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Contents contributed and discussions participated by Leah Hop

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Leah Hop

Mexican car wash massacre: rehab centers latest target in drug war. - 0 views

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WC Mexico Drug Trade Massacre

shared by Leah Hop on 13 Apr 11 - No Cached
  • Leah Hop on 13 Apr 11
     
    Research Question: What is the cause of all the violence associated with the Mexican drug trade?  Source: The Christian Science Monitor Source Citation: Kurczy, Stephen. "Mexican car wash massacre: rehab centers latest target in drug war." Christian Science Monitor 27 Oct. 2010. Student Edition. Web. 11 Apr. 2011. Summary: In Mexico, within less than seven days, there have been three massacres taking at least 41 lives of young people who used to take part in the drug trade. This shows that the drug lords will do anything to keep information from authorities. The main target are those who are in clinics or drug rehabilitation, and overall the ones targeted are young people. These killings have spread across the country of Mexico and have resulted in more than 28,000 deaths since December 2006. Reflection: I am saddened when I read about how so many younger people are being killed, especially those that are trying to overcome their involvement with drugs. Also, experts say that youths are turning to a life of organized crime due to a lack of job opportunities or lack of an education.  Questions: 1) Is anything being done to stop further random shootings at drug rehab centers? 2) Are there other ways Mexico can decrease youth involvement with the drug trade? 3) Are drug lords doing this just to prevent former addicts from giving information? What are their motives behind such brutal shootings?
Leah Hop

Get Shorty; The Mexican drug trade.(Shifting balances of power)(The Last Narco: Hunting... - 0 views

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WC Mexico Drug Lord Trade

shared by Leah Hop on 13 Apr 11 - No Cached
  • Three brutal Mexican massacres in less than a week have killed at least 41 people, with young people formerly involved in the drug trade making up the majority of the victims
  • massacres could signal the lengths to which Mexico's drug lords will go to prevent reformed addicts from giving information to authorities
  • "Police believe drug cartels use the clinics to recruit hit men and smugglers, threatening to kill those who fail to cooperate,"
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  • The latest attack Wednesday morning killed up to 16 people working at a car wash operated by a drug rehabilitation center in Tepic
  • "The workers were all men; they were washing cars when the gunmen, probably members of organized crime, drove up in SUVs and started opening fire
  • The coastal state of Nayarit is known as a peaceful corner of Mexico, but Reuters reports "the shootings underscores how killings have spread from the notoriously violent border region across the country."
  • On Sunday, at a drug rehabilitation center in Tijuana, 13 recuperating addicts were lined up against a wall and shot dead. On Friday, at a birthday celebration in Ciudad Juarez, gunmen killed 14. In June, 19 more people were gunned down at another drug rehabilitation center in Ciudad Juarez
  • the killings highlight how young people, and even children, are being targeted
  • Experts blame a lack of job opportunities - more than 20 percent of Mexican youth don't have access to jobs or an education - for drawing youths into an increasingly violent underworld
  • More than 28,000 lives have been lost to drug-related violence since President Felipe Calderon took office and dispatched the military to fight organized crime in December 2006.
  • Leah Hop on 13 Apr 11
     
    Research Question: What is the cause of all the violence associated with the Mexican drug trade?  Source: The Economist (US) Source Citation: "Get Shorty; The Mexican drug trade." The Economist [US] 18 Sept. 2010: 105(US). Student Edition. Web. 11 Apr. 2011. Summary: At the top of the Sinaloa cartel is Joaquin Guzman Loera, also known as El Chapo meaning shorty. Despite growing up in a poor family working opium poppies, he has later been known as Mexico's most legendary escapee and was named 41 on the list of the world's most powerful people by Forbes magazine. He controls a lot of Mexico and although he tries to focus on business, it is still brutal. Reflection: Two parts of this article that really stuck out to me where that the Mexican drug cartels are the most powerful organized-crime group in the Western world, and that even if El Chapo were to fall, there will be plenty more where he came from. These two things really emphasize the power and enormity of the drug trade. Questions: 1) If the government is able to stop major drug lords, will this help stop the drug war? Or will more rise to power as a drug lord? 2) How does someone from such a poor background come to great amounts of power? 3) Is the only way to not let the cartels be the most powerful organized-crime group by stopping people like El Chapo?
Leah Hop

Mexican Drug Trafficking - 0 views

topics.nytimes.com/...index.html

Mexico drug WC

shared by Leah Hop on 09 Mar 11 - Cached
  • government says more than 34,600 have been killed in the four years since President Felipe Calderón took office and threw the federal police and military at the cartels, with the toll for 2010, 15,237, the heaviest yet.
  • Mexican and American officials, crediting American training of the military and what they consider to be an increasingly professional federal police force, point out that more than half of the 37 most wanted crime bosses announced last year have been captured or killed.
  • A poll released Jan. 11 by Mexico’s national statistics institute found that more than 70 percent of respondents believed the country’s security had worsened since 2009.
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  • Obama administration will face renewed scrutiny to account for the $1.4 billion, multiyear Merida Initiative, the cornerstone of American aid in Mexico’s drug fight.
  • in June 2010 a Justice Department report described a "high and increasing" availability of methamphetamine mainly because of large-scale drug production in Mexico.
  • In October 2010, the government announced that it was preparing a plan to radically alter the nation’s police forces, hoping not only to instill a trust the public has never had in them but also to choke off a critical source of manpower for organized crime. It would all but do away with the nation’s 2,200 local police departments and place their duties under a “unified command.”
  • the rising count of gruesome drug-related murders is evidence that the government's strategy has failed.
  • Mr. Calderon dismisses suggestions that Mexico is a failed state, he and his aides have spoken frankly of the cartels' attempts to set up a state within a state, levying taxes, throwing up roadblocks and enforcing their own perverse codes of behavior.
  • United States and Mexico set their counternarcotics strategy on a new course in March 2010 by refocusing their efforts on strengthening civilian law enforcement institutions and rebuilding communities crippled by poverty and crime.
  • The $331 million plan was at the center of a visit to Mexico in March
  • The revised strategy has many elements meant to expand on and improve programs already under way as part of the so-called Mérida Initiative that was started by the Bush administration including cooperation among American and Mexican intelligence agencies and American support for training Mexican police officers, judges, prosecutors and public defenders.
  • American and Mexican agencies would work together to refocus border enforcement efforts away from building a better wall to creating systems that would allow goods and people to be screened before they reach the crossing points. The plan would also provide support for Mexican programs intended to strengthen communities where socioeconomic hardships force many young people into crime.
  • The most striking difference between the old strategy and the new one is the shift away from military assistance. More than half of the $1.3 billion spent under Merida was used to buy aircraft, inspection equipment and information technology for the Mexican military and police. Next year's foreign aid budget provides for civilian police training, not equipment.
  • But Ciudad Juárez belongs in its own category, with thousands killed each yea
  • Leah Hop on 09 Mar 11
     
    Research Question: How does the Mexican drug war affect the government and people of Mexico?  Source: Hidalgo, Oscar. "Mexican Drug Trafficking." New York Times. N.p., 1 Feb. 2011. Web. 8 Mar. 2011. Summary: The U.S has been helping Mexico train their military to an increasingly professional federal police force, which have captured or killed more than half of the 37 most wanted crime bosses. However, the people of Mexico believe the country's security is getting worse. In October 2010, the government announced it was going to change it's national police forces in hope of gaining trust from the public. This strategy was later revised. Reflection: This article talks a lot about the relationship between the U.S and Mexico and how they are trying to end this drug war. However, it also talks about how the U.S and Mexico are trying to prove that they are making positive changes in Mexico's security. I think that if they are in this situation where they are trying to convince the public then this crisis is not on the right path to stopping. Questions: 1) Why does such a large portion of Mexicans believe that even after the U.S and Mexico's strategies, that the country's security is getting worse? 2) Are the billions of dollars the U.S is investing in this drug war helping or changing anything? 3) Has border enforcement and people screening at crossing points help decrease the amount of drug trade with the U.S?
Leah Hop

