More pork from Rep. Henry Cuellar. See also. At War in Texas,
San Antonio Express-News: "A House committee approved legislation Wednesday that honors slain Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agent Jaime Zapata and directs funding to law enforcement task forces on the U.S.-Mexico border.
The bill, the Jaime Zapata Border Enforcement Security Task Force Act of 2011, would distribute $102 million to special law enforcement groups to crack down on organization crime that could create security threats along the border. Those teams currently operate under the direction of the Department of Homeland Security, which would distribute funds.
Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, said the bill provides “families and those living on the border peace of mind in knowing that the federal government is doing its part in ensuring their safety.”
The MexicoBlog of the Americas Program, a fiscally sponsored program of the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), is written by Laura Carlsen. I monitor and analyze international press on Mexico, with a focus on security, immigration, human rights and social movements for peace and justice, from a feminist perspective. And sometimes I simply muse.
Showing posts with label TOC's. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TOC's. Show all posts
Sep 15, 2011
Drug War - Central America: Central America drug trafficking: Central America needs aid and tough love to help fight organized crime
Los Angeles Times: "During Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's trip to Guatemala this week, the governments of Central America will unveil their strategy for fighting entrenched organized crime in the region. The meeting is meant to raise the profile of the isthmus' severely deteriorated security situation and marshal international resources to the task of improving it."
Sep 14, 2011
U.S. - Mexico Relations: Congress Calls for Strengthening of Fight Against Transnational Organized Crime Groups
More of the same--only more so.
Mexico Institute: "To Read House Testimony By Andrew Selee of the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Mexico Institute, click..." read more
Mexico Institute: "To Read House Testimony By Andrew Selee of the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Mexico Institute, click..." read more
Mexico Drug War: U.S. reassess Drug War aid to Mexico
AHN: "The threat to the United States from Mexican drug cartels is increasing as they evolve into a wider variety of crimes," witnesses at a congressional hearing said Tuesday.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee held the hearing to consider new strategies against drug cartels as the three-year Merida Initiative expires this year."
The House Foreign Affairs Committee held the hearing to consider new strategies against drug cartels as the three-year Merida Initiative expires this year."
Sep 9, 2011
The Border: ACTTing Out in Arizona – Where the Drug War now has a “Unified Command”
The Arizona poster illustrating this report is an image that speaks a thousand words--perhaps more.
Border Lines: "Arizona is “ground zero” in the reconfigured war on drugs.
Border Lines: "Arizona is “ground zero” in the reconfigured war on drugs.
- Numbers tell the story of the failed drug war and a misguided combat against transnational crime.
- ACCT is a paper alliance created to demonstrate Obama’s border security/transnational crime strategy.
- It’s all about marijuana and immigrants – the same old story of border control, now called border security.
- Arizona and the U.S.-Mexico borderlands are the “ground zero in the war on drugs.
Aug 20, 2011
Whack-a-mole Drug War: Officials Bust Iraqi-Mexican Drug Trafficking Ring In California
Oh my God! This is transnational organized crime! The posssible combinations are mind boggling! The whole world is literallly ganging up on US!
About 60 people from the Iraqi community were arrested after a six-month investigation carried out by the Drug Enforcement Administration and police in the city of El Cajon, a working-class city east of San Diego.
Aug 10, 2011
Whack-a-mole Drug War: Italy's 'Ndrangheta Mafia: A Powerful Ally for the Zetas
From 'InSight Crime'
Italy's 'Ndrangheta Mafia: A Powerful Ally for the Zetas: "The rise of the Zetas as not just a Mexican menace but as a significant power in the international drug trade has been helped along by its growing links to a sprawling Italian mafia group known as the ‘Ndrangheta.
As M Semanal, the weekly magazine of the newspaper Milenio, reports in its most recent edition, the links between the ‘Ndrangheta and the Zetas have grown sharply in recent years. A new international investigation demonstrates that the Mexicans have turned themselves into the main suppliers of the ‘Ndrangheta by shipping cocaine through the U.S. and on to Italy. "
Italy's 'Ndrangheta Mafia: A Powerful Ally for the Zetas: "The rise of the Zetas as not just a Mexican menace but as a significant power in the international drug trade has been helped along by its growing links to a sprawling Italian mafia group known as the ‘Ndrangheta.
