Collateral Damage: Mexico Journalists Kidnapped as Drug Cartels Threaten Freedom of Speech

While a major cartel leader was killed by the Mexican military this week, the most significant news was the kidnapping of four Mexican journalists. Such acts point to the "collateral damage " being done to already fragile Mexican civil society.  Also here, a book review of Cocaine Nation, which makes the case for ending the "war on drugs" by legalizing their regulated sale and taxing them. 


Journalists Rescued in Mexico "Mexican federal police rescued a group of journalists held hostage by captors in northern Mexico, authorities said Saturday morning. In a press conference Saturday, Public Security Secretary Genaro Garcia Luna said that the reporters had been rescued from a safehouse run by the Sinaloa Cartel, the powerful drug organization run by Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman. A major kingpin of the syndicate, Ignacio Coronel, was killed by Mexican soldiers in an unrelated raid Thursday." July 31, 2010, Wall Street Journal

Mexico Journalists Kidnapped as Drug Cartels Threaten Freedom of Speech: "Mexican gang members took at least three journalists hostage this week in Durango state after the reporters investigated alleged links between prison officials and drug groups, the state attorney general’s office said.


The kidnappers demanded that the journalists’ employers air videos that aim to show ties between local police and the Zetas drug gang, according to news station Milenio. The videos aired this week on an early morning broadcast, the news organization said on its website.

The kidnappings show Mexico’s drug cartels are growing increasingly violent and forcing members of the media to practice self censorship for their own safety, according to Carlos Lauria, a spokesman for the Americas division of the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists." July 29, 2010, Bloomberg

Mexican TV station cuts signal to protest violence against journalists - : "The signal of one of Mexico's largest television networks faded to black for almost an hour as a symbolic protest of violence against journalists. 

'We will not pretend that nothing is happening,' said Denise Maerker, anchor of Televisa's 'Punto de Partida' as she opened the show.

The protest Friday comes after four journalists were kidnapped Monday while covering a riot at a prison in the northern state of Durango. One of them, Televisa's Hector Gordoa, was released unharmed Thursday." July 31, 2010, CNN

Book Review - Cocaine Nation - By Tom Feiling : "Now four decades old, America’s drug war, initiated in its modern form by Richard Nixon, has burned through $1 trillion and helped make the United States the most locked-down country on earth. Yet victory still recedes from view. In 1970, some 20 million Americans had experimented with illegal drugs; by 2007, 138 million had. While drug purity has increased, street prices over the long term have dropped — precisely the opposite trajectory promised by drug warriors. Small wonder that a growing number of skeptics, from George Will to George Soros, have called for a serious change of course." July 30, 2010, NY Times Sunday Book Review

Whack-a-mole: Violent drug war expands from Mexico into Small Town America

This small town story takes its readers into the human reality of how intertwined the U.S. and Mexico are in the world  of the drug black market. Below this story is a link to an Associated Press website  which presents the facts, in graphic form, of how extensively intertwined the two countries are in this market, including the presence of the Mexican cartels in over 250 cities in the U.S.. Question: So why does the U.S. government think it can address this problem by "securing the border?"

Violent drug war expands from Mexico into America: "They found Marcus Turner in a ditch in north Mississippi, naked and shot to death. It was the end of a young man's life and a grim reminder of a larger truth: The Mexican drug war isn't as far away as you might think.

The order that led to Turner's death was phoned in from Mexico, prosecutors say. They say the man on the other end of the line was Craig Petties of Memphis, Tenn., alleged to be a drug trafficker who developed such close ties to a Mexican cartel that he moved south of the border and lived under its protection for years." July 30, 2010, The Republic, Columbus, Indiana/Scripps Howard News Serivce


Drug cartels extending reach father into the U.S. Associated Press

Immigration Legislation: Judge blocks key parts of Arizona immigration law

Judge blocks key parts of Arizona immigration law: "A federal judge in Phoenix on Wednesday blocked key provisions of Arizona's controversial immigration law from taking effect as scheduled Thursday, granting in part an injunction requested by the Obama administration.

U.S. District Judge Susan R. Bolton ruled that the injunction would apply to the portion of the state law that requires police to try to determine the immigration status of a person they arrest, stop or detain while enforcing other laws if they reasonably suspect the person is in the United States illegally. Bolton said in her ruling that it was "not in the public interest" for Arizona to enforce provisions that preempt federal enforcement of immigration law." July 28, 2010, Washington Post

Whack-a-mole and Mexican Politics: Mexico justice means catch and release

Here is another article on the failings of the justice system in Mexico. The Associated Press continues to produce good investigative reports on the drug war in Mexico.  