How Mexico Can Stop Losing The Drug War - 0 views

www.businessinsider.com/top-losing-the-drug-war-2011-3

Mexico drug war

shared by Leah Hop on 09 Mar 11 - No Cached
  • Mexican President Felipe Calderon is losing his war on the drug cartels.
  • More than 35,000 people have died in the conflict - 15,000 in 2010 alone - and drug-related violence continues to spiral to new, horrifying levels.
  • Mexican production of marijuana, heroin and meth continues to ramp up.
  • ...13 more annotations...
  • Mexico cannot win its war against the cartels unless the U.S. does more to curb insatiable American demand
  • Weak democratic institutions, a corrupt and ineffective judicial system and underdeveloped infrastructure have made it virtually impossible for the Mexican government to break up the country’s vast and flexible criminal networks.
  • Calderon would be better advised to focus on more attainable goals; like implementing judicial reforms, expanding access to credit, growing the middle class, and promoting government accountability and transparency.
  • Restoring a semblance of order to Mexico’s civil and political society would be a good first step toward reversing the country’s slow economic growth and declining global competitiveness.
  • most of Mexico’s major cartels do not have a political or social agenda
  • The fight against drug traffickers - and the militarization of domestic security - is eroding Mexico’s democracy
  • escalating violence and terror is endangering business growth and fledgling civic networks.
  • using the Mexican military to fight the drug war point to the army’s success capturing drug kingpins and cartel cell leaders
  • drug war has destabilized the cartel leadership and led to the atomization of powerful criminal organizations into smaller, more regionalized gangs.
  • If left alone, these weaker organizations will wield considerably less influence over local governments and law enforcement than their predecessors. Stronger democratic institutions and a reformed criminal justice system would further marginalize and weaken these gangs.
  • Calderon could recall the 45,000 troops he sent to fight the drug war and call for a ceasefire between the Mexican army and the cartels
  • Money, not power, is the goal for the vast majority of Mexican traffickers. The cost of fighting a multi-front war seriously cuts into profits.
  • As long as American demand exists, the drug trade will thrive south of the border. But as the cost of doing business in Mexico increases, the nexus of power will shift to other Latin American countries.
  • Leah Hop on 09 Mar 11
     
    Research Question: How does the Mexican drug war affect the government and people of Mexico? Source: Wyler, Grace. "How Mexico Can Stop Losing The Drug War." Politix. Business Insider, 5 Mar. 2011. Web. 8 Mar. 2011. Summary: Mexico is losing the war on the drug cartels and can't win its war unless the U.S does more to stop our drug addiction. More than 35,000 people have died due to drug related violence and this fight against drug traffickers is eroding Mexico's democracy. In the last decade, Mexico has made steps to fix their slow economic growth but still have a long, long way to go. Also, the Mexican military has captured drug kings and cartel cell leaders, which has helped destabilize cartel leadership and create smaller/regional gangs. Having smaller/weaker organizations will have less of an influence over local governments. Reflection: I agree with this article in the fact that the U.S needs to lose our greedy demand for drugs in order to help stop the drug war. The corrupt and ineffective judicial system as well as the underdeveloped infrastructure has made it basically impossible for the Mexican government to stop these drug gangs. I think if Mexico really wants this drug war to end, then they need to iron out their government so that they can become stronger on a democratic and judicial level.. Questions:  1) Is there any way the U.S can decrease their demand for drugs? 2) Can Calderon do anything to rebuild the corrupt government? 3) If Mexico's government was less corrupt, would their still be a drug war?
Leah Hop

