August 19, 2010
by Sonja Calderon for henrymakow.com
Since President Felipe Calderón declared war on the narcos (drug lords) 28,000 people have died in Mexico. There has been 7,000 deaths related to the drug war this year alone.
Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua is the Murder Capital of the world with the death toll to hit 3,000 for this year alone. There are more deaths related to drug violence in Mexico than dead soldiers in Iraq.
This morning I wake up and to read the news: "Body of Abducted Mexican Mayor Found Bound, Dumped by Roadside." I knew since about two days ago that he went missing, as he is the mayor of one of Nuevo Leon's municipalities. Nuevo Leon is located on northeastern Mexico; Monterrey, N.L is my hometown.
I just didn't want to believe that he was going to get killed. He is the 5th mayor to die in the drug war.
"Officials said Cavazos, who was known for his tough stance against organized crime, had been forced from his home by armed men wearing out-of-date federal police uniforms. No formal ransom demand had been issued for Cavazos."
Just a few weeks ago a mass grave of at least 51 bodies was found at Monterrey, Mexico.
These killings were related to the drug war. Two days ago major roads and routes were blocked at Monterrey.
Both the street blocking and executions are an everyday thing for my hometown, once named "Latin America Safest City" in 2006. It is also Mexico's richest city and business capital.
It is sad such beautiful and talented city, Monterrey, is under terror at the moment because of this drug war. Quoting the CBS article, "Many Mexicans feel that their country is in the midst of chaos that could break it apart - all so Americans can get their fix."
Another problem is the smuggling of illegal weapons. According to the Department of Justice's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), "Available evidence indicates many of the firearms fueling Mexican drug violence originated in the United States, including a growing number of increasingly lethal weapons. While it is impossible to know how many firearms are illegally smuggled into Mexico in a given year, about 87 percent of firearms seized by Mexican authorities and traced in the last 5 years originated in the United States".
If the narcos are getting their weapons from the USA, who is arming them? Somebody is getting benefited from the drug war. And it isn't your regular college kid smoking marijuana at a dorm. I believe the drug war is easy money laundering, just like wars (the selling of weapons from the arms industry) and pornography. I would even dare say drug money finances corporations or businesses. There's no interest in stopping this war, this war was been lost a long time ago. I think the drug war's godfathers are in Wall Street.
President Vicente Fox called on Mexico "to legalize the production, distribution and sale of drugs" as the best way to weaken the drug cartels.
As long as drugs are illegal in the USA, it doesn't matter whether Mexico legalizes them or not. As you will still get drug cartels, gangs, and price competition. There are even drug cartels by states, they compete with each other. That's another reason they kill certain people, for associating with the competition. More Mexicans and Americans would get into the business of selling them across the border. There is enough corruption in Mexico and Mexican officials as it is so that it doesn't matter whether drugs are legalized or not. This is a problem between two countries: Mexico and the United States.
The good thing about legalization, though, would be more regulation and taxation. This doesn't mean your family won't get killed if you fail to pay the drug dealers for your fix. This won't stop drug gangs on the streets of Houston, either. This won't stop the competition between drug cartels, competing for prices and so called quality. This won't stop the business from growing, on the contrary, I think it will get even more monstrous than this if drugs were to be legalized. This won't stop the illegal smuggling of firearms, or border corruption. This won't stop Mexican corruption and bribery. And just to add to it, this will make it worse on the youth: Spreading the message that drugs are good. If it's legal, kids can get approached easier. Drug cartels are puppets, the real monster isn't going to be found roaming on the streets of Mexico.
Henry Makow is the author of A Long Way to go for a Date. He received his Ph.D. in English Literature from the University of Toronto. He welcomes your feedback and ideas at