Mexico justice means catch and release: "CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico -- It's practically a daily ritual: Accused drug traffickers and assassins, shackled and bruised from beatings, are paraded before the news media to show that Mexico is winning its drug war. Once the television lights dim, however, about three-quarters of them are let go. Even as President Felipe Calderon's government touts its arrest record, cases built by prosecutors and police under huge pressure to make swift captures unravel from lack of evidence. Innocent people are tortured into confessing. The guilty are set free, only to be hauled in again for other crimes. Sometimes, the drug cartels decide who gets arrested. Records obtained by The Associated Press showed that the government arrested 226,667 drug suspects between December 2006 and September 2009, the most recent numbers available. Less than a quarter of that number were charged. Only 15 percent saw a verdict, and the Mexican attorney general's office won't say how many of those were guilty." July 27, 2010, AP/Washington Post

Immigration Reality: Immigration from a San Diego Perspective and Looking at How Climate Change May Affect Migration

Crossing the Line: Border Stories Here is a series of excellent reports on issues in the immigration debate, produced by the PBS station, KPBS, in San Diego, California. 
The series includes reports on the economic costs and benefits, the crisis of children left behind when parents are deported and an analysis of the future consequences of declines in both U.S. and Mexican birth rates on both economies and on immigration to the U.S.


Linkages among climate change, crop yields and Mexico–US cross-border migration : "Climate change is expected to cause mass human migration, including immigration across international borders. This study ... examines the linkages among variations in climate, agricultural yields, and people's migration responses. ... Using state-level data from Mexico, we find a significant effect of climate-driven changes in crop yields on the rate of emigration to the United States. (We) estimate that... a 10% reduction in crop yields would lead an additional 2% of the population to emigrate. We then ... estimate ... the potential magnitude of future emigration. Depending on the warming scenarios used and adaptation levels assumed, ... by approximately the year 2080, climate change is estimated to induce 1.4 to 6.7 million adult Mexicans (or 2% to 10% of the current population aged 15–65 y) to emigrate as a result of declines in agricultural productivity alone." June 24, 2010, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

Whack-a-mole: Mexican drug cartels bring violence with them in move to Central America

Yesterday the drug war news was about the lack of a functioning justice system in Mexico. Today it is about near anarchy in Mexico's neighbors: Guatelmala, El Salvador and Honduras

Mexican drug cartels bring violence with them in move to Central America: "Drug cartel violence in Mexico is quickly spilling south into Central America and is threatening to destabilize fragile countries already rife with crime and corruption, according to the United Nations, U.S. officials and regional law enforcement agents. ... The Mexican cartels "are spreading their horizons to states where they feel, quite frankly, more comfortable. These governments in Central America face a very real challenge in confronting these organizations," said David Gaddis, chief of operations for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration." July 27, 2010, Washington Post 
(AMB Editor's question to Mr. Gaddis: So what conclusions does the Drug Enforcement Administration draw from this observation?) 



How Mexico's Drug War Is Killing Guatemala "Overrun with Mexican drug gangs, troubled by a staggering murder rate, and plagued with endemic corruption, Guatemala is in serious trouble. And now the nation's 'Supercop' has called it quits. Can anyone stop the country from going down the tubes?" July 20, 2010, Foreign Policy Magazine. Article by Steven S. Dudley, former bureau chief of the Miami Herald in the Andes and a co-director of InSight, a new Colombia-based initiative to monitor organized crime in the Americas. He recently traveled to Guatemala to report and write a background report on the country for the International Crisis Group.

Drug Trafficking Organizations in Central America: Transportistas, Mexican Cartels and Maras

AMB editor: Here are all the sad details of the results in Central America of the U.S.-Mexican war on drugs. A 30 page analytic report of the Woodrow Wilson Center, also by Steven S. Dudley

While Mexico is having some limited success dealing with its spiraling conflict (AMB editor: ???) , vulnerable states in Central America are struggling to keep the organized criminal groups at bay, even while they face other challenges such as widespread gang activity. U.S. and Mexican efforts to combat the drug cartels in Mexico seem to have exacerbated the problems for Central America, evidenced by ever increasing homicide rates. “As Mexico and Colombia continue to apply pressure on drug traffickers, the countries of Central America are increasingly targeted for trafficking, which is creating serious challenges for the region,” the State Department says (Editor''s emphasis) in its recently released narcotics control strategy report. Problems are particularly acute in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, three States with vast coastlines, large ungoverned spaces and the greatest proximity to Mexico. May 2010, Woodrow Wilson Center: Mexico Institute report 

The following is a good  review of the failures of US policy in the war on drugs.

Billions Wasted in Mexico Pushing Failed U.S. Drug War Tactics "A new report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) makes painfully clear that the U.S. is wasting hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars on the drug war in Mexico, with little oversight, instead of investing in proven strategies to reduce drug demand and weaken Mexico's powerful drug cartels. The report is the latest indication of failure in the war on drugs, of which there is crystal clear evidence. ...the U.S. needs to acknowledge that the violence in Mexico is related to the prohibition of drugs, not drugs themselves - just like the violent gangsters of Alcohol Prohibition. The only way forward, then, is to pursue alternatives to prohibition - an exit strategy to the drug war." July 27, 2010, AlternNet essay by Daniel Robelo, a research associate at the Drug Policy Alliance legal office.

Whack-a-mole: War on drugs

Editor´s Question: Now just what is it that the U.S. government is accomplishiing with the Merida Initiative and other cooperative efforts that focus on the Mexican justice system in the "war on drugs"? (see today's two other posts: on Washington Post editorial proposing that the U.S. is not doing enough. and on the PBS documentary Presumed Guilty)

Mexico police: Inmates were freed long enough to carry out revenge killings"Prison guards loaned their own weapons to the killers, who went on to slay 17 at a birthday party in Coahuila state, authorities say. Inmates from the same prison are suspected in other attacks." July 25, 2010, LA Times


U.S. charges top leaders of Tijuana-based drug cartel "Federal authorities announced a wide-ranging criminal complaint Friday against top leaders of a Tijuana-based drug cartel that ran much of its operations from the San Diego area, allegedly ordering murders, kidnappings and the torture of rival traffickers in Mexico.

