shortage of drug money to fuel and refuel the fire. And that's the problem- not the drugs, the money.
Even if Mexico had the will to cleanse itself from top down, it doesn't have the judicial system in place to fairly and transparently deal with it.
Those reforms are still four years away while the lawyers are being trained for open courts and verbal arguments.
Mexico needs to have it both ways to keep remittances flowing south. They want their people to be able to move freely north, yet complain when guns
return through the cracks south. They blame the USA for being the consumers, but really need the drug money to come back south to support the
political system as it is.
Mexico has the ability to stop the flow of people north- it does that effectively on the southern border with Guatemala. What is doesn't have is a
reason to do it. They need their people to go north and for the drug money to come south. While the border is porous, the drugs go north and guns
come south too. You can't fix just half the problem.
IMHO, the only way to solve the problem is to stop the money flow. Triple fence the whole border. Money can't come south if the drugs don't flow
north. If you legalize drugs in the USA- you still have the money coming back south to feed the corrupt political system. Mexicans need jobs and
Americans need jobs. If you needed a million fence-builders, they would be there tomorrow on both sides of the border for a lot less money than the
USA just flushed down the toilet trying to do it electronically. If you intercepted more of the drug money flowing south that would help pay for the
fencing project too.
\"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing\"
1961- JFK to Canadian parliament (Edmund Burke)
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Dave
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Juarez should have an earthquake
| Quote: | Originally posted by JESSE
Is the U.S. doing enough to help dying Juarez?
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Then the money would pour in. 
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Hook
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Bajahowodd
Is it just me, or does that article just continue the speculation? I do not see anyone at the FBI directly quoted to support the headline.
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It is not just you.
I think the headline definitely doesnt fit the quote attributed to the FBI spokesman. The FBI has reached no conclusion, unlike the writer of the
headline. Probably some editor; reporters sometimes dont write their own headlines. Talk about journalistic license.
Typical.
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Woooosh
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Hook
| Quote: | Originally posted by Bajahowodd
Is it just me, or does that article just continue the speculation? I do not see anyone at the FBI directly quoted to support the headline.
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It is not just you.
I think the headline definitely doesnt fit the quote attributed to the FBI spokesman. The FBI has reached no conclusion, unlike the writer of the
headline. Probably some editor; reporters sometimes dont write their own headlines. Talk about journalistic license.
Typical. |
The Mexican Ambassador, Arturo Sarukhan (interesting Mexican name) on CNN Wolf Blitzer. He said: "These three individuals who were associated with
the US consulate in Cuidad Juarez were not necessarily targeted because they were working for the consulate."
The man killed alone was being followed by his wife in a second car. She got out right away and pleaded with the shooter to stop because her children
were inside. They didn't stop shooting at the man- but they didn't finish off the kids or her either. yet.
[Edited on 3-18-2010 by Woooosh]
\"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing\"
1961- JFK to Canadian parliament (Edmund Burke)
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Bajahowodd
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Speaking of interesting Mexican names, try Carlos Slim Helu. Fact is that a surprisingly large number of the oligarch class in Mexico came from
elsewhere. It sometimes appears to be two different countries.
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k-rico
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Wondering
The killing of Enrique Camarena.
How much does that play into today's horrendous situation?
Is today's violence the result of the US getting into another country's business? Like much of the other violent situations over the past 50 years.
Did the actions of the US, including money sent to Mex in addition to police support, destabilize the situation, causing these turf wars?
It's clear that drug business is based upon supply and demand. Americans demand, Mexico supplies. Without demand, no drug wars at the border, but the
US goes after the agents of supply, not the real cause, the American demand.
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Bajahowodd
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Perhaps the train has long ago left the station, but the fact is that many countries around the world are not shy about speaking of American
imperialism. Americans, on the other hand use all sort of other euphemisms. Maybe the US has just had too much money and power, as well as making
profit a primary goal in virtually every endeavor, and allowed itself to become insensitive to the people and problems elsewhere. Before I get jumped
for being anti-American, please understand that is not the case. Even the best of souls, can go astray.
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Hook
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"These three individuals who were associated with the US consulate in Cuidad Juarez were not necessarily targeted because they were working for the
consulate."
What a meaningless statement, in the absence of any evidence.
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k-rico
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Hook
"These three individuals who were associated with the US consulate in Cuidad Juarez were not necessarily targeted because they were working for the
consulate."
What a meaningless statement, in the absence of any evidence. |
That's true but there seems to be an effort by the news folks to quash the assumption that these people were killed because they worked for the US
Gov. until some facts are known.
I thinks that's why statements like these are being made.
Nobody knows yet but I think we'll find out soon. The cops seem to know that it was the Aztecas gang and they are rounding them up in El Paso. They're
originally an American prison gang that now operates on both sides of the border,
[Edited on 3-18-2010 by k-rico]
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Bajahowodd
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And one of those killed worked at the El Paso prison. Hmmm. Lotsa mierda goes on inside, no?
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k-rico
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Yeah, that could be relevant. Lots of angles. But these killings are definitely not cartel style stuff. But styles change.
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Bajahowodd
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Sounds like a reality TV series in the making. eh?
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