Pubdate: Tue, 7 Sep 2010 Source: Record, The (Stockton, CA) Copyright: 2010 The Record Contact: http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=A_OPINION05 Website: http://www.recordnet.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/428 Author: Maria Elena Salinas, Noticiero Univision Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/Mexico MEXICO MUST DECLARE INDEPENDENCE FROM DRUG CARTELS Mexico is setting the stage for a multifaceted, multimillion-dollar, star-studded celebration. Sept. 16 is the bicentennial of the country's independence. It's a day known as "El Grito," or "The Call," for independence from Spanish rule. But the celebration risks being overshadowed by the many challenges the Mexican government faces regarding security issues. Mexican drug cartels have been operating in the country for years and have gained more strength with the downfall of Colombian drug lords. But in the past decade, they have grown increasingly violent. President Felipe Calderon declared war against organized crime when he came into office in 2006, and since then more than 28,000 people have died - so many that the country seems to have become immune to the shock of finding dead bodies, sometimes decapitated or dismembered. But the massacre of 72 immigrants from South and Central America in the border state of Tamaulipas, thought to be the largest mass killing so far in this war, has sent shock waves not only through Mexico but throughout Latin America. The tragedy has put the spotlight on the country's inability to control the violence and its lack of response to years of complaints of abuse against immigrants. It also has forced a closer look at who is committing these barbaric acts and how they are able to get away with it. Of the nine known drug cartels operating in Mexico, none is more violent than the Zetas, who are suspected of the massacre in Tamaulipas. "That is their profile. They are violent," Ricardo Ravelo, who has written five books on drug cartels, told me in an interview. "We have to remember that their formation is military. They were trained, they love war, and that is the only way to see them," he added. According to Ravelo, the Zetas are former members of an elite military unit created to intensify the war on drugs in the mid-'90s. At that time, the Gulf cartel, led by Osiel Cardenas, was gaining strength, and Cardenas was becoming increasingly fearful of being killed, so he put together a security force to protect him from his rivals. The first one to join was one of the leaders of the military elite force, known by his code name of "Zeta 1," and he, in turn, recruited dozens of officers. When Cardenas was arrested in 2003 and deported to the United States, where he is serving a sentence for drug trafficking, the Zetas went from being the cartels' security guards to being their rivals. What sets them apart from the other cartels is their extremely violent nature and the network they have been able to form, which includes former members of the Kaibiles, a military elite force from Guatemala specializing in jungle warfare; and gang members from Central America. The Zetas also have grown to be very business-savvy. Anticipating the possible legalization of drugs that could put a dent in their business, they have diversified into 25 other criminal activities, according to Ravelo. The most lucrative, for now, are extortion and human trafficking. The mass murder of the 72 immigrants was, according to accounts by an Ecuadorean survivor, because they refused to join their ranks. None of this would be possible if it weren't for the complicity of law enforcement, and of local, state and even federal authorities. "The drug cartels have paid off an enormous amount of police officers, federal agents, politicians, judges and customs agents. They control several cities on the border, and there is no institutional capacity by the government to stop the criminal activity," political analyst Hector Aguilar Camin said. Aguilar Camin added that just as Mexico has not been able to control its borders to prevent the flow of immigrants who use the territory to reach the United States, the U.S. also has not been able to prevent the entry of undocumented immigrants and drugs. He believes that the Mexican government cannot win the war against drugs: "This war needs to be seen in a different perspective. We need to stop putting emphasis in the persecution of drug dealers and put more emphasis in the protection and security of the people." After Mexico's bicentennial celebration - once the party is over and the stages have been dismantled - Mexico needs to look seriously for ways to take its country back. It reached independence from an oppressive ruler 200 years ago; now it needs to become independent from that toxic combination of organized crime and internal corruption. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake