Washington pushes drug war in Mexico, Central America

Washington pushes drug war in Mexico, Central America

www.wsws.org

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano signaled this week that Washington is prepared to utilize the same bloody counterinsurgency methods in Mexico and Central America that it has employed in the so-called “war on terror”.

Last year, it was revealed that CIA operatives and “retired” military personnel have been deployed in Mexico and that the Obama administration was considering the dispatch of private military contractors to further escalate Mexico’s drug war. This presence was widely seen in Mexico as a violation of the country’s constitution and a further tightening of US semi-colonial domination of its southern neighbor.

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Americans itching for a war next door just may get their wish. Despite more level-headed proposals from Heads of State in Central America the US seems bent on war in the regions south.

In Guatemala, she spoke out forcefully against a proposal by the country’s recently inaugurated president, Otto Perez, a former general who participated in the US-backed counter-insurgency campaign that claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands.

Perez has called for a discussion throughout the region on the de-criminalization of drugs as a means of reducing violence, which has spiked in Guatemala as members of Mexico’s drug cartels have shifted some of their operations there.

Napolitano condemned the proposal as “not viable.” She insisted that there are “better ways to confront the problem of drug trafficking,” by which she meant continuing and escalating the US-sponsored “war on drugs.”

Rather, its purpose is to preserve this domination by military means at the expense of the workers of the entire hemisphere.

There have been questions over whether this Drug War has been a failure with the violence it has brought about in Mexico and now spilling around the border.

Napolitano used her trip to counter charges that the so-called war on drugs has demonstratively failed to achieve any of its supposed aims. “I would not agree with the premise that the drug war is a failure,” she said. “It is a continuing effort to keep our peoples from becoming addicted to dangerous drugs.”

From this standpoint, the drug war is a manifest failure. The US, despite its draconian drug laws, continues to have the highest level of illegal drug use of any country in the world. And despite Napolitano’s claims about concern for people “becoming addicted”, the US, under the Obama administration just as under preceding administrations, continues to underfund drug prevention and treatment programs, while pouring the lion’s share of funding into militarized drug interdiction and criminal prosecution. Despite the tens of billions spent every year to this end, the supply of illegal drugs remains virtually unchanged.

www.wsws.org
(visit the link for the full news article)

There are also Qods forces and Hezbollah hiding those jungles along with the drug cartels. It's a super highway of drug running and people smuggling on a scale that none of can really comprehend. What we see on the nightly news is just the tip of the iceberg.

Originally posted by jibeho
There are also Qods forces and Hezbollah hiding those jungles along with the drug cartels. It's a super highway of drug running and people smuggling on a scale that none of can really comprehend. What we see on the nightly news is just the tip of the iceberg.

Jungles? Of Honduras, Guatamala? It's largely desert along the US border. People are being smuggled into Mexico, apparantly to make their way up to the US where they are fairly much welcomed. What sources can you cite for this?

If this is true and becoming a huge problem, what should be done to put them out of business? Illicit drug business is multi-billion, whereas on a free and open market those substances would only be worth pennies.

Is the solution helicopters, war, defoliating the jungles? More draconian drug laws?

Originally posted by jibeho
There are also Qods forces and Hezbollah hiding those jungles along with the drug cartels.

All the more reason to starting bombing Mexico with drones

reply to post by Erongaricuaro

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano signaled this week that Washington is prepared to utilize the same bloody counterinsurgency methods in Mexico and Central America that it has employed in the so-called “war on terror”.

Well then, expect drone strikes and US soldiers dying in ``road accidents or training accidents`` (they were special ops who died in combat).

The CIA really wants to obliterate their competition now do they? That and giving lots of money to their military industrial complex friends with no bids contracts on drones...

END THE WAR ON DRUGS, ELECT RON PAUL.

40 000 dead so far in Mexico due to the ``war on drugs``... when this whole thing goes live, what will it be... 40 000 dead/year for the whole operation?

You can never have too much war I always say.

It's good for morale. Even when you're on the losing side war still fosters solidarity and mindless jingoism.

Yay, war!

im confused with this thread, are you saying its the US's fault for everything that is happening in central and south america?

because im pretty sure president calderon of mexico initiated his war on drugs back in the early part of the last decade, and the US is doing everything it can to keep it from spilling over into our border.

making drugs like coc aine, herion, meth etc. legal wont do anything to stop the violence or the deaths, making them legal will cause more people to OD on them each year, will cause more people to spend all the money they have on them each year. no matter if you made them legal there would still be the drug cartels who will try to make money off of the manufactoring of said drugs

the drug war in niether a winning or loosing battle because no matter how many top drug cartel leaders you kill or imprison there will always be someone who will step in to take there place.

reply to post by caf1550

because im pretty sure president calderon of mexico initiated his war on drugs back in the early part of the last decade, and the US is doing everything it can to keep it from spilling over into our border.

