Capture of El Chapo: Like a Drop of Water in Rain (La Jornada, Mexico)

February 25, 2014

La Jornada 

Translated by WorldMeets

In December 2013 , the Attorney General's Office released a list of 69 of the 122 capos most wanted for drug trafficking who were arrested or killed during President Enrique Peña Nieto's administration. This was a follow up on previous arrest priorities implemented under the administration of Felipe Calderón, the success of who's security strategy was measured based on the number of criminal detainees, and without connection to the nation's prevailing insecurity.

 

On February 21, during a presentation on governance and the rule of law as a strategy for development at the 2014 National Industrial Convention, Interior Minister Miguel Angel Osorio Chong said that of the 122 criminal ringleaders, 74 have been detained.

Now, with the arrest of Joaquin Guzman Loera, alias El Chapo, the number of captured organized crime leaders has reached 75. However, it wasn't only the Mexican authorities that targeted El Chapo. The drug trafficker was one of the U.S. government's most wanted criminals, with the Obama Administration offering a $5 million reward for information leading to his capture. Read more. 

The Capture of El Chapo Guzman

The press and Mexican government announced that yesterday at 6:40 in the morning, Mexican security forces captured the nation's most wanted drug lord.

Led by the Mexican Navy, agents and troops moved in on a beach condominium in the resort city of Mazatlan at 4 AM. The bloodless siege yielded the leader of the Sinaloa cartel and 13 other individuals said to be related to cartel operations, according to Mexican Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam, from a Navy hangar. 

Oddly, the first news came not from the Mexican government or media, but from the US agency Associated Press, shortly before 10 AM. The Mexican government waited hours, until El Chapo had reportedly been transported to Mexico City, before going public. El Chapo is now being held in the high-security prison of Altiplano, in Mexico State.

Also oddly, President Enrique Peña Nieto did not appear publicly to announce the capture, nor did he appear the rest of the day. Some seven hours after the arrest -- he tweeted:

I salute the labor of Mexico's security institutions, in achieving the arrest of Joaquín Guzmán Loera in Mazatlán. 

La Jornada reports that a press conference planned at the Sec. of Government for 11:15 was cancelled half an hour before. The reason is generally assumed to be that the government wanted to absolutely confirm identity to avoid an error like in June of 2012, when the supposed son of Guzman, Alfredo, was captured and it turned out to be a case of mistaken identity.

At the time of this writing (8:00 AM Sunday) the Office of the Presidency still has not issued a statement or posted on its web page.

This is a big change from the past, when major arrests were paraded through the media and heralded as turning points in the endless drug war. Why so low-key this time, precisely when it regards the most wanted figure of all? The Sinaloa Cartel that El Chapo leads is recognized as being by far the largest and most powerful in the country, and according to some experts, the world. We may see an increase in the hype after Peña Nieto returns from his week-end break.

Scenarios all add up to more drug war

A number of scenarios open up now, none of which imply an end to drug war violence or trafficking. They are:

1. "The hydra effect"
In Greek mythology the hydra, a sea serpent, grew three heads for every one cut off. The Sinaloa Cartel has been reorganizing and no one beleives it hasn't prepared for this day. It is probable that a successor has already been chosen and trained in taking the reins of the organization.

2. "Inside or Outside, sigue siendo el rey"
It's important to recall that the cartel did not fall apart the first time El Chapo was in prison and in fact business went on as usual. It is common for drug lords to dispense from prison. The exploits of El Chapo while locked up--sumptuous parties, privileges, expensive foods and drugs, sex, etc.--are legendary. We could see a replay of a simulated "punishment" that at once justifies the drug war and takes the heat off what has frequently been characterized as the favored cartel.

3. "Manufactured fracture"

The end result of the bust could be a fracturing of the Sinaloa Cartel, such as happened before with the Gulf Cartel and La Familia. Some security strategists favor this result because it theoretically reduces the threat to the State as the groups are broken into smaller entities as happened in Colombia. However, based on previous experience in Mexico this is the worst scenario in terms of the impact on public safety and violence. Moreover, the brutality and lack of centralized control often common among the splinter groups ends up being more of a threat. My take is that this will not happen, at least not in the short term,  to the Sinaloa Cartel.