As M Semanal, the weekly magazine of the newspaper Milenio, reports in its most recent edition, the links between the ‘Ndrangheta and the Zetas have grown sharply in recent years. A new international investigation demonstrates that the Mexicans have turned themselves into the main suppliers of the ‘Ndrangheta by shipping cocaine through the U.S. and on to Italy. "
Aug 8, 2011
Whack-a-mole Drug War: As U.S.-Mexico Security Ties Deepen, Potential for Backlash Emerges
From 'InSight Crime'
As U.S.-Mexico Security Ties Deepen, Potential for Backlash Emerges: "With the U.S. set to deepen its role in Mexico’s “drug war” and the 2012 elections fast approaching, the Merida Initiative will likely become a political football. Just three years after it began, the future of the security plan could be uncertain.
According to the New York Times, the U.S. government is sending intelligence operatives and retired military personnel to Mexico to assist in counternarcotics operations in the country for the first time. The team will consist of around two dozen Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents, C.I.A. officials and former military analysts from the Pentagon’s Northern Command, who will reportedly pair up with Mexican military officials at a joint intelligence fusion center at an undisclosed location. The Times also reports that the U.S. is in the process of negotiating with the Mexican government to allow private security contractors to serve as advisors to a police task force.
The moves are the latest developments in the Merida Initiative (also known as Plan Merida), a $1.4 billion dollar security assistance effort meant to aid Mexico in its fight against drug trafficking organizations....
WIth the aid package only partially in place, the Merida Initiative could be an easier target for its critics, especially as the country heads in to an election year. ...
As U.S.-Mexico Security Ties Deepen, Potential for Backlash Emerges: "With the U.S. set to deepen its role in Mexico’s “drug war” and the 2012 elections fast approaching, the Merida Initiative will likely become a political football. Just three years after it began, the future of the security plan could be uncertain.
According to the New York Times, the U.S. government is sending intelligence operatives and retired military personnel to Mexico to assist in counternarcotics operations in the country for the first time. The team will consist of around two dozen Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents, C.I.A. officials and former military analysts from the Pentagon’s Northern Command, who will reportedly pair up with Mexican military officials at a joint intelligence fusion center at an undisclosed location. The Times also reports that the U.S. is in the process of negotiating with the Mexican government to allow private security contractors to serve as advisors to a police task force.
The moves are the latest developments in the Merida Initiative (also known as Plan Merida), a $1.4 billion dollar security assistance effort meant to aid Mexico in its fight against drug trafficking organizations....
WIth the aid package only partially in place, the Merida Initiative could be an easier target for its critics, especially as the country heads in to an election year. ...
... organized opposition to President Felipe Calderon’s military-heavy security policy is on the rise. Mexico's peace movement -- a diverse array of civil society organizations led by poet Javier Sicilia -- has repeatedly railed against the prevailing security strategy, and has found widespread support throughout the country in recent months. If the movement continues to pick up steam, it could serve as an ideal wedge point for candidates in the elections seeking to channel populist resentment of Calderon's security policies. In June, Sicilia specifically targeted the Merida Initiative, claiming that the aid made the U.S. complicit in "crimes against humanity" and calling on U.S. activist groups to join in pressuring for an end to it."
Whack-a-mole Drug War: Mexico Should Cut Hype Over Drug Gang Arrests
From 'InSight Crime'
Mexico Should Cut Hype Over Drug Gang Arrests: "Mexico’s decision to focus on combating the Zetas, the country's most brutal drug gang, has begun to deliver results, with the Defense Ministry announcing a series of heavy blows against the organization -- but the government should be careful not to oversell its successes.
According to the ministry, an operation dubbed “Lince Norte” (Northern Wildcat), delivered some flashy results: authorities confiscated 1,300 firearms, roughly half a million dollars in cash, and more than 3.5 tons of drugs. In addition, the ministry said that 30 Zeta gunmen were killed in confrontations with the government, and 12 kidnap victims were rescued. ...
The successes, such as they are, of Lince Norte are part of a newly announced government strategy of prioritizing the fight against the Zetas. As the Dallas Morning News reported in July, “The Mexican government is refocusing its drug-war strategy to take down the Zetas paramilitary cartel, a significant shift in approach that is likely to be met with increased violence...”
