The massacre of nine U.S. citizens, including three women and six children, makes it increasingly difficult to ignore a disturbing fact: Mexico is a failed state, in which the government has essentially surrendered authority to the drug cartels.
The policies of leftist President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, elected in 2018, accentuate the surrender of that nation’s government. His concept of abrazos, no balazos, which translates into “hugs, not bullets,” indicates the inability of the government to assert their authority over the drug lords. Since Obrador’s election, the cartels have become more brazen. The Wall Street Journal believes Mexico is becoming “Cartelized”
Criticism of Obrador’s surrender has grown. The Washington Post reports that Retired Mexican general Carlos Gaytán “has openly criticized the government of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador after the botched attempt to arrest the son of El Chapo…Gen. Carlos Gaytán blasted the president just days after cartel gunmen swarmed the city of Culiacan to block the arrest of the son of imprisoned former Sinaloa cartel leader Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán. Military forces had detained 28-year-old Ovidio Guzmán López but then released him on orders from political leaders who feared a massacre. “
While the crisis has worsened under Obrador, it began long before he took office.
In 2016, a Congressional Research Service study on U.S.-Mexican security cooperated noted that “Violence perpetrated by a range of criminal groups continues to threaten citizen security and governance in some parts of Mexico, a country with which the United States shares a nearly 2,000-mile border and more than $500 billion in annual trade…analysts estimate that it may have claimed more than 80,000 lives between December 2006 and December 2014. Recent cases—particularly the disappearance of 43 students in Guerrero, Mexico in September 2014—have drawn attention to the problems of corruption and impunity for human rights abuses in Mexico….
The danger to the U.S. from the power of Mexico’s organized criminal gangs, which far too frequently and in far too many locations exercise more power than the government, was noted in another Congressional study, “Terrorism and Transnational crime” “criminals and terrorists have shared European doctors have sent their patients with digestive disorders to drink Karlovy Vary mineral cheap viagra for women water from the16th century. After the viagra 50 mg sexual act, the blood goes out of the person. For the best results, make it a point to consult with your doctor before trying out any erectile dysfunction pills. cialis tadalafil The basic way of working of this drug can be bought at a cheaper rate from online drug store, so buy Kamagra oral jelly online. https://regencygrandenursing.com/testimonials/video-testimonials-eileen-erickson cheap cialis similar tactics to reach their separate operational objectives. Such tactics include acts of violence; involvement in criminal activity for profit; money laundering; undetected cross-border movements; illegal weapons acquisition; and exploitation of corrupt government officials. • Organizational Evolution and Variation: A criminal group may transform over time to adopt political goals and ideological motivations. Conversely, terrorist groups may shift toward criminality. For some terrorist groups, criminal activity remains secondary to ideological ambitions. For others, profit-making may surpass political aspirations as the dominant operating rationale.”
A study by the National Interest noted that “Mexico has long been afflicted by pervasive corruption, with drug cartels and other criminal organizations easily penetrating governmental institutions. But developments …suggest that some of those institutions do not merely exhibit mundane corruption, but may be compromised in horrific ways. The most troubling incident took place in September 2014, when students from a teachers college disappeared in the western state of Guerrero. The students had shown the temerity to conduct a protest demonstration against the mayor of Iguala and his wife. Evidence soon emerged that the students were likely murdered and their bodies burned. Worse, there are strong indications, including eyewitness accounts from two individuals who survived the attack, that elements of both the police and the army, along with enforcers from a local drug cartel, were responsible for the massacre.”
A key symbol of the imbalance between Mexican governmental authority and criminal organizations can be seen in an analysis by Vocativ: “At least 100 mayors have been murdered in the past 10 years in connection with organized crime, the Association of Local Authorities of … Mayors have been killed by decapitation, pummeled by stones, gunned to death and dismembered, according to local reports.”
The Report Concludes Tomorrow.
Illustration: Pixabay