Priests and parishes threatened by drug cartels - 0 views

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Mexico Drug Priests Cartel

shared by Leah Hop on 17 Feb 11 - No Cached
  • Mexican priests have suffered numerous threats of violence, kidnapping and extortion from the nation's narcotics-trafficking cartels.
  • a growing number of priests--mostly serving in remote and mountainous areas rife with illegal drug trade activities--have been transferred to other parishes, assigned other types of work or even moved to other parts of the country because of threats. Other priests, meanwhile, have been forced to raise up to $800 each week for extortion payments.
  • violence overflowing parts of Mexico has claimed at least 22,700 lives--a figure recently revised upward by the federal government--since President Felipe Calderon took office in December 2006 and sent the army and federal police to crack down on the cartels.
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  • fear exists and the insecurity destroying the life of so many communities isolates them and exposes them to new expressions of violence
  • cartels and their affiliates have threatened to kidnap evangelical pastors and extorted churches and charity projects through protection rackets.
  • Rev. Manuel Corral, who initially denied similar threats against members of the Catholic clergy, but stories of aggression against priests and the church quickly surfaced.
  • In his region near Ciudad Juarez it has turned once-peaceful communities into ghost towns as frightened residents flee to Texas and cartel members burn down buildings thought to be affiliated with rivals.
  • Leah Hop on 17 Feb 11
     
    Research Question: What is the cause of all the violence associated with the Mexican drug trade? Source: "Priests and parishes threatened by drug cartels." America 3 May 2010: 6+. Student Edition. Web. 17 Feb. 2011.http://find.galegroup.com/gtx/retrieve.do?contentSet=IAC-Documents&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&qrySerId=Locale(en,,):FQE%3D(ke,None,6)Mexico:And:FQE%3D(ke,None,10)drug+trade:And:FQE%3D(ke,None,8)violence:And:LQE%3D(AC,None,8)fulltext$&sgHitCountType=None&inPS=true&sort=DateDescend&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm&tabID=T003&prodId=STOM&searchId=R1&currentPosition=1&userGroupName=lom_accessmich&docId=A226089688&docType=IAC Summary: This article is about Mexican priests that have faced threats of violence, kidnapping, and extortion from the cartels. Because of these threats many priests have to transfer to a different parish, take up different types of work, and even move to other parts of the country. On the other hand, other priests are forced to raise $800 a week for extortion payments. The violence created by the cartel has killed at least 22,700. This number has increased ever since Presiden Felipe Calderon stepped into office as President in 2006. Reflection: I was kind of surprised that priest are being threatened and that because of this many need to move to a different part of the country. It's sad to see that this violence is turning once peaceful communities into "ghost towns" where residents are feeing in complete terror. This article doesn't really help answer my research question, but it does help me understand what the cartel is doing, and who the violence is being inflicted upon. Questions: 1) What is the motive behind targeting/threatening priests? 2) How should the church respond to this violence? 3) What are Mexican police doing to stop this? 4) How do other cities in Mexico respond when they hear about the violence created by the cartels?
Leah Hop