This shift in Mexican policy comes alongside a focus on the Zetas in the most recent U.S. organized crime strategy, also released last month by the Office of National Drug Control Policy. While the strategy does little to radically alter the tools the U.S. government has at its disposal, the fact that the Zetas are the only Mexican drug gang it mentions by name demonstrates that the group is at squarely in the middle of the Obama administration’s radar screen as well.
Whether this recent Mexican operation has any lasting impact on the Zetas remains to be seen, but the triumphant press release celebrating the operation counts against the government’s credibility to a certain degree, because the men paraded before the cameras as vital parts of the Zetas command structure are not well known figures. Describing the arrest of Quintanilla as a major blow against organized crime simply makes people distrust the government’s pronouncements.
Likewise, the U.S. government often exaggerates the effect of its anti-drug sweeps. One example is the Justice Department's breathless description of thousands of arrests in "Project Delirium" earlier this month, which they hailed as a "surgical strike" against the Mexican Familia Michoacana drug gang."
Mexico Should Cut Hype Over Drug Gang Arrests: "Mexico’s decision to focus on combating the Zetas, the country's most brutal drug gang, has begun to deliver results, with the Defense Ministry announcing a series of heavy blows against the organization -- but the government should be careful not to oversell its successes.
According to the ministry, an operation dubbed “Lince Norte” (Northern Wildcat), delivered some flashy results: authorities confiscated 1,300 firearms, roughly half a million dollars in cash, and more than 3.5 tons of drugs. In addition, the ministry said that 30 Zeta gunmen were killed in confrontations with the government, and 12 kidnap victims were rescued. ...
The successes, such as they are, of Lince Norte are part of a newly announced government strategy of prioritizing the fight against the Zetas. As the Dallas Morning News reported in July, “The Mexican government is refocusing its drug-war strategy to take down the Zetas paramilitary cartel, a significant shift in approach that is likely to be met with increased violence...”
This shift in Mexican policy comes alongside a focus on the Zetas in the most recent U.S. organized crime strategy, also released last month by the Office of National Drug Control Policy. While the strategy does little to radically alter the tools the U.S. government has at its disposal, the fact that the Zetas are the only Mexican drug gang it mentions by name demonstrates that the group is at squarely in the middle of the Obama administration’s radar screen as well.
Whether this recent Mexican operation has any lasting impact on the Zetas remains to be seen, but the triumphant press release celebrating the operation counts against the government’s credibility to a certain degree, because the men paraded before the cameras as vital parts of the Zetas command structure are not well known figures. Describing the arrest of Quintanilla as a major blow against organized crime simply makes people distrust the government’s pronouncements.
Likewise, the U.S. government often exaggerates the effect of its anti-drug sweeps. One example is the Justice Department's breathless description of thousands of arrests in "Project Delirium" earlier this month, which they hailed as a "surgical strike" against the Mexican Familia Michoacana drug gang."
Whack-a-mole Drug War: U.S. Drug War Turns to Transnational Combat
From the CIP TransBorder Project, a critique of the recently issued Strategy to Combat Transnational Crime.
Border Lines: U.S. Drug War Turns to Transnational Combat: "A review of the White House’s new strategy to combat transnational organized crime (TOC) raises questions about its factual and conceptual foundations.
Questions also need to be asked about the implications of the strategy for domestic and foreign security operations. ...
In the strategy statement, the White House asserts that since 1995 transnational organized crime “has expanded dramatically in size, scope, and influence and that it poses a significant threat to national and international security.”
But how do we know this to be true? The White House doesn’t bother in this strategy statement or anywhere else to back this assertion about the causal link between globalization and transnational crime with statistics or other supporting documentation."
Border Lines: U.S. Drug War Turns to Transnational Combat: "A review of the White House’s new strategy to combat transnational organized crime (TOC) raises questions about its factual and conceptual foundations.
Questions also need to be asked about the implications of the strategy for domestic and foreign security operations. ...
In the strategy statement, the White House asserts that since 1995 transnational organized crime “has expanded dramatically in size, scope, and influence and that it poses a significant threat to national and international security.”
But how do we know this to be true? The White House doesn’t bother in this strategy statement or anywhere else to back this assertion about the causal link between globalization and transnational crime with statistics or other supporting documentation."
