Collateral Damage: Drug war sparks exodus of affluent Mexicans

Ah, yes, good, ol' U.S. self-centered capitalism: seeing wealthy people fleeing from the drug war in Mexico as "positive ... entrepreneurial," not as futher collateral damage to its neighbor caused by a war based in U.S. drug policy.

The Washington Post: SAN ANTONIO — "For years, national security experts have warned that Mexico’s drug violence could send a wave of refugees fleeing to the United States. Now, the refugees are arriving — and they are driving BMWs and snapping up half-million-dollar homes.

Tens of thousands of well-off Mexicans have moved north of the border in a quiet exodus over the past few years, according to local officials, border experts and demographers. Unlike the much larger population of illegal immigrants, they are being warmly welcomed.

... San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro said the influx “is positive, it is entrepreneurial . . . and one of the keys to a very successful growing city like San Antonio." Castro estimates that Mexicans own at least 50,000 of the approximately 500,000 homes and apartments in his city of 1.3 million, which has a vibrant Hispanic culture. "” 

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