BBC News - Mexico's drugs gang 'death squad' - 0 views

www.bbc.co.uk/...world-latin-america-11189017

Mexico Drug BBC

shared by Leah Hop on 17 Feb 11 - No Cached
  • come into existence some seven years ago, when leaders of the Gulf cartel of illegal drugs traffickers took it on as their security network.
  • The gang was called Los Zetas after the Mexican word for the letter 'z', as this was the radio call sign of one of their first leaders, former Mexican Special Forces Lieutenant Arturo Guzman Decena.
  • Mr Guzman took 30 other personnel from Mexico's Special Forces Airmobile Group to work with him for the Gulf cartel.
  • ...19 more annotations...
  • The original group trained new members, and quickly became known for its ruthlessness, in particular for beheading their victims.
  • The Mexican Defence Ministry has described the cartel as "the most formidable death squad to have worked for organised crime in Mexican history".
  • By 2007, after the extradition of Gulf cartel leader Osiel Cardenas-Guillen to the US, the Zetas are said to have begun running their own drugs smuggling operation from Mexico to the US.
  • In February and March 2010, between 200 and 250 members of rival cartels were killed as they battled to control regions in Mexico's north-east.
  • It says he was a corporal in the Airmobile Group before being recruited by the Zetas in 2002, and it has offered a $5m (£3.2m) reward for his capture.
  • Ten members of the Zetas are on the DEA's most-wanted list, with total rewards offered amounting to $50m.
  • The Zetas have apparently switched their operations from the west coast state of Michoacan to Tamaulipas on the east coast, and down to Cancun in the Yucutan Peninsula.
  • As the Zetas have tried to take over territory controlled by other gangs, there has been a sharp increase in murders of rival gang members.
  • According to the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), in 2009 the leader of the Zetas was Heriberto Lazcano-Lazcano.
  • In addition to drugs, the Zetas have specialised in human trafficking,
  • The Zetas are said to charge $1,000-$2,000 for each man and woman smuggled across the border. The business also gives them contacts throughout Central America, and in the US, where they are suspected of committing a number of murders.
  • In late August 2010, they are thought to have been responsible for the deaths of 72 Central and Southern American illegal migrants
  • They have also become notorious in Mexico for breaking out of jail when they are caught and imprisoned.
  • In May 2009, 53 inmates of Cieneguillas prison in Zacatecas state escaped, freed by gunmen thought to be Zeta members.
  • Some analysts say that Mexican government's hardline tactics, such as the recent raid which ended with the deaths of 27 alleged Zetas near the US border in Tamaulipas, have seriously weakened its capacity.
  • in July 2010 in the northern city of Monterrey, when Zetas leader Hector Raul Luna Luna was captured by the authorities.
  • there are as many as 30,000 youngsters aged between 18 and 24 who have no work apart from the easy money offered by groups such as the Zetas
  • Some 28,000 deaths have been blamed on organised crime since President Felipe Calderon came to power in 2006.
  • He has drafted as many as 50,000 members of the security forces into the fight against the cartels, but is facing increasing criticism because of the surge in deadly violence throughout Mexico.
  • Leah Hop on 17 Feb 11
     
    Research Question: What is the cause of all the violence associated with the Mexican drug trade? Source: Caistor, Nick. "Mexico's drugs gang 'death squad' ." BBC News. N.p., 4 Sept. 2010. Web. 27 Jan. 2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11189017 Summary: The Zeta drugs gang, formed around seven years ago, is known as the most ruthless and threatening death squad in Mexican history. Ten members of the Zetas are on the DEA's most-wanted list with rewards reaching $50m. As a result of the Zetas trying to take over more territory, there have been a rapid increase in murders of rival gang members. "President Felipe Calderon has drafted nearly 50,000 members of the security forces into the fight against the cartels, but is facing increasing criticism because of the surge in deadly violence throughout Mexico." Reflection: To be honest I didn't know a lot about the Mexican drug trade, and had never heard of the Zetas. It's unfortunate to see how influential and dangerous this group has become over the course of just seven years. It disgusts me to read about how ruthless this gang is; particularly for beheading their victims. Also, I read about what Mexico's president is trying to do, however he is being criticized because of the increase in violence. Thinking more about President Felipe Calderon makes me want to look more into what Mexico is trying to do to stop such violence. This article helped me understand more about the Zeta gang but didn't specifically help answer the cause of my research question. Questions: 1) What is the most effective way of trying to reduce violence throughout Mexico? 2) Are the Zetas targeting certain areas or specific gangs? 3) Why do the Zetas want to conquer more territory so badly? 4) Because the Zetas committed some murders in the US, is the US doing anything to stop this from happening?
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