The racketeering conspiracy case charges 43 people, among them high-ranking lieutenants, Mexican police officers and a top official in the Baja California attorney general's office who allegedly passed along information obtained from U.S. law enforcement sources to cartel operatives. (Editor's emphasis) " July 23, 2010, LA Times

Whack-a-mole: Washington Post thinks the U.S. falls short in helping Mexico end its drug war

Editor's comment: The Washington Post, like the U.S. government, continues to misunderstand the so called "drug war" and, therefore, err regarding the solution.  The Merida Initiative, either well or poorly executed, will not solve the drug problem in Mexcio or in the U.S.

U.S. falls short in helping Mexico end its drug war: "For the Merida Initiative, Congress has approved $1.3 billion since 2008. ... As of March, $121 million of that appropriation -- or about 9 percent -- had actually been spent. Much of the rest, according to the GAO, was bogged down in more than a dozen federal agencies.... At a discussion sponsored by the think tank Third Way in Washington last week, Mexican Ambassador Arturo Sarukhán pointed out that ... "Mexican citizens on my side of the border . . . believe that we're paying a heavy toll for what is basically a U.S. responsibility." So will they vote for a presidential candidate who would continue to pay that cost when Calderón's term ends in 2012? The ambassador said he thought so. But he might have added: that may depend on whether the Obama administration and Congress do more to help turn the tide in cities like Ciudad Juarez. " July 26, 2010, Washington Post editorial by Jackson Diehl

Mexican Politics: PBS Documentary on Injustice in the Mexican Justice System: Presumed Guilty | Tune In July 27

POV | Presumed Guilty | Tune In: "Imagine being picked up off the street, told you have committed a murder you know nothing about and then finding yourself sentenced to 20 years in jail. In December 2005 this happened to Toño Zúñiga in Mexico City and, like thousands of other innocent people, he was wrongfully imprisoned. The award-winning Presumed Guilty is the story of two young lawyers and their struggle to free Zúñiga."

Legalization - A Canadian perspective on Whack-a-mole: We have been 'winning' the war on drugs for 90 years

Editor's note: I found this Canadian perspective to be refreshingly clear

We have been 'winning' the war on drugs for 90 years: "(While) it is true that Colombia is more stable and safer, for most, than it has been in decades. It is also true that Mexico is continuing its descent into the hell Colombia so recently exited.

Inevitably, some are drawing the conclusion that Mexico must do whatever it was that Colombia did. And since what Colombia did was engage in a massive escalation of military and police power, supported by billions of dollars from the United States and elsewhere, that's the medicine Mexico needs.

This is unspeakably foolish. And we can expect Canada will be asked to help fund this foolishness, as we did in Colombia. So let's get this straight now: What happened in Colombia is not a model for Mexico; what happened in Colombia is the cause of what's happening in Mexico. (emphasis added)" July 24, 2010, Ottawa Mail column

Whack-a-mole or legalization? The War on drugs

Losing the word war - Juneau Empire: "The phrase 'war on drugs' is a metaphor, and as George Lakoff and Mark Johnson point out in their book 'Metaphors We Live By,' how we use words to frame our behavior often creates our reality. The use of drugs is not something one can go to war with, nor is an ideology something we can go to war with." July 22, 2010


Democratic Contenders in Arizona Debate Drug War: "When asked about border security, Dougherty presented what may be a controversial solution to the drug war raging in Mexico. “The war on drugs is a complete and total failure,” he said. “The war on drugs is destabilizing Mexico — 25,000 people have been killed in the last few years. The facts do not support the continuation of this policy. We need to move it out of a criminal enforcement model that has failed to keep drugs off the street and protect our youth and into a medical treatment model. Regulation and taxation will provide money to reduce government deficits and fund treatment programs and advertising to discourage drug use.”" July 21, 2010, Yuma Sun


Americans Decry War on Drugs, Blame Mexico for Allowing Cartels to Grow A large proportion of Americans acknowledge that the country has a serious drug abuse problem, but two thirds believe that the so-called "War on Drugs" has been ineffective, a new Angus Reid Public Opinion Poll has found. July 20, 2010


Report Says U.S. Fails to Assess Drug Aid to Mexico - NYTimes.com: "Despite claims by the United States and Mexico that drug traffickers are feeling the effects of the countries’ joint offensive, a review by the Government Accountability Office has found that millions of dollars have been spent without enough regard for whether the money is doing any good." July 20, 2010, NY Times

Immigration Madness

Every day the fear driving the conflict over immigration grows more and more

15-year state worker accused of compiling ‘list’ | The Salt Lake Tribune: "The Utah Attorney General’s Office has begun a criminal investigation into two women accused of cobbling together a list of 1,300 Utah residents purportedly in the country illegally." July 22, 2010


Fear-mongering off and running in surreal season: "In this election season, fear-mongering about the border and 'illegals' is surreal. The image of our state as a place where the roads are not safe for tourists is as false as the claim that most border crossers are drug mules. This kind of talk contributes to a festering perception of the border as the source of all bad things and of Mexicans as a threat to Arizona's security. There is no denying that those stereotypes can be used by extremists who have an agenda of racial division, not cooperation. July 20, 2010, Arizona Republic

Immigration Legislation: Judge doubts the constitutionality of Arizona's immigration law - latimes.com

Judge doubts the constitutionality of Arizona's immigration law - latimes.com: "A federal judge on Thursday expressed skepticism that a key part of a controversial Arizona law to control illegal immigration is constitutional.