Yeah especially when they send thousands of guns and grenades to the mexican drug cartels...

The war on drugs started in 1930 when the federal bureau of narcotics was created.

When people were pushing for legalization in Central America a few months ago, I called it and said they were probably looking for a handout from the US, like Mexico got the first time they raised the issue.

I am enjoying myself right now.

reply to post by Vitchilo


yes the US war on drugs began then not the mexican war on drugs, and please show me somewhere that the US has sent weapons to the drug cartels, because they do not just supply them with weapons. when Mexican soldiers, Marines, Federale's, or Police desert then they take with them the weapons that the US State Department sent for them to use while working with either the army marines or police forces.

From 2003-2009, over 150,000 Mexican soldiers deserted from their ranks. Drug cartels became so confident in their recruitment of military personnel that they posted help wanted ads for hit men, traffickers, and guards. When these soldiers desert, their US-supplied weapons (grenades, sniper rifles, assault weapons, etc.) often accompany them over to the cartels. In 2008 and 2009, 13,792 and 20,530 small arms were exported to Mexico from the US. Over 92% of these arms were civilian legal semi-automatic or non-automatic firearms, a number eerily similar to the debunked 90% number echoed by the ATF. A 2008 State Department memo to then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi shows a $1,000,000 shipment of select fire M4A2 assault rifles to the Mexican Federal Police Force, (AKA Federales) one of the most corrupt Mexican government agencies.

150,000 deserted from the ranks of their military when they desert the US-supplied weapons ofthen went with them. so yes they supplied weapons to the mexican military and police, but they didn't knowinly supply weapons to the cartels

yes operation fast and furious is an example of ATF agents letting guns go to cartels, but it was all done to build a case on the drug cartels, sadly that is how cases are built by letting people buy things they should not be aloud to buy and then moving in on them.

reply to post by caf1550

yes operation fast and furious is an example of ATF agents letting guns go to cartels, but it was all done to build a case on the drug cartels, sadly that is how cases are built by letting people buy things they should not be aloud to buy and then moving in on them.

Are you saying it is okay to aid and abet as long as charges are brought on some people at the end. Why don't they just go and run both sides....

Legal drugs kill more people each year than illegal ones.

Doctors cause 250,000 deaths each year.

Seems to me we should be fighting a war against the pharmaceutical companies and doctors. Both of whom kill more people each year than illegal drugs.

Marijuana causes 0 deaths each year.

reply to post by caf1550

yes operation fast and furious is an example of ATF agents letting guns go to cartels, but it was all done to build a case on the drug cartels,

You know this is BS and there was never any real mechanism to get them back. They also gave the cartels grenades.

Sorry but doing this kind of stuff is just over the line criminal. Whoever thought of this plan and approved it should be in prison for aiding terrorists, Holder, Obama and Bush should be the firsts.

And it's well known that the CIA deal drugs and that American banks launder the money.

And give me a break, they don't need to ``build a case`` against the cartels, they already have enough evidence as it is..

End the war on drugs, legalize all drugs. Also legalize prostitution. End the criminal enterprises behind those two industries.

Originally posted by caf1550
im confused with this thread, are you saying its the US's fault for everything that is happening in central and south america?

because im pretty sure president calderon of mexico initiated his war on drugs back in the early part of the last decade, and the US is doing everything it can to keep it from spilling over into our border.

making drugs like coc aine, herion, meth etc. legal wont do anything to stop the violence or the deaths, making them legal will cause more people to OD on them each year, will cause more people to spend all the money they have on them each year. no matter if you made them legal there would still be the drug cartels who will try to make money off of the manufactoring of said drugs

the drug war in niether a winning or loosing battle because no matter how many top drug cartel leaders you kill or imprison there will always be someone who will step in to take there place.

America is not the soul cause of the problems in central and south america but they are a huge contributor to the problem.

First of all most of the drugs produced in central and south america are consumed where.......oh yeah the US and the fact is if it were not for the foolish short sighted puritanical prohibition of drugs, all drugs would cost nothing, making it really not even cost effective for paramilitary groups, cartels and criminal enterprises to even bother with.

Add to that the fact that the CIA has long been running guns down to the contras and para military groups in south america while running drugs back, yeah I would say most of those roosters down their belong to the United States, they feed them after all, so how can we be mad when those roosters come home to roost.

Iran contra scandal ring any bells?

source

Col. North's handwritten notebooks and memoranda show that North and other U.S. officials were repeatedly informed about the Contras' ties to trafficking of drugs from Latin America into the United States and that airplanes from the U.S. used to supply arms to the Contras were being flown back with Contras personnel aboard carrying coc aine into the United States.

