San Antonio Express-News: "The Obama administration's top drug policy official said Tuesday that although the government continues anti-drug efforts on the Southwest border, “we cannot arrest our way out of the drug problem.”
National Drug Policy Director Gil Kerlikowske — the drug czar — said it's time to “treat drug addiction as a disease.”
The administration's “third way” strategy seeks a middle ground between drug legalization and an enforcement-heavy “war on drugs,” Kerlikowske said in a speech at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank founded by John Podesta, former White House chief of staff to President Bill Clinton. read more
The MexicoBlog of the CIP Americas Program monitors and analyzes international press on Mexico with a focus on the US-backed War on Drugs in Mexico and the struggle in Mexico to strengthen the rule of law, justice and protection of human rights. Relevant political developments in both countries are also covered.
May 3, 2012
Mexico ex-president calls drug war 'useless'
latimes.com: "Former Mexican President Vicente Fox on Wednesday labeled the global war on drugs “useless” and an "absolute failure," saying it's time to consider legalization as an antidote to the violence ravaging his country.
Fox, who governed Mexico from 2000 to 2006, said his successor’s 5-1/2-year-old offensive against drug trafficking groups had failed to reduce the availability or consumption of illegal drugs and led only to more bloodshed and mayhem. More than 50,000 people have died since President Felipe Calderon launched the crackdown in late 2006.
Fox said his country, caught between drug producers in South America and a sea of users in the United States, was paying an unfair price for U.S. laws criminalizing drug use.
“The country that imposed the prohibition, the country that has punishments and considers drugs a crime is the country that uses the most drugs in the world,” Fox said during an hour-long meeting with foreign correspondents." read more
Fox, who governed Mexico from 2000 to 2006, said his successor’s 5-1/2-year-old offensive against drug trafficking groups had failed to reduce the availability or consumption of illegal drugs and led only to more bloodshed and mayhem. More than 50,000 people have died since President Felipe Calderon launched the crackdown in late 2006.
Fox said his country, caught between drug producers in South America and a sea of users in the United States, was paying an unfair price for U.S. laws criminalizing drug use.
“The country that imposed the prohibition, the country that has punishments and considers drugs a crime is the country that uses the most drugs in the world,” Fox said during an hour-long meeting with foreign correspondents." read more
May 2, 2012
Mexico soccer vs politics spat getting ugly
CBS News: "Mexico's scheduling conflict between a presidential candidates' debate and a soccer quarterfinals match got ugly Tuesday, amid accusations of skullduggery, greed and authoritarianism.
It seems to have been turned into a grudge match, between whether Mexicans will tune in to watch politicos batting around ideas, or two of the nation's best teams kicking around a ball.
Electoral authorities made plans two weeks ago to hold the debate at 8 p.m. this Sunday.
Then on Monday, Mexico's soccer federation announced it will hold a first-division quarterfinals match between Tigres and Morelia at the same time.
Leonardo Valdes, the head of Mexico's electoral institute, condemned some broadcasters' decision to show the soccer game and not the debate." read more
It seems to have been turned into a grudge match, between whether Mexicans will tune in to watch politicos batting around ideas, or two of the nation's best teams kicking around a ball.
Electoral authorities made plans two weeks ago to hold the debate at 8 p.m. this Sunday.
Then on Monday, Mexico's soccer federation announced it will hold a first-division quarterfinals match between Tigres and Morelia at the same time.
Leonardo Valdes, the head of Mexico's electoral institute, condemned some broadcasters' decision to show the soccer game and not the debate." read more
Mexico’s presidential front-runner builds huge lead as fresh face for old ruling party
The Washington Post: A month into Mexico’s breakneck campaign season, the movie-star handsome candidate of the former ruling party is 20 percentage points ahead of his two main rivals and drawing tens of thousands of cheering supporters to tightly choreographed rallies that feel as much like victory celebrations as campaign events.
If the next two months go as planned, Enrique Pena Nieto will return the Institutional Revolutionary Party to Mexico’s highest office 12 years after voters fed up with its corruption, mismanagement and repression of opponents ended its 71 years of autocratic rule.