U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton noted at a hearing that the U.S. Supreme Court has long barred states from creating their own immigrant registration systems. She said the Arizona measure's stipulation that makes a crime of failing to have immigration documents may violate that."

Immigration Legislation

The immigration battle heats up more this week. This Thursday a U.S. District Court judge will hear arguments on the Dept. of Justice suit against the Arizona immigration law. Both sides are preparing for a fight. 


Arizona immigration law has groups readying for court  "Advocates on both sides of the debate are gearing up for a fight. Prosecutors across the state are learning immigration law — the enforcement of which is typically handled by federal officers — for the first time. Cities such as Flagstaff that refuse to enforce the new state law are preparing to defend themselves if they are sued." ... Gabriel Chin, a professor at the University of Arizona Rogers College of Law, says the passion over the law is "unlike anything that I've seen here, both because it affects so many people potentially in the legal system and because of the civil rights and constitutional implications." He adds, "Something has been unleashed here in Arizona that ... had not existed before." July 20, 2010, USA Today

Scenarios: What could happen with Arizona's immigration law "The Obama administration goes to court on Thursday to argue for a preliminary injunction to block Arizona's controversial immigration law from taking effect on July 29. U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton will hear oral arguments from the federal government as well as the state of Arizona and could grant the preliminary injunction request if she finds that ultimately the Obama administration would succeed on the merits in its quest to nullify the state law. Here are some scenarios for what could happen." July 20, 2010, Reuters

Latin American Nations Bid to Join Mexico in Arizona Case Seven other Latin American countries want to join Mexico in supporting a lawsuit challenging Arizona's immigration enforcement law. Bolivia, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Paraguay and Peru filed separate, nearly identical motions to join Mexico's legal brief supporting the lawsuit filed by U.S. civil rights and other advocacy groups.July 19, 2010, AP


National Guard Details Plans For Mexico Border Patrol  "National Guard troops will head to the U.S.-Mexico border Aug. 1 for a yearlong deployment to keep a lookout for illegal border crossers and smugglers and help in criminal investigations, federal officials said Monday. Nearly half the troops will go to Arizona, with smaller groups bound for Texas, California and New Mexico. They will watch for and report illegal crossovers and smugglers. The troops will also help with investigations. They will carry weapons, but use them only to protect themselves." July 19, 2010, NPR

Whack-a-mole: War on drugs

In the last post on the War on Drugs, there was an article on the expansion of the Mexican cartels to Australia. Today we have an analysis of the invasion of the Caribbean by the drug cartels and an announcement of the arrival of U.S. grenades in the arsenal of the cartels.


The Caribbean, the Fragile Third Border of the Drug Trade The crackdown on Columbian and Central American routes has caused a major shift fo drug trafficking to the Caribbean basin. Growing violence on the islands is impeding growth and social development. The effects of kidnapping and money laundering have begun to take root. Issues that make the CARICOM region susceptible to drug trafficking are not being effectively addressed or even adequately discussed. July 19, 2010, Council on Hemispheric Affairs 

Mexican drug cartels' newest weapon: Cold War-era grenades made in U.S.: "Grenades made in the United States and sent to Central America during the Cold War have resurfaced as terrifying new weapons in almost weekly attacks by Mexican drug cartels."July 17, 2010, Washington Post

Latin American and Mexican Politics

Here are two current critiques of U.S. Latin American policy and a summary of the recent changes in the Mexican cabinet.


Oliver Stone Tells the Real Story of Leftist Latin American Leaders After decades of military dictatorships and IMF puppetry in Latin America, the southern cone of the New World is slowly but surely moving toward reformist, left-leaning governance. This all started in 1999, when Hugo Chávez was elected in Venezuela. Today, Chávez has left or left-center allies at the helm of Brazil, Ecuador, Bolivia, Argentina, Paraguay, and preceding him, Cuba. ... The good news is that Oliver Stone's new documentary, South of the Border, offers American audiences an alternative version of this continent-wide paradigm shift. The film traces the rise of Chávez, Lula, Evo, and all the other members of a new generation of political leaders who see participatory democracy, socialism, and mutual aid and cooperation between Latin American countries as the future. July 12, 2010, AlterNet. movie website at South of the Border


Calderon Reshuffles Cabinet President Felipe Calderón announced three changes in his cabinet, including the appointment of his fourth Secretary of Government. Secretary of Government: Fernando Gómez Mont resigned, and will be replaced by José Francisco Blake Mora. Gómez Mont quit the PAN last February in protest of the decision to form electoral alliances with the PRD; his open insubordination to the President ensured his departure sooner or later. Blake Mora is currently Secretary of Government in Baja California. July 14, 2010, Under the Volcano blog.