And the fact is despite what you think, legalization will end the violence,; kind of hard for terrorists and criminals to buy guns and bribe central and south american officials to look the other way when they have no cash.

As, far as people that might OD that is their choice and their problem. I tell you one thing addicts start dying in droves from access to cheap drugs it kind of solves the problem itself, the old addicts die off and people see them die and either quit or don't start.
Just saying.

I am thinking about Mark Kilroy as the anniversary of his death is coming up. I wonder how many people would still be alive if drugs were decriminalized and smugglers didn't make as much money. Also, I can only find ONE photograph of Mark Kilroy and no significant documentation of his life. Weird.

www.trutv.com...

reply to post by caf1550


People are going to do drugs regardless if they are legal or illegal. What it comes down to is, do the people doing drugs have a head on their shoulders? Do they care enough about themselves to, not give into the hype of drugs so they make one look important, or socially acceptable.

Did their parents teach them right from wrong? Are one of their parents or both already users, so it doesn't seem like drugs are bad to them? Put the fun back into dysfunctional! *sarcasm*

Common sense tells me, if you are doing drugs, you don't have common sense.

And last but not least, Nancy Regan did a ton for this country with the "Just Say No initiative." We need legitimate education on the drawbacks, and treatment facilities to help those who have had their lives destroyed and seek redemption and a cure for their addictions.

If we legalize them, the gangs won't have a leg to stand on, if we also bring it out into the open and tax them. This is a hedonistic culture we live in, give the people what they want...an escape from their problems, but a room at the Hotel California in return. Get yer government issued coke, taxed and funded by the office of HUD so at least your not homeless.

reply to post by Erongaricuaro


Great thread.
The Janets of America.
First Reno and now the wicked witch of the North.
We need to send CIA to Mexico to keep dumbass Americans from getting high.
Well if you have dumbass folks you deserve dumbass leaders.

remember that cia rendition plane that went down in mexico a couple years ago
the one with several tons of coke on board...well it wasn't the only one of its kind

war on drugs is just to keep the price up and the competition down
simple black market economics 101
I mean oil economics 101
I mean prohi-bitchin....
erm, next it will be vitamins

In April,2006 it was revealed that a plane owned by Skyway Communications of Lakeland,Florida and Royal Sons holding company using Huffman Aviation(where Mohamed Atta trained before 9/11),as its address and paradoxically rented by the Howard Dean's Democrat presidential campaign of 2004 had been busted by the Mexican army at the Ciudad Del Carmen,Campeche airport on the Yucatan Peninsula with over 5.5 tons of coc aine on board.
Now yet another plane,(a Gulfstream II),that crashed in the Yucatan on Sept 24th this year with 4 tons of coc aine on board has connections to the Skyway Communications DC-9,(confiscated by the Mexican army and now used by the Mexican Attorney General's office),as well as to Guantanamo 'rendition' flights that may have taken place from or through Europe.Skyway Communications,a penny stock 'pump and dump' is,according to Daniel Hopsicker of madcowprod and SEC filings,connected to Titan Corporation(torturors at Abu Ghraibe,etc.),a subsidiary of Level-3 Corporation of San Diego,California that has done very well for itself financially in the 'war on terror'. Titan in San Diego strangely enough has been employer to a mysterious Lebanese-American,Makram Chams, who owned a Kwik Check cashing business in Venice,Florida that cashed a $70,000 check for Mr. Atta that was sent from Dubai,(now the official home of Halliburton),shortly before 9/11.
American-Israeli attorney Michael Farkas, founder of Skyway Communications,has both U.S. intelligence connections as well as far right Israeli connections including to Israel's largest defense or military corporation.He supports Israeli West Bank settlements or occupation of Palestinian land as well.
Company executives include the Kovars,Glenn and Brent,father and son.

www.indymedia.org.nz...

a drug war just puts certain "people" (who know people named Janet) right at the source with guns
this drops the purchace price considerably, while publicizing it drives up the selling price.
and it culls the competition...

say what about Iran contra...wasn't that about drugs?..for guns
Noriega, he was our little friend..till he nationalized the drug laundering banks.....

So now the great and just US can dictate to foreign nations what laws to pass? If the US wanted to fix the drug/illegal immigrant issue it would be real simple.....secure our southern boarder. Granted it wouldn't stop all drugs but it would do a lot to help.

Instead of having our military all over the world, put them along the boarder to do what the constitution says, "secure our borders". I said this to someone the other day and they said that because of the Posse Comitadus Act US. Military can't do that. However the act applies to military enforcement of civilian laws, not protecting our border.