I thought I would post this article here, since it relates to drug violence across the border and the rising tide of kidnappings right here in a major US metro area. There are some videos posted in the link. Kidnapping Capital of the U.S.A. Washington Too Concerned With al Qaeda Terrorists to Care, Officials Say http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=6848672&page=1 In what officials caution is now a dangerous and even deadly crime wave, Phoenix, Arizona has become the kidnapping capital of America, with more incidents than any other city in the world outside of Mexico City and over 370 cases last year alone. But local authorities say Washington, DC is too obsessed with al Qaeda terrorists to care about what is happening in their own backyard right now. "We're in the eye of the storm," Phoenix Police Chief Andy Anderson told ABC News of the violent crimes and ruthless tactics spurred by Mexico's drug cartels that have expanded business across the border. "If it doesn't stop here, if we're not able to fix it here and get it turned around, it will go across the nation," he said. California Attorney General Jerry Brown warned that as the U.S. government focuses so intently on Islamic extremist groups, other types of terrorists – those involved with the same kidnappings, extortion and drug cartels that are sweeping Phoenix – are overlooked. "Those [criminals], for the average Californian or the average America, may be a more immediate threat to their well being," Brown said. In fact, kidnappings and other crimes connected to the Mexican drug cartels are quickly spreading across the border, from Texas to California. The majority of the victims are either illegal aliens or connected to the drug trade. An ABC News' investigation uncovered horrific cases of chopped-off hands, legs and heads when a victim's family doesn't pay up fast enough. "They're ruthless, so now they're ripping each other off, but doing it in our city," Anderson said. To try and combat the crime wave, the Phoenix police have created a special unit to handle the kidnappings called the Home Invasion Task Force, which has pulled more than a dozen officers off other assignments. The crimes are occurring across the valley and in all types of neighborhoods, authorities warn. "These are very dangerous situations here, not only dangerous situations for our community, but also extremely dangerous for our officers who have to go out and track these guys and arrest these folks," Anderson said. In some cases, dozens of people at a time have been kidnapped. They are often illegal aliens whose captors then demand ransom from the victims' relatives in Mexico.
Things are getting pretty bad. Cartel members had promised to kill one police officer every 48 hours until the police chief resigned. Four days later their plan has succeeded. Mexican Police Chief Quits Amidst Growing Cartel Threats http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/267705 As violence continues to grow in Juarez's drug cartel war, government officials struggle to maintain peace in the region and in it's borders. Juárez police chief Roberto Orduña Cruz resigned Friday after the drug cartel killed six city police officers this week and threatened to kill more unless he left the force. "I cannot place my sense of duty above the lives of my officers," said Orduña in a press conference. Orduña, a former army major, was hired last May to oversee the department of 1,600 officers. More than 300 homicides have been recorded for this year in Juárez alone, most related to the cartel drug war. Juárez Mayor José Reyes Ferriz has warned residents that organized drug cartels intend to control the city's police force as they battle a deadly ground war against other gang rivals in control of territory. Earlier Friday, two police officers, César Ivan Portillo and Juan Pablo Ruiz, were fatally gunned down. On Tuesday, an armed commando killed Sacramento Perez Serrano, the police operations director recruited by Orduña to help fight police officers who are suspected of working for the cartel, and three other officers who were with him at the time. After the attacks, cartel operatives left signs threatening to kill a police officer every 48 hours unless Orduña quit the force. Tuesday was also a pivotal day in the rising turmoil between the government and the cartel as protesters, allegedly paid by the cartel, blocked three of the international bridges in Juárez that lead in to El Paso, Texas. Loaded buses delivered protesters to demonstrate against the Mexican army along its borders, a scary new tactic to discredit the Mexican government. The protest came as a surprise attack by the cartel, as recent opinion polls show support for government army officials to be located in drug cartel hot spots. "It's a very dangerous time in Juárez, especially for somebody in law enforcement," said El Paso Mayor John Cook. "It means we have to be prepared and have a plan, and I think you will see (a plan) next week from the (Texas) governor's office." Texas officials are said to be working on a plan to respond to a potential collapse of the Mexican government, with the possibility that the country's borders may soon be inundated with fleeing victims. A new bill, called the Merida Initiative, will provide $1.4 billion to Mexico and other Central America countries over the following three years to help fight the spreading violence that seems to be taking over. The money will be used on such things as computer equipment, scanners and helicopters. El Paso, Texas, one of the safest cities in the country, may soon face some new problems if the drug trafficking into the country grows into large scale proportions. " First we had the poor women who we're brutally murdered day after day in Mexico for the last few years and now this," says former Juarez native Jaime Nunez, a U.S. citizen now. "If the government doesn't do something drastic, we may see the cartel eventually take over power and that's not good for anybody."