Whack-a-mole Drug War: U.S. Widens Its Role in Battle Against Mexico’s Drug Cartels
A look into the growing"on the ground" military and intelligence involvement in Mexico that is part of the Obama administration's new Strategy to Combat Transnational Organized Crime," the new goivernment-speak for the war on drugs.
In recent weeks, small numbers of C.I.A. operatives and American civilian military employees have been posted at a Mexican military base, where, for the first time, security officials from both countries work side by side in collecting information about drug cartels and helping plan operations. Officials are also looking into embedding a team of American contractors inside a specially vetted Mexican counternarcotics police unit."
Jul 31, 2011
Mexico Blog Editorial: The Delusion of Power
Buried underneath last week's hysterical news about the continuing, politically manufactured "debt ceiling crisis," was an article from a non-U.S. press agency, the French Press Agency, entitled "US unveils sanctions against global organized crime," It detailed how President Obama had signed an executive order imposing financial and other sanctions on a group of foreign criminal organizations ranging from Russia, Japan and Italy to Mexico.
Buried even further within the article was mention that the executive order was part the White House's "new Strategy to Combat Transnational Crime." Going to the White House website, we found the full Strategy report, Its subtitle is, "Addressing Converging Threats to National Security."
In his introductory letter to the Strategy, President Obama says, "this strategy is organized around a single, unifying principle: to build, balance, and integrate the tools of American power to combat transnational organized crime and related threats to our national security..."
In supporting his role as spokesman for this "strategy," Attorney General Holder proclaimed that, " Today, with the release of this Transnational Organized Crime Strategy, we usher in a new era of national vigilance, global engagement, and close collaboration among – and beyond – our respective agencies and departments."
He went on to say, "Not only will this new strategy allow us to integrate our work more effectively, and to leverage limited resources more efficiently, it also will ensure that our agencies – and our government and law enforcement partners – have the tools and authorities necessary to protect the American people from some of today’s most urgent, and complex, threats."
The strategy document begins by defining - for the first time in government publications - what it means by Transnational Criminal Organization (with its government-speak acroynym, "TCO"):
"Transnational organized crime refers to those self-perpetuating associations of individuals who operate transnationally for the purpose of obtaining power, influence, monetary and/or commercial gains, wholly or in part by illegal means, while protecting their activities through a pattern of corruption and/or violence, or while protecting their illegal activities through a transnational organizational structure and the exploitation of transnational commerce or communication mechanisms."
The attempt to define these organizations goes on to say, "Transnational organized criminals act conspiratorially in their criminal activities and possess certain characteristics." These "may" include committing acts of violence and intimidation and attempting to corrupt governments and commerce.
Late in the list of characteristics -- but first in importance and logic -- is the acknowledgement that "they have economic gain as their primary goal, not only from patently illegal activities but also from investment in legitimate businesses." We will leave to others a critique of the ambiguity of this "definition," which -- with government-speak slight of hand -- melds the terrorist goal of "obtaining power" with the cartel goal of making money.
The strategy then sets forth its goal and objectives: "The end-state we seek is to reduce transnational organized crime (TOC) from a national security threat to a manageable public safety problem in the United States and in strategic regions around the world."
Clearly, no thought has been given to any other framing of the issue of drug consumption as one of public health and education. Use and sale is defined as a crime and, now, as an urgent matter of "national security." The drug war becomes an ever bigger, international game of "cops and robbers."
The Strategy proposes to achieve it goal by pursuing five key policy objectives:
The strategy goes on to outline how the U.S. - and the world - will reach these objectives by applying "American power." "New and innovative capabilities and tools" will be used. These include two particularly worrisome "tools":
The strategy then lists six arenas of action to attack these "TCOs":
Buried even further within the article was mention that the executive order was part the White House's "new Strategy to Combat Transnational Crime." Going to the White House website, we found the full Strategy report, Its subtitle is, "Addressing Converging Threats to National Security."
In his introductory letter to the Strategy, President Obama says, "this strategy is organized around a single, unifying principle: to build, balance, and integrate the tools of American power to combat transnational organized crime and related threats to our national security..."
In supporting his role as spokesman for this "strategy," Attorney General Holder proclaimed that, " Today, with the release of this Transnational Organized Crime Strategy, we usher in a new era of national vigilance, global engagement, and close collaboration among – and beyond – our respective agencies and departments."
He went on to say, "Not only will this new strategy allow us to integrate our work more effectively, and to leverage limited resources more efficiently, it also will ensure that our agencies – and our government and law enforcement partners – have the tools and authorities necessary to protect the American people from some of today’s most urgent, and complex, threats."
The strategy document begins by defining - for the first time in government publications - what it means by Transnational Criminal Organization (with its government-speak acroynym, "TCO"):
"Transnational organized crime refers to those self-perpetuating associations of individuals who operate transnationally for the purpose of obtaining power, influence, monetary and/or commercial gains, wholly or in part by illegal means, while protecting their activities through a pattern of corruption and/or violence, or while protecting their illegal activities through a transnational organizational structure and the exploitation of transnational commerce or communication mechanisms."
The attempt to define these organizations goes on to say, "Transnational organized criminals act conspiratorially in their criminal activities and possess certain characteristics." These "may" include committing acts of violence and intimidation and attempting to corrupt governments and commerce.
Late in the list of characteristics -- but first in importance and logic -- is the acknowledgement that "they have economic gain as their primary goal, not only from patently illegal activities but also from investment in legitimate businesses." We will leave to others a critique of the ambiguity of this "definition," which -- with government-speak slight of hand -- melds the terrorist goal of "obtaining power" with the cartel goal of making money.
The strategy then sets forth its goal and objectives: "The end-state we seek is to reduce transnational organized crime (TOC) from a national security threat to a manageable public safety problem in the United States and in strategic regions around the world."
Clearly, no thought has been given to any other framing of the issue of drug consumption as one of public health and education. Use and sale is defined as a crime and, now, as an urgent matter of "national security." The drug war becomes an ever bigger, international game of "cops and robbers."
The Strategy proposes to achieve it goal by pursuing five key policy objectives:
- Protect Americans and our partners from the harm, violence, and exploitation of transnational criminal networks.
- Help partner countries strengthen governance and transparency, break the corruptive power of transnational criminal networks, and sever state-crime alliances.
- Break the economic power of transnational criminal networks and protect strategic markets and the U.S. financial system from TOC penetration and abuse.
- Defeat transnational criminal networks that pose the greatest threat to national security by targeting their infrastructures, depriving them of their enabling means, and preventing the criminal facilitation of terrorist activities.
- Build international consensus, multilateral cooperation, and public-private partnerships to defeat transnational organized crime."
All of these goals and objectives focus on the use of power to "break" and "defeat" the now ostensibly defined "transnational" enemy. These objectives are, themselves, worthy of thorough critical analysis.
- A proposed legislative package (which) "will enhance the authorities available to investigate, interdict, and prosecute the activities of top transnational criminal networks."
- An interagency Threat Mitigation Working Group (which) "will identify those TOC networks that present a sufficiently high national security risk and will ensure the coordination of all elements of national power to combat them." (AMB's emphasis) The National Security Council and the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (aka "drug czar") will lead this group.
The strategy then lists six arenas of action to attack these "TCOs":
- Start at Home: Taking Shared Responsibility for Transnational Organized Crime
- Enhance Intelligence and Information Sharing.
- Protect the Financial System and Strategic Markets against Transnational Organized Crime
- Strengthen Interdiction, Investigations, and Prosecutions
- Disrupt Drug Trafficking and Its Facilitation of Other Transnational Threats
- Build International Capacity, Cooperation, and Partnership
The "taking shared responsibility" part echos the language of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President Obama that acknowledges that U.S. drug demand fuels the illicit drug trade. It then repeats promises of more focus on reducing drug consumption. However, the National Drug Strategy budget, announced earlier this year, continues to give the vast majority of funds to enforcement of prohibition.
The "new strategy" then goes on to focus on ostensibly better coordinated intelligence gathering (the U.S. having such a great record on intelligence gathering in the past decade), stopping money laundering (again, there is such a stellar past record), and interdiction and prosecution (same-old same-old).
It is clear to us that the “new” strategy is only more of the same-old same-old “war on drugs,” even though the Obama administration says it is no longer fighting a war. And it makes clear the motivation for continuing this war, now re-labeled as a fight against “transnational criminal organizations,” the new government-speak for the drug cartels.
The president’s introductory letter states the motivation, “…this strategy is organized around a single, unifying principle: to build, balance, and integrate the tools of American power to combat transnational organized crime and related threats to our national security”
The War on Drugs – and this “new strategy” – is all about the delusion of power, the misguided, false belief that the issue of drug consumption, by making it a crime, can be conquered by the powers of the state.
Power will never resolve an issue of human desire and the search to satisfy it.
The president’s introductory letter states the motivation, “…this strategy is organized around a single, unifying principle: to build, balance, and integrate the tools of American power to combat transnational organized crime and related threats to our national security”
The War on Drugs – and this “new strategy” – is all about the delusion of power, the misguided, false belief that the issue of drug consumption, by making it a crime, can be conquered by the powers of the state.
Power will never resolve an issue of human desire and the search to satisfy it.
We urge you to read two earlier posts:
For more on the linkages of the drug war to the newly-coined "transnational crime", see the Border Lines blog, ‘Illicit Globalization on the Border: Drug War and Transnational Crime
For an analysis of how criminalization of desire and the resulting, inevitable power struggle between "cops and robbers" can never succeed "beating" or "defeating" human nature, see Lessons from Mexico's Drug Wars
Jul 30, 2011
Whack-a-mole Drug War: The resilience and interconnections of US and Mexican mafias
An interesting history of U.S. - Mexican crime organization links from the 1920's to present day.
Practically from its inception, international tourism was one of the promising business ventures eyed by the underworld."
Whack-a-mole Drug War: Mexico, Guatemala Agree to Up Security Cooperation
From 'InSight Crime'
On an official state visit to Mexico, Guatemala's president, Alvaro Colom, signed an agreement with his Mexican counterpart, Felipe Calderon, which will see the two nations working together to increase security along the 540 mile border that they share.
According to a joint statement, the leaders also agreed to intensify the exchange of intelligence information, to conduct joint operations against drug trafficking, human trafficking and the kidnapping and extortion of migrants in their respective territories."
Jul 26, 2011
Whack-a-mole Drug War: Obama Anti-Drug Strategy More Rhetoric than Reality
'InSight Crime' takes a look at the "new" Strategy against Transnational Organized Crime.
The policy, which is available online, is the result of what the administration says is the first comprehensive review of the U.S. approach to fighting organized crime since 1995. It lays out the administration's priorities in clear, concise language, even taking the time to define 'transnational organized crime.' (What's next? Organized Crime for Dummies?)"
Jul 25, 2011
Whack-a-mole Drug War: A New Strategy to Combat an Evolving Threat
The Obama administration takes the war on drugs "to the next level" under the rubric of a "Strategy to Combat Transnational Organized Crime," linking the drug war closer to the War on Terrorism and linking "a broad spectrum of partners."
The Interagency Policy Committee on Illicit Drugs and Transnational Criminal Threats, led by the National Security Staff and the Office of National Drug Control Policy, will oversee implementation of the Strategy.
Following is Attorney General Holder's announcement of the "Strategy," in which he says, " today, with the release of this Transnational Organized Crime Strategy, we usher in a new era of national vigilance, global engagement, and close collaboration among – and beyond – our respective agencies and departments."
A New Strategy to Combat an Evolving Threat | The White House: Today, I am proud to stand with my colleagues from across the Administration as we unveil a comprehensive, cutting-edge strategy – the Strategy to Combat Transnational Organized Crime – that will take our nation’s fight against transnational organized crime to the next level.
The Interagency Policy Committee on Illicit Drugs and Transnational Criminal Threats, led by the National Security Staff and the Office of National Drug Control Policy, will oversee implementation of the Strategy.
Not only will this new strategy allow us to integrate our work more effectively, and to leverage limited resources more efficiently, it also will ensure that our agencies – and our government and law enforcement partners – have the tools and authorities necessary to protect the American people from some of today’s most urgent, and complex, threats.
Of course, the problem of transnational organized crime networks isn’t new. But after a wide-ranging, year-long review – the first study of its kind in more than 15 years – our understanding of what exactly we’re up against has never been clearer or more complete.