4. "Confirming disaster"

The take-down of El Chapo would help to increase Congressional support for the drug war in Mexico, giving both Peña Nieto and Obama wide berth to spend more on the militarist model at a time when it is severely questioned. By confirming this model--widely regarded as failed despite headline busts--the violence will increase, more taxpayer dollars will be diverted from social needs to war, and war contractors and the DEA will reap increased income and support. As everyone celebrates the capture of a powerful and ruthless drug lord, this would actually be very bad news for both Mexico and the United States.

The scenario I have not included is that this capture will destroy the power of the Sinaloa Cartel, reduce violence and restore law and order in Mexico. Unfortunately, that scenario is more than unlikely.

Trying Times

The "most wanted man in the world", according to the TV meme, is just as wanted in custody as he was when he was at large. The head of the DEA in Chicago has announced he wants El Chapo tried there. There are multiple extradition requests out for El Chapo in the United States. The US was closely involved in his capture and had offered a $5 million dollar reward for information leading to his capture. The Mexican Attorney General recognized the use of U.S. intelligence in the arrest. So far there are no confirmed reports of U.S. agents at the scene.

Meanwhile the Mexicans want to see him tried in that country as a face-saving measure. The concern, of course, is that he will "escape" (an act usually involved collusion by authorities at some level) as he did in 2001.

Reactions

The response of the Mexican press has been a celebration of the capture as a military police operation but skepticism regarding the long-term impact. News media has been combing Twitter and past articles for details regarding the bust and bios of El Chapo's colorful life. Corridos, the typical Mexican ballad, have already been written and posted on youtube.

La Jornada used a headline CAYO (He fell!) and noted on its front page that the the U.S. broke the story. They ran a companion piece with views on why the capture will not end drug war violence.

El Universal emphasized that not a single shot was fired and noted in a related article that El Mayo Zambada, el Chapo's close associate in the cartel, is expected to be his successor.

As the week begins, more stories on the government's response, investigations into the U.S. role, what will happen with a trial and/or extradition, and any indications of the response of the Sinaloa Cartel will continue to fill the pages and air waves for days. Few people appear to feel relief or a sense of greater safety, and in many places, residents fear destabilization of the situation following the arrest. One businessman in Sinaloa was quoted in the New York Times as saying "It's bad news for Mazatlán. He (Guzmán) was keeping the peace."

Why now?

El Chapo has managed to escape many times in the past. If one believes that both governments often knew where he was and that he was allowed to operate freely for many years, as I do, that question is why now? Why capture him at this particular time?

There are many possible answers to that question, and the question is intimately related to what will happen next.

I'm going to give myself some time to think more about it and watch this play out before tackling the question of timing and the behind-the-scenes political motivations-- beyond tallying a big win for the drug war.

These undoubtedly exist, but it's important to gather more evidence and perspectives before speculating.

Event TODAY in New York City: The Drug War-Policing and US Militarism at Home and Abroad

The CIP Americas Program is proud to be a co-sponsor of this event, which brings together the repressive nature of the the U.S. drug war within its borders and in countries like here in Mexico. I hope readers in the New York City area will attend and tell us about it. There is also a livestream for those outside the area (see below).

The U.S. Drug War has fueled mass incarceration and discriminatory policing practices in the U.S. as well as violence and militarization throughout Latin America. This panel will bring together organizers and scholars on both sides of the border to talk about the domestic and international impacts of the Drug War and their strategies to resist this racist, ineffective, and devastating “war.”

What: The Drug War: Policing and U.S. Militarism at Home and Abroad

Where: Unitarian Church of All Souls, New York, NY

When: Thursday, February 20th at 6:30 pm (EST)

RSVP at: http://bit.ly/1bp7DsQ

Watch the Livestream:
http://new.livestream.com/ccrjustice/thedrugwar

Featuring: Alfredo Carrasquillo, VOCAL-NY Civil Rights Organizer; David Vivar, scholar on US drug war in Latin America and activist in the Honduran resistance movement. Moderated by Moderated by Jaisal Noor, host and producer for The Real News Network. Introduction by Vincent Warren, Executive Director of the Center for Constitutional Rights.

Co-sponsored by: VOCAL-NY, Organización Fraternal Negra Hondureña (OFRANEH), Drug Policy Alliance, NY Harm Reduction, Latino Justice PRLDEF, SOA Watch, Justice Committee, Center for NuLeadership, Sisters of Mercy-Institute Justice Team, Make the Road-NY, Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, Iraq Veterans Against the War, Picture the Homeless, War Resisters League, CIP Americas Program

Senate approves civil proceedings to prosecute soldiers who took part in 'dirty war'

Original Americas Program Translation 

La Jornada - Mexico

February 6, 2014 

The Senate unanimously approved the withdrawal of the reservation made ​​by the Mexican government to the Inter-American Convention on Forced Disappearance of Persons, whereupon the civil courts now may try the military officials involved in the disappearances of persons during the dirty war.