Military Rule 2.0 Over the past two decades, Mexico has been touted as a democratic success story. After decades of single-party rule by the Institutional Revolutionary Party, known as PRI, the country developed vibrant political contests, leading to the landmark election of several (sic) non-PRI presidents. But Mexico’s political system has also gone backwards in one key area: the role of its military. As the Latin American drug trade has blossomed and its neighbors have become less stable, the military has stepped in, and used its leverage to control an ever-widening sphere of the civilian political system. July 11, 2010, Boston Globe OpEd by Joshua Kurlantzick, Fellow for Southeast Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations and Shelby Leighton, a Research Associate at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Immigration Crackdown

It seems that the U.S. approach to the issue of Latin American migration is like Don Quixote tiltiing at windmills. When Janet Napolitano was Governor of Arizona, she said, "Show me a 50-foot wall and I'll show you a 51-foot ladder." Now she sounds like the Man of La Mancha.
Attacking the Heart of the Border Problem This administration will continue our unprecedented efforts to secure our border, crack down on transnational criminals, drug-related violence, smugglers and traffickers to ensure the safety and security of our citizens. July 19, 2010, The Arizona Republic, OpEd by Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Homeland Security


Why Strengthening the Border Leads to More Illegal Immigration Trying to tightly seal any border will almost inevitably bring unintended consequences -- in reluctant illegal residents, in increased offshoring of industry and jobs, in cross-border smuggling and crime or, as with Arizona's new immigration law, in a whole new set of foreign policy problems.  July 18, 2010, Washington Post OpEd by Peter Schrag, author of "Not Fit for Our Society: Immigration and Nativism in America."


American Bar Association jumps into fray early over Arizona immigration law: "The American Bar Association has injected itself into the legal battle over the controversial Arizona immigration law... Though the association usually waits until a legal challenge reaches the highest federal or state court that will consider a case ..., its president described the statute as a significant legal issue that merited the 'extraordinary but not unprecedented' action at the district court level." July 19, 2010, Washington Post
Evangelicals Join Obama on Immigration Normally on the opposite side of political issues backed by the Obama White House, some evangelical leaders are aligning with the president to support an overhaul that would include some path to legalization for illegal immigrants already here. July 18, 2010, NY Times


Arizona's Immigration Law Isn't the Only One Many states have their own regulations governing illegal immigrants. And five states have introduced bills similar to Arizona's SB 1070, which is the target of a federal lawsuit. ... The laws regulate employment, law enforcement, education, benefits and healthcare. July 16, 2010, LA Times

War on drugs

The "Drug War" never stands still. This week a journalist investigating the drug war wins a prize for courage, the Mexican cartels reach Australia, two U.S. men arrested in Mexico allege abuse by the Mexican army and a car bomb is added to the cartel's repertoire of violence. 


Car Bomb in Mexican Drug War Changes Ground Rules The first successful car bombing by a drug cartel brings a new dimension of terror to a Mexican border region... The attack, seemingly lifted from an al-Qaida playbook, demonstrated once again that the cartels are a step ahead of both an already guarded public and federal police, who have recently taken over command from the military of the battle against traffickers in Ciudad Juarez. July 17, 2010, AP


Inside Mexico's Drug War, Americans Allege Abuse Two Americans were driving back to El Paso, Texas, last December from Ciudad Juárez. A few blocks from the border, they were surrounded by Mexican army trucks and pulled from their Dodge Ram. Mexico's military says it found two suitcases full of marijuana in the cab of the pickup truck.... Those two men—Shohn Huckabee, 23 years old, and Carlos Quijas, 36—are being held in a Ciudad Juárez jail. They tell a different story about what happened that night. They say Mexican soldiers planted the marijuana in their truck. When they arrived at the military base, they say, they were blindfolded, tied up, hit with rifle butts, shocked with electricity and threatened with death. July 17, 2010, Wall Street Journal


Details on Delivered and Pending Merida Initiative Equipment and Training On May 18, 2010, Senator Richard Lugar (R-Indiana), the Republican minority-party leader of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released a detailed report evaluating U.S. aid to Mexico since the 2007 launch of the Mérida Initiative. This report included a very detailed table of aid that has been delivered, or is pending delivery, through the State Department's International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement (INCLE) program. Here is a summary of some of the information. July 14, 2010, Just the Facts 


Mexico Link in Australian Cocaine Seizure  A Mexican drug cartel may be behind a huge cache of cocaine whose seizure by Australian police will choke local supply and push up prices. Police and Customs last month intercepted the shipment of more than 200 kilograms of the drug, which was hidden inside selected concrete pavers. With a street value of at least $84 million, it was the fifth largest cocaine bust in Australian history. ... It is understood the cocaine was made in Colombia or Peru then shipped to Port Melbourne from Mexico. July 14, 2010, Sydney Morning Herald


On the Border: Award Winning Journalism Despite the danger, the Dallas Morning News’ Alfredo Corchado investigates violence and corruption along the border between the United States and Mexico. He recently received the Lovejoy Award for courage in journalism, bestowed annually by Colby College in Waterville, Maine. American Journalism Review, June/July, 2010  

Immigration Politics

The Politics of Suing Arizona The Post asked political experts and commentators about the implications of the Obama administration's suit against Arizona and its new immigration law. Below are responses from Dan Schnur, Douglas E. Schoen, Tony Fratto, Frank Sharry, Martin Frost, Donna Brazile and Ed Rogers. Here are their answers. July 11, 2010, Washington Post


Governors Voice Grave Concerns on Immigration In a private meeting with White House officials this weekend, Democratic governors voiced deep anxiety about the Obama administration’s suit against Arizona’s new immigration law, worrying that it could cost a vulnerable Democratic Party in the fall elections. ... At the Democrats’ meeting on Saturday, some governors bemoaned the timing of the Justice Department lawsuit, ... “Universally the governors are saying, ‘We’ve got to talk  about jobs,’ ” Gov. Phil Bredesen of Tennessee, a Democrat, said in an interview. “And all of a sudden we have immigration going on. It is such a toxic subject, such an important time for Democrats.” July 11, 2010, NY Times


Headless bodies and other immigration tall tales from Arizona The Arizona governor, seemingly determined to repel every last tourist dollar from her pariah state, has sounded a new alarm about border violence. "Our law enforcement agencies have found bodies in the desert either buried or just lying out there that have been beheaded," she announced on local TV. ... There's not a follicle of evidence to support Brewer's claim. July 11, 2010, Washington Post OpEd by Dana Milbank


A New Perspective on Immigration Policy In a recent Brookings event, Darrell West, vice president and Director of Governance Studies at Brookings and author of the recent book, Brain Gain: Rethinking U.S. Immigration Policy, says that immigrant workers have made significant contributions to nearly every aspect of American life. He makes a case for revamping the nation's crippling immigration policies. July 8, 2010, Brookings Institute



Five Questions about the Federal Challenge to Arizona's Immigration Law The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit Tuesday seeking an injunction to stop Arizona's tough new immigration law from taking effect later this month. ... Here are five key questions about the lawsuit. July 7, 2010, CNN

Mexican Politics and Economics

Bungled Cases Show Weaknesses in Mexican Judiciary A rash of mishandled criminal cases in recent months has exposed gaping deficiencies in Mexico's judicial system at a time when President Felipe Calderon faces his strongest challenge yet from brutal drug cartels. Calderon ... announced far-reaching reforms to the justice system more than two years ago to weed out corruption and speed up delays. But recent gaffes by police and prosecutors in high-profile criminal cases have highlighted the festering justice system in Mexico. July 14, 2010, MSNBC/Reuters


Mexico's Intense Urbanization Spurs Social, Economic Trends Mexico is wrapping up its once-a-decade population count,.... Demographers expect the data will reveal just how pronounced the country's urbanization has become. Although the emptying of the countryside began decades ago, historian Jean Meyer said urbanization continues to intensify because of job creation resulting from economic globalization and Mexico's entry into the free trade agreement with the United States and Canada. "It's been a slow, steady process that's changed the face of the country," Meyer said. Mexico has 11 urban areas with a million people or more, according to 2009 estimates. A twelfth urban area, Mérida, has just less than a million. July 12, 2010, Dallas Morning News


Joining forces: PAN-PRD alliance scrambles the presidential race (The July 4 elections,) in 14 of Mexico’s 31 states, provided a surprise that could redraw the country’s political map. The PRI lost its fiefs (in three states) to an unlikely alliance between the PAN and the leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD). The pair have been bitter rivals since the PRD’s 2006 presidential candidate accused Mr Calderón of stealing the election. They are ideological opposites. But ... the two teamed up in the past to end the PRI’s monopoly on power. ... The parties are likely to repeat the tactic in next July’s race for governor in Mexico state, the country’s most populous. It includes most Mexico City suburbs and is seen (often misleadingly) as a political barometer. In 2005 the PRI’s candidate there, Enrique Peña Nieto, won easily. ... he is now the front-runner for the PRI’s presidential nomination. July 8, 2010, The Economist

Mexican Politcs: the Mexican elections

Following are a cross-section of points of view about the Mexican state elections of July 4.

An Anti-Incumbancy Wave -- in Mexico On Sunday, in 14 of Mexico's 32 states, millions of citizens went to the polls and, defying the threat of violence from drug cartels, decisively consolidated our young democracy..... They did not, as had been feared, simply entrust local government in all 14 states to the PRI...What voters did in many places was simply vote out corrupt or inefficient incumbent governors, mayors and other state and local officials -- regrardless of party. Now, though the return of the PRI in 2012 is still probable, it is no longer inevitable. July 6, 2010, NY Times OpEd by Enrique Krauze, editor of the magazine Letras Libres and author of "Mexico: Biography of Power."

Two parties claim victory in Mexico state elections after campaign marred by violence   Turnout was low, but not as low as feared. The vote Sunday took place against a backdrop of sensational violence.... But all in all, the 2010 elections in Mexico were relatively calm. Both major parties claimed victory. July 6, 2010, Washington Post.