Whack-a-mole Drug War: US unveils sanctions against global organized crime
Perhaps the most notable statement made by the White House and quoted near the end of this report is the following admission that the U.S. drug market fuels much of this crime.
"The demand for illicit drugs, both in the United States and abroad, fuels the power, impunity and violence of criminal organizations around the globe," the White House's Strategy to Combat Transnational Organized Crime said.
But the Obama administration doesn't draw the logical conclulsion. Make drugs legal with regulated sale, and the U.S. would stop fueling this ¨"power, impunity and violence."
The Japanese Yakuza, the Camorra from Naples and Mexico's Los Zetas as well as The Brothers' Circle, based mainly in the former Soviet Union, were among those slapped with economic sanctions, the White House said.
US President Barack Obama signed an executive order setting out 56 priority actions aimed at smashing transnational criminal organizations by breaking their economic power and protecting the financial system.
The order froze all property belonging to those groups designated as transnational criminal organizations, and barred American citizens from engaging in any business with them.
'Organized crime is no longer a local or regional problem; it has become a danger to international stability,' Obama wrote in a letter to Congress outlining his new order.
'Significant transnational criminal organizations have become increasingly sophisticated and dangerous to the United States and their activities have reached such scope and gravity that they destabilize the international system.'"
Jul 23, 2011
The Border, Globalization and the Wars on Drugs, Immigrants and Terror: Illicit Globalization on the Border: Myths and Fears of Transnational Crime
From the CIP TransBorder Project
Border Lines: Illicit Globalization on the Border: Myths and Fears of Transnational Crime: "Peter Andreas,
author of the excellent book Border Games: Policing the U.S.-Mexico Divide, examines the myths and fears about transnational crime and globalization in “Illicit Globalization: Myths, Misconceptions, and Historical Lessons,” an eye-opening essay in the fall issue of Political Science Quarterly.
Andreas is bothered by the consequences of alarmist threat assessments about transnational crime and porous borders.
"The standard narrative of illicit economic globalization is not only exaggerated and misleading but can lead to counterproductive policy prescriptions. Urgent calls to “do something” about the illicit side of globalization can provide ammunition for politicians and bureaucrats to justify costly high-profile crackdowns that may be politically popular but that ultimately fail. It can also contribute to growing calls to further securitize and militarize policing efforts regardless of the effectiveness of using military resources for law enforcement tasks.""
Globalization has certainly facilitated the flow of illicit goods and services along with legal ones. Yet, there is scant evidence that transnational crime has increased with globalization.
"[I] is important to remember that states define what economic activities are illicit in the first place. States monopolize the power to criminalize: laws precede and define criminality. Through their law-making and law-enforcing authority, states set the rules of the game even if they cannot entirely control the play." ...
DHS now routinely characterizes all illegal border crossings as instances of transnational crime. The DHS-led Alliance to Combat Transnational Crime (ACTT) in Arizona counts the number of illegal immigrant apprehensions as the principal indicator of success, along with drugs seized (mainly marijuana).
The buildup in border security is a prime example of how certain government policies often beget problems that other national policies aim to solve.
The (additional) linking of illegal drugs to terrorism and insurgencies is part of the official threat assessments purveyed by the U.S. government – and by those calling for more border security and more U.S. military intervention.
Announcing the new border counternarcotics strategy, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano didn’t just warn about the crime and violence associated with drug trafficking, she raised the threat assessment by asserting that the administration’s new strategy would also disrupt the traffickers’ “links to terrorism.”
The association of drug trafficking with political threats -- in the form of terrorism and guerrilla insurgencies -- is common to post-Cold War alarmism about the transnational crime threat. Not only does transnational crime, particularly drug trafficking, constitute a threat to economic and social stability, transnational crime also, it is argued, spurs and supports political wars and terrorism.
Border Lines: Illicit Globalization on the Border: Myths and Fears of Transnational Crime: "Peter Andreas,
author of the excellent book Border Games: Policing the U.S.-Mexico Divide, examines the myths and fears about transnational crime and globalization in “Illicit Globalization: Myths, Misconceptions, and Historical Lessons,” an eye-opening essay in the fall issue of Political Science Quarterly.
Andreas is bothered by the consequences of alarmist threat assessments about transnational crime and porous borders.