The ruling approved by all parliamentary groups recognized that "the alleged perpetrators of the acts constituting the crime of forced disappearance of persons may be tried only by the competent jurisdictions of ordinary law in each state, excluding any special tribunals, in particular military.

"The acts constituting forced disappearance shall not be considered as committed in the performance of military duties."

"No privileges, immunities or special exemptions will be administered in such proceedings without consideration of the provisions included in the Convention on Diplomatic Relations.”

The ruling emphasizes that this decision by the Mexican government to withdraw its 2002 reservation to the convention" is according to the verdict issued by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (Coidh) on the case Radilla Pacheco (who was disappeared by military in the state of Guerrero during the so-called dirty war) against the United States of Mexico.

It emphasizes that "the ruling decided that the reservation made by Mexico does not meet the first requirement in Article XIX of the Convention, consequently it should be considered invalid. In this sense, it is clear that the application of military jurisdiction in the case, for which the state extended the jurisdiction of military courts to facts that are not strictly related to military discipline or legal interests of the military realm, is contrary the provision included in Article IX of the Treaty of reference, to which Mexico is clearly obligated. "

The ruling states that "considering the acts of enforced disappearance as an inhumane violation the rule of law, as well as the human dignity and human rights of individuals and not delimited to particular regions or political systems, it is an urgent task of the Sate to fight to eradicate it, not as a political, military or religious cause that justifies overlooking the situation.”

 Original Spanish article

Translated by Nidia Bautista

United States is Ready to Help Mexico in Michoacan: John Kerry

January 18, 2014
La Jornada - Mexico

The US Secretary of State, John Kerry, reiterated today Washington’s “concern” about the situation in the state of Michoacán, where federal forces intervened this week after the action of self-defense groups increased against local cartels.

“Yes, we are concerned,” recognized Kerry after meeting this Friday in Washington with his Mexican counterpart, José Antonio Meade, within the context of a meeting of the North American chancellors, in which Canada also participated.

“We are not afraid, but yes we are concerned and we are going to work with the government; we are ready to try to be useful if we can,” he added in response to a question from a journalist.

Their words are similar to those expressed two days ago by an important official from the State Department to a group of media in Washington, including the Dpa, who assured that the United States government gobierno was “extremely concerned” over the situation in Michoacán after the resurgence of the activities of the self-defense groups.

“We’re talking about communities that are already under pressure from the drug trafficking and criminal organizations, and now they find themselves in the midst of a battle between those that assert that they protect those communities and those that use them in their own interest,” the official said on condition of anonymity. He pointed out that the problem is that: “it is not clear if any of those actors are truly interested in what is best for their towns.”

Just like Kerry today, the source assured that the United States “is ready” to offer any kind of help to Mexico, always and when it is requested, something that, he specified, has not happened as of now.

U.S. 'Interference' in Michoacan is the Last Thing Mexico Needs (La Jornada, Mexico)

WorldMeets 
 La Jornada – Original Article (Spanish)
January 20, 2014

A member of the community police of Michoacan, a vigilante group, in the home of the leader of the Knights Templar drug cartel [Caballeros Templarios], in Nueva Italia, Jan. 16. The raging drug conflict in the Mexican state has led to a loss of governance, with vigilate groups and drug cartels opposing one another and the government largely sidelined.

According to information released Jan. 15 by Germany's DPA News Agency, a senior U.S. State Department official remarked that the violence and loss of governance in Michoacan is "extremely worrisome," and characterized the situation as one of "communities that were already under pressure from drug traffickers and criminal gangs now caught in a battle between those who claim they are protecting them, and those using them for their own interests." She also said that the citizens affected fail to receive the necessary support from the central or local governments. Moreover, the official also said that the United States stands ready to provide assistance to the Mexican government in terms of the security operation undertaken few days ago by federal forces in the state.

Without denying the gravity of the events occurring on the territory of Michoacan and the type of problems they present for governing the region and country, the statements of this official are unwelcomed and irrelevant, to the extent that the situation she described is an internal affair of Mexico, and the solution exclusively for Mexicans. There is no reason for a foreign authority to in any way address the issue or to state its opinions on the situation.  Read more. 