Winners and Losers 

Win: without a doubt, the PAN-PRD alliance. They picked up three governorships (Oaxaca, Puebla, and Sinaloa) that would have never been one by either party alone. They were in it in Durango and garnered admirable numbers in Hidalgo. July 5, 2010,  Mexico Institute/Milenio (from article in Spanish)

Vote shows Mexicans have little faith in any party The mixed outcome in elections across 15 states showed no party has won the faith of Mexicans desperate to bring their country out of a quagmire of economic stagnation and relentless gang wars, July 5, 2010, AP

Autonomous Triqui Community Wary of New Oaxaca Government The autonomous indigenous Triqui community of San Juan Copala, in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca, is maintaining a cautious attitude towards the state government to take power after winning Sunday's elections. The community is made up of 786 people and declared autonomy in 2007. Since January it has been under a blockade, enforced by paramilitaries belonging to the Union for the Wellbeing of the Triqui Region (UBISORT). UBISORT is an illegal armed group accused of ties with the current state government, led by Governor Ulises Ruiz, of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), which has governed the state for eight decades. July 5, 2010, InterPress Service


Mexican Democracy, Even Under Seige Mexico's voters.... turned out in relatively large numbers to choose new governors, mayors and state representatives over the weekend and managed to send an inspiring message amid all the violence. Mexico's democracy, flawed as it may be, endures. July 5, 2010, NY Times 

Collateral Damage: Mexico's Elections

Mexico's Elections: A Bleak Panorama Statement by the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, July 2, 2010.

This Sunday, July 4, Mexico will hold elections for a number of important governorships and mayoralties, .... ... this round already has been marred by gruesome violence against candidates and supporters of all parties. Many of these events...are unquestionably directly tied to drug gangs. The violence has raised well-founded fears that neither the elections nor the victories which they will yield will be insulated from the persuasive power of huge levels of narco-funds and narco-violence. Four years after President Felipe Calderón initiated his tragically ill-advised and poorly conceived attempt to defeat the drug gangs, the bitter harvest of the struggle is sure to come to light. As politics and narcotics become increasingly intertwined in Mexico, the cycle of violence will only be broken by a more sensible U.S. policy toward Mexico. Washington must reconsider its approach to domestic drug consumption, revive a long-lost commitment to social and economic development among Mexico’s lower classes, and avoid further militarizing an already sanguinary situation south of the border. Unless the U.S. takes such positive steps, the situation will invariably slide toward levels of instability, duplicating the Pakistan-Afghanistan crucible.

Mexican politics: Democracy Exhausted

Column of Sergio Aguayo
La Reforma, June 30, 2010
Original in Spanish at: Se Agotó
[Sergio Aguayo is a Professor at the Center for International Studies of the College of Mexico and an author of many books, including El Panteón de los Mitos, about the US - Mexico relationship from the 1940's to the mid 1980´s.]

The assassination of Rodolfo Torre Cantú in Tamaulipas once again confirms that the principal achievement of the transition to democracy is exhausted. What now?

Democracy is rigorous. To function properly, it requires a minimum of ecomomic and physical security. It has been ten years since there was a change of parties in the Presidency and we continue being a country of poor people and billionaires, while violence overwhelms understanding. They executed Torre Cantú. Why did they do this, or what did they want to do? We´ll never know. Instead of certainties, they will overwhelm us with versions that will serve as walls for building the chapel of Saint Impunity, stepsister of Saint Death (Santa Muerte, the saint of the narcotraffickers).

In 2000 we thought that we had arrived at the Olympus of credible elections. In 2006, we became disillusioned, and in the 2010 elections we observe with amazement how elections are controlled by a few. Let's not delude ourselves. Citizens are bit players of the big electors: the bureaucracies of the parties, governors, some businessmen and unions, organized crime. They fight so fiercely because they are betting for positions, budgets and business. There is no fairness, control over money or certainty, because the electoral bodies are subjugated or frightened. And now we see how the ballot box is the modern version of the sacrificial stone.

Everything considered, we are back at the beginning of the transition to democracy. Those opposed to the established order have three ways to proceed: take up arms, continue believing that redemption will come in some way by means of the vote, or insist on the daily defense of rights under adverse conditions. I reject violence, and in the current conditions, I will continue to annul my vote. It would be masochistic to continue to focus ourselves so much on elections when democracy is also constructed in other ways. All we have left is permanent commitment.

Let´s start rewriting history. It is false that the parties were the protagonists of the transition. They did something, of course, but society had much more prominent participation. So much so that the parties could compete at the polls after the social movements in which the parties had a marginal role. The student movement of 1968 and the Dirty War led to the reforms of 1977, and the Zapatista and civic rebellions of 1994 led to the 1996 legislation. These electoral reforms both brought the parties to prominence and enriched them, such that having the lead, they stopped worrying about gaining the authority that is granted by citizens. Up until today, the parties are a burden, not a vanguard.

Organized society is the vanguard of the future. It ought to rethink itself, renew itself and reactivate itself. Among its tasks is the identification of those who corrupt public life in many ways. Also, it needs to put pressure simultaneously on the organizations  charged with protecting rights. These organizations are the natural allies of citizens, althought at times they do whatever is possible to ignore them.