Per cnn: http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/03/06/mexico.troops/index.html [rquoter]Mexico pours troops into border city stricken by drug war Nearly 7,000 Mexican soldiers and federal police arrived in the U.S.-Mexico border city of Ciudad Juarez this week to restore security to a city plagued by a long-standing, bloody drug war. Random vehicle checkpoints, patrols of masked soldiers and police in SWAT gear are some of the signs of the massive military buildup ordered by Mexico's president, Ciudad Juarez police spokesman Jaime Torres Valadez said Thursday. Another 1,500 soldiers are expected to join the 3,500 that rolled into Juarez earlier this week to support municipal police in street patrols and ultimately take control of their operations, Torres said. In addition to the army troops, about 3,000 federal agents arrived to carry out investigations Torres likened to those of the FBI in the United States. "They'll stay as long as necessary," Torres said, in the city across the border from El Paso, Texas. Extreme violence among warring drug cartels and between them and the Mexican government has long plagued Juarez and the state of Chihuahua, but the situation has been getting worse. Last month, the city's chief of police was obliged to quit, after threats from organized crime to kill a policeman every day that he remained on the job. And this week, the U.S. Consulate in Juarez specifically warned Americans to avoid an area southeast of the city. "There has been a dramatic increase in drug related violence in the Guadalupe Bravo area and there is no indication that the situation will improve in the near future," the consulate said on its Web site. Watch how drug killings are making Americans wary of Mexico » President Felipe Calderon's security cabinet met in the city last week to devise a strategy to combat narcotraffickers. The federal government is footing the bill for the troops' wages and food, and the municipal government is paying for their gas and living expenses, Torres said. Surveillance cameras will be installed throughout the city to help police stem executions and assassinations in the streets, scene of many of Juarez's 1,600 killings in 2008. Police advised residents to carry identification with them at all times to ensure that encounters with law enforcement in the streets and at vehicle checkpoints proceed as quickly as possible, Torres said. "It's necessary to keep the peace," Torres said in a telephone interview as he sat in his car, waiting in line at a police checkpoint. "For me, it's safe. If there are more soldiers, I feel safe." But human rights advocates say the military presence creates a police state in a region where confidence in law enforcement is low. "The increase in law enforcement brings elements that create an environment conducive to the violation of human rights," said José Luis Armendáriz González, president of the Chihuahua State Commission of Human Rights. "What are the limits of their power? The risk for wrongful detentions, raids of homes increases when there's no clear line." Armendáriz said the focus on troop numbers detracts from improving the quality of investigation and crime-fighting techniques. "We've been battling the criminal elements with force and gunfire for years now with few results," he said. "I believe it's necessary to pass to a second phase that focuses on intelligence and infiltrating the criminal organization to hit all levels." Others say the stronger law enforcement presence is producing results. "In the last seven days, we've had no more than five reported deaths. Before that, the average was six a day," Sen. Ramón Galindo Noriega said in an interview Wednesday. "Maybe it's a coincidence, but I believe the presence has generated an environment of greater security and this is congruent with the numbers that we have this week." Galindo, a lifelong Juarense who sends his children to schools in Juarez and owns businesses there, said more troops are the only answer to a problem that has transformed Juarez from a center of industry and commerce to a major battleground in the war among drug cartels. "What we had before was a state that was under the control of crime. It was a state that didn't permit a normal life. People left, businesses closed. There was fear in the streets, an environment of fear that we had to take radical measures to eradicate," he said. "I believe the people are content with the presence of the army. They feel safer in the city, calmer in the streets." [/rquoter] What do you think about the concern about civil rights? Given the desperate position Juarez is in, do they have a valid excuse to take some liberties with civil liberties?
Not really, things will get much worse if the Mexican Government starts winning their war against the cartels. They haven't been hit with car bombs yet, once the cartels start losing they will get desperate and start resorting to terrorism.
Mexican cartels infiltrate Houston http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/hotstories/6299436.html The rich flee Mexico drug violence http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6300615.html Well, that isn't good. I hope US is prepared for whatever happens. They are most likely to send troops to Mexico if Mexican government fails to combat the cartels.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6305970.html Warren Buffett. Bill Gates. Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman? As if Mexico doesn’t have enough image problems, a reputed drug cartel boss landed on the Forbes magazine list of billionaires. Guzman, whose nickname means "shorty," just made the cut as he was tied for 701st on the list, with a fortune estimated to be worth $1 billion. Guzman, 54, is said to be head of the Mexico-based Sinaloa Cartel. He follows in the footsteps of Colombian Pablo Escobar, who also made the Forbes list back in his day, and was considered the ultimate godfather until he was killed in a shoot out in 1993. Guzman muscling his way into the world’s most elite club likely rubs salt in Mexico’s wounds, as the nation has suffered mightily during a protracted war with the cartels. It also likely further cements his legendary status as the chief of a multibillion-dollar underworld empire. As for Guzman’s legitimate job? The musical group Los Tucanes tells his story: he’s just a corn farmer.
Yeah, because we are doing such a bang up job taking care of what we have now. Please explain how you plan to pay for this?
Nationalize the recreational drug industry? Undercut the cartels and make money on volume, volume volume. Control the purity, control the potency, fund anti-drug education rehab and treatment. Support a living wage for farmers in Colombia and Afghanistan, open up a new agricultural industry for the small farmer in the US.