Laura's Blog: More Snowden Releases Show NSA Infiltration in Computers of "Mexican Police and Cartels"

Today President Obama will announce his position on the NSA spy scandal. The New York Times published another article Jan. 14, 2014 based on NSA internal information provided by former security consultant and whistleblower Edward Snowden and once again Mexico features prominently as a target for massive U.S. espionage. The article begins by noting the characteristics and extent of this program:

The National Security Agency has implanted software in nearly 100,000 computers around the world that allows the United States to conduct surveillance on those machines and can also create a digital highway for launching cyberattacks.

While most of the software is inserted by gaining access to computer networks, the N.S.A. has increasingly made use of a secret technology that enables it to enter and alter data in computers even if they are not connected to the Internet, according to N.S.A. documents, computer experts and American officials.

Mexico is among only a handful of nations mentioned specifically in the new York Times story.

Among the most frequent targets of the N.S.A. and its Pentagon partner, United States Cyber Command, have been units of the Chinese Army, which the United States has accused of launching regular digital probes and attacks on American industrial and military targets, usually to steal secrets or intellectual property. But the program, code-named Quantum, has also been successful in inserting software into Russian military networks and systems used by the Mexican police and drug cartels, trade institutions inside the European Union, and sometime partners against terrorism like Saudi Arabia, India and Pakistan, according to officials and an N.S.A. map that indicates sites of what the agency calls “computer network exploitation.”

In the article where the Dutch publication nrc.nl reported the story two months earlier, a map of "Computer Network Exploitation" shows heavy concentrations of operations in Brazil and Venezuela, as well as Mexico.

The most recent revelations complicate even more the Obama administration's task of explaining its spy programs. The world awaits that explanation, scheduled for today. Obama is between a rock and a hard place on this one. If he defends the entire program, he is setting an international norm that violates basic principles of individual right to privacy, diplomatic respect, and rules of international trade and investment regarding inside information on bidding and other negotiations. The U.S. government would no longer have a leg to stand on in criticizing precisely these same kind of operations coming from other countries, particularly China.

On the other hand, if he rolls back parts of the program, it would be an admission of excess and a setback for Pentagon hawks who equate security with a system where the U.S. government micromanages the world. It would also be an implicit vindication of Snowden, who the Obama has portrayed as a common criminal.

The surveillance review panel assigned to review NSA operations testified before the Senate this week, questioning current practices. Its December report sharply criticized many of the practices and urged curbs. Obama is likely to support some of those limits. Congress, under the leadership of Patrick Leahy, has called for curbs and will be responsible for any new regulations regarding limits.

It may end up being pressure from the private sector, rather than principles, that imposes limits though. Silicon Valley has demanded curbs due to fears that its products and services are losing market after leaks showing that U.S. companies are working with the NSA and like a global Trojan horse deliver hidden espionage equipment.

From my perspective as a researcher, human rights activist and international analyst, this is the only principled position and restraining NSA programs is a political, diplomatic and ethical necessity. Snowden has given us an opportunity to confront a threat to our rights and democracy we did not know existed before his bold decision to make it public. Now it is up to us to pressure for changes and express our indignation at the secret decision of the government to invade our lives through the computers and telephones that form an indispensable part of our daily lives.

While we expect some concession in terms of limits on domestic information harvesting, we will probably see very little change on the international front. The political cost for Obama and members of Congress comes from constituents and businesses affected by the leaks.

These also affect foreign citizens and governments, which seems to already have implications for U.S. exporters. Brazil's decision in December to give an estimated $4.5 billion jet fighter contract to Saab after Boeing had wrangled for it for years, was seen as influenced by that nation's indignation over U.S. spying on hits government and specifically President Dilma Rousseff.

Presumably, today's statements from Obama on the future of the NSA program will not be a substitute for the specific explanation that President Peña Nieto has said Obama promised Mexico. Leaks regarding spying on Peña Nieto when he was presidential candidate and former president Felipe Calderon caused a splash here.

My opinion is that the demand for an explanation from the Obama administration is nothing more than a face-saving move by Peña Nieto. Obama has already not only admitted to the programs revealed by Snowden, but defended them.

Mexico does not need an explanation from President Obama. It needs a president who defends the dignity and independence of Mexico by drawing a diplomatic line that distinguishes between cooperation and intervention.