"The standard narrative of illicit economic globalization is not only exaggerated and misleading but can lead to counterproductive policy prescriptions. Urgent calls to “do something” about the illicit side of globalization can provide ammunition for politicians and bureaucrats to justify costly high-profile crackdowns that may be politically popular but that ultimately fail. It can also contribute to growing calls to further securitize and militarize policing efforts regardless of the effectiveness of using military resources for law enforcement tasks.""
Globalization has certainly facilitated the flow of illicit goods and services along with legal ones. Yet, there is scant evidence that transnational crime has increased with globalization.
"[I] is important to remember that states define what economic activities are illicit in the first place. States monopolize the power to criminalize: laws precede and define criminality. Through their law-making and law-enforcing authority, states set the rules of the game even if they cannot entirely control the play." ...
DHS now routinely characterizes all illegal border crossings as instances of transnational crime. The DHS-led Alliance to Combat Transnational Crime (ACTT) in Arizona counts the number of illegal immigrant apprehensions as the principal indicator of success, along with drugs seized (mainly marijuana).
The buildup in border security is a prime example of how certain government policies often beget problems that other national policies aim to solve.
The (additional) linking of illegal drugs to terrorism and insurgencies is part of the official threat assessments purveyed by the U.S. government – and by those calling for more border security and more U.S. military intervention.
Announcing the new border counternarcotics strategy, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano didn’t just warn about the crime and violence associated with drug trafficking, she raised the threat assessment by asserting that the administration’s new strategy would also disrupt the traffickers’ “links to terrorism.”
The association of drug trafficking with political threats -- in the form of terrorism and guerrilla insurgencies -- is common to post-Cold War alarmism about the transnational crime threat. Not only does transnational crime, particularly drug trafficking, constitute a threat to economic and social stability, transnational crime also, it is argued, spurs and supports political wars and terrorism.
Jul 16, 2011
Whack-a-mole Drug War: Aiding Insecurity: Four Years of Mexico's Drug War
Aiding Insecurity: Four Years of Mexico's Drug War | Truthout: "(The) Region is less secure after nearly four years of regional security cooperation.
Claims that US national security threatened by drug trafficking remain unsubstantiated.
Obama administration's professions of 'shared responsibility' don't acknowledge the US government's fundamental responsibility."
Claims that US national security threatened by drug trafficking remain unsubstantiated.
Obama administration's professions of 'shared responsibility' don't acknowledge the US government's fundamental responsibility."
Jul 8, 2011
Whack-a-mole Drug War at the Border: Alarming New Border Counternarcotics Strategy
From the TransBorder Project, a further look at the growing merger of "border security," "terrorism," the drug war and presidential politics in an election year.
Border Lines: Alarming New Border Counternarcotics Strategy: "On the occasion of the new Southwest Border Counternarcotics Strategy in the Arizona border town of Nogales, administration officials were once again caught in this border security paradox of their own making. Escalated threat assessments came side by side with assurances that the border was secure.
In a show of its commitment to border security, the administration brought together the top officials of the Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, Border Patrol, and the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), which produced the new border counternarcotics strategy.
In the press release announcing the new strategy, Attorney General Eric Holder offered an alarming view of border security, cartel penetration, and spillover violence. “Drug trafficking cartels spread violence and lawlessness throughout our border region and reach into all of our communities, large and small,” said Holder.
Speaking in Nogales, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano also painted a frightening picture of security threats at the border – not only from the drug cartels but also from their “links to terrorism.”
Border Lines: Alarming New Border Counternarcotics Strategy: "On the occasion of the new Southwest Border Counternarcotics Strategy in the Arizona border town of Nogales, administration officials were once again caught in this border security paradox of their own making. Escalated threat assessments came side by side with assurances that the border was secure.
In a show of its commitment to border security, the administration brought together the top officials of the Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, Border Patrol, and the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), which produced the new border counternarcotics strategy.
In the press release announcing the new strategy, Attorney General Eric Holder offered an alarming view of border security, cartel penetration, and spillover violence. “Drug trafficking cartels spread violence and lawlessness throughout our border region and reach into all of our communities, large and small,” said Holder.
Speaking in Nogales, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano also painted a frightening picture of security threats at the border – not only from the drug cartels but also from their “links to terrorism.”
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