What a Pena Nieto presidency would look like, however, remains unclear. The fresh-faced, 45-year-old former governor is promising national rejuvenation after six years of a grueling drug war and sluggish economic growth, but his dozens of campaign pledges center on more mundane matters — small-scale infrastructure projects such as highway overpasses and better flood control. read more
If the next two months go as planned, Enrique Pena Nieto will return the Institutional Revolutionary Party to Mexico’s highest office 12 years after voters fed up with its corruption, mismanagement and repression of opponents ended its 71 years of autocratic rule.
What a Pena Nieto presidency would look like, however, remains unclear. The fresh-faced, 45-year-old former governor is promising national rejuvenation after six years of a grueling drug war and sluggish economic growth, but his dozens of campaign pledges center on more mundane matters — small-scale infrastructure projects such as highway overpasses and better flood control. read more
US Seizes 3 Tons of Meth Precursor Chemicals Bound for Mexico
InSight Crime: "US officials seized close to three tons of methamphetamine precursor chemicals reportedly heading for Mexico, potentially a rare instance of Mexican cartels using the US as a transhipment point.
The two shipments in question originated from China and were of methylamine chloride, a key ingredient in the production of methamphetamine. They were seized on April 19 and 23 at Los Angeles International airport (LAX), both bound for central Mexico, and amounted to 2.85 tons. The amount seized could have been used to produce about $40 million worth of methamphetamine, reports the LA Times. read more
The two shipments in question originated from China and were of methylamine chloride, a key ingredient in the production of methamphetamine. They were seized on April 19 and 23 at Los Angeles International airport (LAX), both bound for central Mexico, and amounted to 2.85 tons. The amount seized could have been used to produce about $40 million worth of methamphetamine, reports the LA Times. read more
Gangster Killing Points to Canada-Mexico Criminal Ties
InSight Crime: "The murder of a Canadian crime boss in Mexico illustrates the troubling links between criminal organizations in both countries.
On April 27, British Colombia-based gangster Thomas Gisby was gunned down in a Starbucks in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico. According to police, Gisby ran the Gisby Crime Group, a Canadian drug trafficking gang with connections to cartels in both Mexico and Colombia. The Calgary Herald reports that Gisby was likely targeted for his connections to a group known as the United Nations Gang, which has seen a number of its members assassinated in recent months in retaliation for the August 2011 killing of rival gang member Jonathan Bacon. read more
On April 27, British Colombia-based gangster Thomas Gisby was gunned down in a Starbucks in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico. According to police, Gisby ran the Gisby Crime Group, a Canadian drug trafficking gang with connections to cartels in both Mexico and Colombia. The Calgary Herald reports that Gisby was likely targeted for his connections to a group known as the United Nations Gang, which has seen a number of its members assassinated in recent months in retaliation for the August 2011 killing of rival gang member Jonathan Bacon. read more
Sinaloa Gunbattles Could Signal Shift in Cartel Turf Wars
InSight Crime: "The deaths of at least a dozen people in clashes in the Mexican state of Sinaloa, as rival groups linked to the Zetas move into "Chapo Guzman's" home territory, may be evidence that the concept of the "plaza" dominated by a single group is losing its force.
According to the Sinaloa newspaper Riodoce, the fighting started when an army patrol was ambushed on Saturday afternoon. After receiving reports of a gunfight in a rural community in the municipality of Choix, in the remote Chihuahua-Sinaloa border region, an army patrol, supported by local police, went to investigate and was attacked. They called for backup, and a helicopter which arrived on the scene also came under fire. The initial outburst of violence was followed by further fighting in an adjacent community, resulting in the deaths of several more alleged criminals. read more
According to the Sinaloa newspaper Riodoce, the fighting started when an army patrol was ambushed on Saturday afternoon. After receiving reports of a gunfight in a rural community in the municipality of Choix, in the remote Chihuahua-Sinaloa border region, an army patrol, supported by local police, went to investigate and was attacked. They called for backup, and a helicopter which arrived on the scene also came under fire. The initial outburst of violence was followed by further fighting in an adjacent community, resulting in the deaths of several more alleged criminals. read more
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