In my native Jalisco, in the city of Guadalajara, there is a member of the city council named Gamaliel Ramírez. Kicking soccer balls with an aura of celebrity has allowed him to hold various public offices through his party, PRI. By means of a swap of candidates, he now serves as city councilman for the Green Environmental Party of Mexico. Although the "Green" "Party" proclaims, in its Declaration of Principles, "respect for all manifestations of life," some days ago Gamaliel Ramírez condemned the gay pride march in Guadalajara because they marched, "out-of-sync, almost semi-naked; because we don't want a Guadalajara suffering from AIDS."

This isn't the first time that he made a homophobic statement. When looking for votes in 2009, he disqualified gays, calling them "a ball of fags," "abnormal" and "harmful things." The Institute for the Electoral Process and Citizen Participation of the State of Jalisco allowed these statements to pass, of course. Those affected were right to file a complaint with the National Council to Prevent Discrimination. Those who lead this ought to make a clear, direct pronouncement.

There are many other causes for which to fight. There will not always be justice, but it is a dignified way to endure a failed democracy while, in some spaces the conditions for the flourishing of fair and credible elections are created. Today, this way has already been exhausted.

Miscellany


I'll be in Oaxaca on the eve of the election to support the Civic Alliance in its heroic defense of fair play in the election. Collective reflection is needed and it is a way of expressing my being fed up with the abuses and cynicism of Ulises Ruiz, who has exceeded the limits of decency. Clearly, I don´t do this out of sympathy for PAN or PRD, which now wander about like "crybabies" when they were accomplices in the destruction of democratic culture.

Collaborator: Rodrigo Gonzalez Peña

Collateral Damage: Votes, tricks and bullets

[Editor´s comment: This column, about the July 4 elections in Mexico, clearly describes the challenges that the current political and civil situation in the country presents to the development of democracy in Mexico.] 

 Original Spanish version at: Votos, trampas ybalas

José Antonio Crespo

July 2, 2010

What guarantees of cleanness, safety and validity can Sunday's election offer?  What options do citizens have?

While the assassination of Rodolfo Torre is a major setback to the fragile Mexican democracy, that democracy has already been systematically stuck by the political class. Before and after the tragedy, we saw a gallery of political pettiness from all parties and many levels of government. Ten years after the first democratic change in our history, we are now facing a scenario not unlike that which prevailed 20 years ago in electoral matters. We face authentic state elections where there are no minimum guarantees of fairness, transparency and impartiality, and there is direct use of public resources in favor of parties and official candidates. There is evidence that election  officials have been under the control of various parts of the Executive Branch. This prevents there being an adequate, minimum credibility in the electoral process.

Electoral confidence vanishes because of the illegal war between political parties nakedly fighting for political booty and control of the budget above all.

On the other hand, the drug trafficker reaches the same goal with the possibility of black money in campaigns, candidates accused of links with the cartels and, even worse, the increasing level of murders by hired assassins. The stings of the agitated wasps are greater each time, and each time fewer spaces in the national house are saved from the dangerous onslaught of political weddings. In the face of the electoral violence of the narcotraffickers and with elections being held in multiple states, what guarantees of cleanliness, safety and validity can the elections of Sunday have? What options do citizens have, facing all of this?

Not long ago, the Interior Minister, Fernando Gómez Mont, predicted that, beginning this month, we would see the level of violence go down. And to encourage voter participation in such difficult conditions, he said, "The State is there to protect them, to go out and vote, to fulfill their political duties." (May 25, 2010) Reality soon took charge, contradicting the Secretary, as much in regard to the decrease in violence as in the State's ability to protect citizens. 

If the State took a hand in the abduction of Diego Fernandez de Cevallos, if you cannot provide security for a presumptive governor, if you cannot care for the lives of your prisoners, if people trying to cure their drug addiction in rehabilitation centers are executed, if you cannot prevent a city like Monterrey from being strangled in its roadways by the drug traffickers, could we blame the citizens in the areas most affected by violence if they decided it is best not to take the risk? That already happened last year, as the cities hardest hit by the drug violence showed a very low rate of participation, such as Ciudad Juarez (27%), Acapulco (28%), Tijuana (29%), Nuevo Laredo Reynosa (36%), and Culiacán (37%). It may be possible that, at least in Tamaulipas the reaction of the electorate may be the opposite, to express their outrage and determination not to be swayed by organized crime by going to the polls in large numbers.

Both these reasons that impair democracy -- the lack of respect for the electoral law on the part of the parties, governors and candidates, as well as the insecurity derived from narcotrafficking -- affect the credibility of the electoral process and electoral enthusiasm. That "votes will always be more powerful than bullets" sounds fine, but those who have reduced the strength of voting have been the political class itself, rather than the drug trafficking. 

For this reason, due to the inability of the government at all levels to ensure the safety of the population and the growing rejection of the existing strategy, movements to vote "No" have emerged as a means of protest in Chihuahua. The same in Puebla, due to the unreliability of the process itself and the absence of a genuine conmmitment of the political class to the electorate.

A difficult crossroads confronts the voters next Sunday: vote for the opposition in order to move things towards a hopeful alternative, refrain for fear of bullets, cancel the vote because of lack of faith in the process or lack of conviincing alternatives, or go to the polls and vote for the party that may strengthen our increasingly fragile political institutions. It remains to be seen.