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.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake