Borderland Beat

Puebla authorities are keeping quiet  about the alleged execution of José Nava Romero, (below left)  leader of a criminal cell known as los Rojos, armed wing of the Beltrán Leyva organization, at a Palenque (cockfights) in the town of San Antonio Cacalotepec (San Andrés Cholula), in the early hours of Sunday.

The  Attorney General of Justice of Puebla has only given a brief police report mentioning the murder of a man, about 45-year-old who was unidentified. They have not provided any report of the facts nor confirmed the identity of the deceased.

Meanwhile, in the state of Guerrero it was confirmed that a funeral service company collected the body of Nava Romero on Sunday evening.

The shooting in which  the leader of los Rojos died, took place around 2:30 hours in a ballroom named Santa Maria, located in the private Juan Pablo Segundo 4, in the district of Santa María de Cacalotepec, which was eventually rented for cockfights.

The body of Nava Romero was laying face-up a few blocks from the Palenque,  on 24 de Febrero street, adjacent  to an Escalade with Querétaro plates, which bore no traces of shooting.

According to police sources, within the party room there were caps of R-15 rifle and evidence of a bloody shootout, in which high power weapons were used.

According to testimonies of neighbors and people who were in the location, a X-Trail SUV arrived with a group of assassins who opened fire against the so-called leader of the criminal group. A chase then took place with several vehicles. There are also versions saying it was a brawl in the heat of the cock fight.

A spokeswoman for the unit said they were waiting for prosecutors to conduct forensic tests to provide information about the case.

Additional Backstory information:

“El Barbas” and “El Grande

When the organization of Beltrán Leyva split  after the murder of its leader, Arturo Beltrán Leyva  (aka "El Barbas" or "Jefe de Jefes") in a hotel of Cuernavaca, Morelos, it was known that the persecution started days before in the state of Puebla.

The shootout that resulted in the killing of "El Barbas" also resulted in  the death of Jesus Nava Romero, aka "El Rojo", brother of Jose Nava.

After the death of the leader of the Beltrán Leyva  on December 16th of 2009, at the hands of Mexico’s Marina,  the violence intensified in the state of Guerrero, especially in the port of Acapulco where his forces concentrated, and  23 minor cells sprouted  which disputed the plaza in bloody conflicts.

After a couple of years of confrontations, the criminal group Los Rojos, led by José  Nava who presumably was killed this dawn- is considered the stronger and most prevalent  group on the coasts of Guerrero.

Another event that relates to  leaders of criminal groups in Puebla, is the capture of Sergio Villarreal Barragan, aka "El Grande", in the luxurious development Puerta de Hierro, in the street Mercaderes number 13, on September 12th of 2010. Villarreal was one of the lieutenants of Arturo Beltrán Leyva.

 

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proceso

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By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

An undisclosed number of Mexican security forces have been retasked into southern Chihuahua state in the wake of the kidnapping of a political candidate, according to Mexican news accounts.

According to a news report which appeared in the online edition of Yanciuc.com, Chihuahua governor Cesar Duarte Jaquez reportedly said that an undisclosed number of Mexican Army and Naval Infantry troops have been moved into southern Chihuahua and parts of Durango and Sinaloa states with the mission of "attacking criminal groups" which operate in the area.

According to the article, Durate referred specifically to the Golden Triangle, which is an area of the Mexican sierras where drugs and cultivated, and where security is at a premium.

According to a direct quote in the Yancuic article, federal security forces area tasked with eliminating drug cultivation, recovering stolen vehicles, especially offroad trucks used in rough terrain, and to combat criminal acts.

Governor Duarte mentioned that the Mexican Navy (SEMAR) has been providing intelligence in the new operation, probably referring to SEMAR's access to electronic intercepts.

In a separate news report which appeared on the website of El Sol de Parral news daily, a large convoy of security forces vehicle -- two Mexican Army, three Policia Estatal Unica ,two of the Procuraduria General de la Republica (PGR) four Policia Ministerial and  Policia Preventiva -- were spotted near Parral three days ago,  near the villages of Villa Coronado, Villa Lopez, Pueblito de Allende and Valle de Allende.  The news account said that those security forces had been conducting traffic stops searching for drug and guns. The group was also deployed to execute arrest warrants.

According to the report, the new deployments is an official response to the kidnapping and subsequent murder of Partido Revolucioanrio Institucional (PRI) candidate Jaime Orozco Madriga last week. Orozco Madriga was the PRI candidate for municipal president of Guadalupe y Calvo, which has been a focal point for drug and gang related violence in recent weeks.

A total of 14 political entities, including the states of Chihuahua, Durango and Zacatecas are in the midst of midterm elections for local deputies and municipal presidents and some town councils.  At the moment news about official responses to criminal activities are at a premium as Article 41 of the Mexican Constitution forbids official government news to be disseminated while electioneering and voting is taking place.

The election is to take place July 7th, but the news blackout lifts after July 9th.

Every one of the states bordering the US are having their midterm elections except for Coahuila state, with Baja California going through an election for governor, as well as for local deputies and municipal presidents.

Three years ago PRI won 11 of 14 statehouses in a stunning win over its longtime rival Partido Accion Nacional (PAN), but a recent trend has emerged starting with the Michocacan election in November, 2011 in which PRI has failed to win majorities in local state legislatures, as well as in the national Chamber of Deputies. 

PRI in that body is forced to rely on temporary alliances to advance its agenda.

According to a separate Yancuic article, seven candidates for political office in Chihuahua state have requested protection from the state electoral body, Instituto Estatal Electoral (IEE). The candidates have included PAN and PRI candidates as well as others, though none of the requests have come from candidates in southern Chihuahua state.

Meanwhile in Guadalupe y Calvo municipality three individuals, including one female were shot to death in a shootout Tuesday morning, according to Mexican news accounts.

According to a news account which appeared in the online edition of El Puente Libre, Arcelia Cardenas Villanueva, 28 and José Asael Calderon Escarcega, 25 and another unidentified man were shot to death near the remote village of San Julian de Piedra Larga in a gunfight in which AK-47 rifles were used.  Authorities recovered five vehicles in the area including three which had been immolated.

Four unidentified individuals traveling in the area towards Meza de San Rafael at the same time as the shooting were forced to abandon their vehicle when it was hit by gunfire, and to seek refuge in an arroyo. 

A total of 14 spent cartridge casings from an AK-47 rifle and one each spent cartridge casing from a .45 caliber and a .380 caliber weapon were recovered at the scene.

Much of the information had been relayed through the Mexican federal Ministerio Publico which is not bound by Article 41 restrictions.

A separate news report in El Tiempo de Mexico said that two individuals were hurt in the shooting.

Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com and BorderlandBeat.com He can be reached at grurkka@gmail.com

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Borderland Beat  Posted on BB Forum by "Bjeff"

 

Mexican drug traffickers, their activities and luxuries are no longer exclusive to narcocorridos and have moved to a new type of music: US Rap.

American rappers are dedicating their songs and album covers to major Mexican drug lords. In his latest video, Drojo, a Mexican-American rapper, appears hooded, pointing a gun at a man kneeling in front of him. With the sound of a radio communication in the background, he sings: "Give me the money, give me the money."

In an interview with El Diario de El Paso, Drojo says the 'Narco Wave' comes from the concept of the way he has lived all his life.

"Now I live on the border and the drug here is cheaper than in North America. This drug is a reality that many people do not know, especially further north", Drojo explained on the telephone.

In the same 'wave' is Gucci Mane, an African American rapper who has dedicated his first single to Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman, the main capo of the Sinaloa Cartel.

In his lyrics Gucci Mane says: "All I wanna be is El Chapo. Three billion dollars in pesos."

Drojo says it is an easy thing to explain: "In the eighties it was Miami, Cuban drug dealers, but now Mexican drug traffickers are the ones who are doing it".

Another one joining the list is Tony Yayo, a member of the rap group G-Unit, who dedicated his latest cover photograph to the popular Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, in a jacket and a cap and coffee within the Mexican criminal where eloped for over 10 years.

The album cover contains a visual effect whereby the face of El Chapo Guzman becomes Tony Yayo, who wears a black jacket, neck chain and cap with New York Yankees.

Yet behind an attempt to "exalt" the leaders of the Mexican cartels are sales, says Drojo. "the word 'drug' is now very popular on this side of the border.

Drojo, on the other hand, says that his intention is not to glorify the drug trade , but to demonstrate a social context.

"It is not to glorify the drug , my concept is more like a movie, is something that is happening, but I'm trying to see it as a movie."

He also said to have had to be "very careful" with not mentioning of any capo and even with the same word 'drug'. "I have family, I have kids and I do not want no problem with a capo on a misunderstanding, we are careful with our words," he says

 

 

 

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Ricardo Aleman for El Universal June 13. 3013

Granier Clan

Translated by un vato for Borderland Beat

In Tabasco, even the most uninformed knew about the thievery of the Granier clan and his kin. In reality, the looting was an open secret, as well as the fact that some of the governor's appointees were simply window dressing, while "friends" and "relatives" were the real bosses who were dividing up the plunder.

And of course -- that's the way it should be!-- for Granier, his family occupied first place in the "pinata" that El Quimico's [the "Chemist," his nickname] government became; El Quimico, a rock politician that sold himself well with the mask of "citizen governor", because at the start of his political career, he denied being a PRI partisan, which helped him coax a good part of the public's and voters' opinion.

However, it's not true that El Quimico discovered the philosopher's stone that transforms garbage into gold. No, no, he didn't go that far.  Actually, he took advantage of close friendships with reputable men in power and in Tabasco politics -- and national politics -- to become mayor and then to become the most corrupt governor.

And contrary to what many think, Mr. Granier also developed that difficult art of Yucatan culture, calling himself "compadre" (intimate friend) of the current governor (of Tabasco), Arturo Nunez, and of the current coordinator for PRI senators, Emilio Gamboa, among many others who today could save his life.

But it turns out that, for Tabasco politicians and potentates, it was no surprise that, day after day, Governor Granier would utter his favorite phrases when talking about the excesses of his son Fabiancito and the grotesque frivolities of his daughters Paulina and Mariana. "If I have to give my life for my children, I will give it," he would say.

Today we know that Granier appeared voluntarily and without a judicial protective order before federal authorities, not because he thinks anybody believes in his innocence, but because his children asked him to. They demanded that he "clean up the family name." And like any loving father, he chose jail for himself  above prison for his children.

And the truth is that the core of the structure that led to the most scandalous plundering of Tabasco public funds is located precisely in the Granier family. Fabian Granier -- "Fabiancito" to those close to him -- was also known as "El Papayo" [literally: "Dad, I..."], because he believed not just in his talents as a "ladies' man" and "the power behind the throne", he also used to say "Papa, yo quiero...", "Papa, yo hago...", "Papa, yo...". ("Dad, I want...", Dad,...I will...", Dad, I...")

In that manner, El Papayo  cultivated a close relationship with Amilcar Sala Villanueva, ambitious and prosperous businessman who convinced Fabiancito to, in turn, convince his governor father -- Andres Granier -- to appoint Jose Manuel Saiz Pineda as Secretary of Finance.

As we have stated in earlier columns, Saiz Pineda was an expert money launderer for businesses in the southwest (of Mexico), among them those belonging to Amilcar Sala. In fact, the idea of appointing him Secretary of Finance was precisely to launder money.

Once the basic tripod was in place -- Fabian Granier, Amilcar Sala and Jose Manuel Saiz--, the plan for plunder was ready. Then began the parallel businesses, the diversion of funds, the dummy purchases.

In effect, Amilcar Sala was the real Secretary of Finance, while Fabian Granier was "the power behind the throne". "El papayo" would distribute loads of cash; he would decide budget items, he bought communications media and legislators, while his parties in Las Vegas were memorable, squandering money with open hands.

At the same time, Amilcar Sala would brag that his real estate holdings were rising like froth, as was (of course) his taste for luxury cars, such as a gorgeous Lamborghini. But that was in the beginning.



The opulent of  Granier's son

Then came audacity and the big leagues. An official source states that soon after the start of the Granier administration, Humberto Mayans, then Secretary of Government -- today, PRI senator --, and Carlos Pineda "El Pelon" Pineda, Jose Manuel Saiz Pineda's uncle, joined the trio.

The entry of Mayans and Sainz Pineda into the clan created the most powerful group for plundering public money and for dirty deals, while at the same time controlling politicians and communications media.

And that's because Andres Granier, along with Carlos Pineda, Humberto Mayans and Ignacio "Nacho" Cobo -- the right hand of Carlos Slim --, are "compadres", partners and owners of the newspapers Diario Presente and Formula Tabasco,  two of the most influential communications media in the state. In other words, Governor Granier's clan had total control for stealing.

And they bought and bought land, in Tabasco, Cancun, Yucatan, Miami (Florida), and a paradise in Barcelona de las Indias, Colombia, in the Cartagena de las Indias metropolitan zone. In particular, El Quimico purchased art, a lot of art, which he treasures with the same love he showers on his children. But there's much more...    

 

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Ricardo Aleman for El Universal (6-11-2013)

Translated by un vato for Borderland Beat

Although it's true that [current Governor of Tabasco] Arturo Nunez initiated the accusations of the Tabasco depredations, in the end, it will be the Enrique Pena Nieto government which will be responsible for pulling the chestnuts out of the fire.

 

The arrest of Jose Manuel Saiz Pineda, former Secretary of Finance in the government of Andres Granier, is no longer news. No; in any case, the news would be that during the first hours that he spent in the hands of the PGR (Attorney General) -- before he was delivered to the Tabasco Attorney General-- Saiz Pineda entered into an agreement to inform against all the "band of compadres"  who looted Tabasco during the most recent six-year administration.

That's because, according to official information, the arrest of the former Tabasco Secretary of Finance "is just the tip of the iceberg" of an offensive scheme of corruption and looting that goes beyond Andres Granier and Jose Manuel Saiz Pineda. In reality, the PGR is going after the whole gang, made up of at least five people, all of them close friends of the former governor.

 

The funny things, however, is that, while the PGR is following the trail of the money, the looting and the corruption, the government of Arturo Nunez does not have a single bit of evidence to arrest Saiz Pineda, much less Granier Melo. Well, the Nunez people were not even capable of showing that the more than 88 million pesos seized from the former Secretary of Finance came from the state government. That's why they could not establish his official responsibility.

Despite that, the PGR "blood hounds" know that Jose Manuel Saiz Pineda is a key player in the looting of Tabasco state funds that took place during the Andres Granier administration, and that, "with his cooperation," the entire gang will be brought down.

 

For that reason, too, when he learned of Saiz Pineda's possible deal with the PGR, former governor Granier sent the message that he was willing to negotiate. He said in an interview that he would present himself to give a statement, which can be translated as a public offer to surrender himself in exchange for a political deal.

But one should ask, who is Jose Manuel Saiz Pineda?

1.     It's not true he was always a wealthy man, as his defense lawyer has claimed. In reality, he comes from humble origins, product of a work culture and, because of his talent for finance, he became the accountant for a good number of Tabasco, Yucatan, Campeche and Chiapas potentates.

2.     Of course, before he became the Secretary of Finance for the Granier administration, he was already well known as a "magician" for money laundering and tax evasion. Thanks to those "fine arts", not a few businessmen from Tabasco and from all the Southeast delivered the accounting of their firms into his hands, knowing full well that Saiz Pineda would come back with clean money, with money in foreign bank accounts, ready to fatten fortunes.

3.     In fact, the 88.5 million pesos that the government of Tabasco seized did not come out of the administration's public coffers, but rather, they belong -- or belonged -- to one of his clients, who was weeping in the corners but who. for obvious reasons, cannot claim it. And the best evidence for this hypothesis is that in the first images, the stacks of money had the bank's wrappers, which were then switched for rubber bands. Why that subtle change? Because bank wraps are the money's DNA.

4.     In reality, Jose Manuel Saiz Pineda became a nouveau riche with dizzying speed, as a result of his ability for tax evasion for his clients, qualities that earned him juicy profits  he made no effort to conceal. Thanks also to those abilities, he was summoned by Granier, who required his services, not to better use public funds, but to steal them without leaving tracks.

 

 

 

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Felipe Cobain R. for Proceso (6-12-2013)

Translated by un vato for Borderland Beat

GUADALAJARA, Jal. (Proceso).-- Sergeant Second Class Aaron Israel Gonzalez Espino was left epileptic, extremely thin, fragile and with psychological damage after long sessions, days of torture in the XXI Military Zone in Morelia, inflicted to make him admit guilt  for crimes allegedly committed by other military personnel.

Gonzalez Espino always said he was innocent despite the punishment inflicted during March and April, 2010, by military personnel who were members of the elite GAFE (Grupo Aeromovil de Fuerzas Especiales; Airborne Special Forces Group) and agents of the Military Judicial Police.

Lucid despite consequences that left him on the verge of death, the sergeant from the 37th Battalion, based in Zamora narrates his hazardous story.

Confined in the military prison of the V Military Region, based at La Mojonera, Zapopan, he recounts that he joined the Army in June, 2001, that he never got into trouble and that -- this is important -- he was always declared to be healthy in the yearly physical examinations done by the National Defense Secretariat (Sedena: Secretaria de la Defensa Nacional).

Everything went bad on March 31, 2010, he says. He was on leave when he got a call from a corporal nicknamed "El Nipon". The corporal gave the phone to Colonel Andres Ojeda Ramirez, who told Gonzalez Espino he would have to present himself in Morelia, and that they would take him there.

"El Nipon" went to pick him up at his house in Zamora. Without telling him what it was about, they put him in a pickup "that was driven by Corporal Demetrio Diego, and was also carrying Lt. Juan Manuel Vidal and military personnel with their faces covered."

When they got to Morelia, he asserts, they took him to the headquarters in the city. There, they brought him before the chief of the general staff, Gabriel Rincon. "He took me to the "gafes" (special forces soldiers) who were on the second floor of the XXI Military Zone. He told them, 'take care of him for me.' And they tied my hands behind my back and blindfolded me. They kept me there without food or water that day and did not explain to me why they were doing this," he recalls.

The next day, some people came to the place where he was being detained: "They told me that I was "El Espanol" ("the Spaniard"), which I denied, and they began to beat me: 'Somebody has already fingered you and recognizes you as "El Espanol.' Then they brought the 'colonel soldier'. I didn't see him, but I heard when they were beating him severely. After the beating, they put him in front of me, uncovered my face and he identified me as 'El Espanol".

That's how he began to learn that he was being accused of being in collusion with narcos and passing information to La Familia Michoacana.

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Chivis Martinez Borderland Beat

Looking through my videos I came across this one from a few months ago, I don't remember if anyone posted it, if so I am sure many of you missed it and it is worth a second view.

The astounding footage is of a off the charts balacera between the military vs sicarios in Juarez, Nuevo Leon.  Juarez is a city about half way between Monterrey and Cadereyta. The video was recorded by a reporter on the scene and lasts almost 8 minutes.


Incredible  is how some drivers are driving through the conflict as though nothing is going down.
Camionetas de sicarios exploded.    Amazing video......

.............click on image to enlarge................

 

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Chivis Martinez Borderland Beat

 

He describes himself as a “debt collector” for the Mexican drug cartels, admittedly killed more than 30 people in the United States, according to investigators.

If Jose Martinez, 51, is found guilty of dozens of homicides on both coasts, would earn a place among the most lethal serial murderers in American history.

Investigators  have confirmed that Martinez is responsible for a double homicide in Marion County, Florida, March homicide in Lawrence County, Alabama, and at least 10 murders in California 2006, according to officials sheriff's office.

Martinez, a U.S. citizen, told investigators that he had committed the murders and more than a dozen others as an enforcer for several Mexican drug lords, according to Lawrence County Sheriff Captain Tim McWhorter.

McWhorter said,  "He had a reputation in the drug world as the guy who will get the job done. If he was assigned to receive money, he was receiving the  money. If he was assigned to kill,  the kill was done".

A trail of blood
Startling admissions from the alleged killer to  officials in Alabama, where investigators  from all involved  States converged in early June to interview the suspect,  nearly four months after the Florida detectives found key evidence linking Martinez to a unsolved case of 7-year-old, according to Marion County, Florida, Det. TJ Watts.

 

Authorities probing the November 8, 2006 murder of two Hispanic men, in February determined that DNA from a cigarette butt discovered in a Nissan truck, where riddled bodies were found of Javier Huerta, 20, and Gustavo Rivas, 28,  matched  Martinez said Watts. Authorities issued an arrest warrant against him.

The following month, authorities in Alabama investigating the murder of  Jose Ruiz, 32, March without revealing evidence  uncovered, said that it was left by Martinez at the crime scene during his visit to that state, a state where his daughter resides,  according to Captain McWhorter.

The authorities had previously suspected the boyfriend of the daughter of Martinez, Jaime Romero, but "incriminating information from anonymous sources" provided to investigators suggest Martinez pulled the trigger, McWhorter said.

By chance, Martinez was arrested by agents of the U.S. Border Patrol in early June near Yuma, Arizona, after trying to cross the border from Mexico without proper identification. Officials quickly matched  criminal fingerprint data to  Martinez and ordered his extradition to Alabama, where he now faces charges of murder, according to McWhorter.

At first, Martinez denied having participated in the murder of Ruiz, but eventually confessed to that  killing after only  an hour of questioning.

By then, McWhorter said, "the floodgates opened and began to confess multiple murders in Florida and California."

 

Martinez paused, looked at him, and thanked him for being respectful, before declaring: "I'm going to tell you the truth."

Martinez confessed to the Ruiz killing. But he was not done. He went on to confess to killing 30 men, McWhorter said. Of those, detectives so far have been able to identify 13 cases to be followed up.

 

In Lawrence County, investigators believe Martinez killed Ruiz out of anger after Ruiz insulted an acquaintance's girlfriend, and Martinez's daughter.

Martinez told investigators he worked on a contracts for a Mexican drug lord and other unidentified customers. He said many of the murders of which he confessed - including the 2006 double murder - resulted from disputes over trafficking and sales of illicit drugs.

"He is considered a bail bondsman for the cartels," said Watts. "It's a way you feed your family. He shows no remorse. He is cold-hearted and grim. "

The sicario describes says he began killing people at age 16, although it is unclear whether the alleged murders in that age were conducted at the request of Mexican drug cartels.

Martinez McWhorter claims  that in addition to drug related hits, he  killed people "involved in pedophilia or sexual abuse" as part of a personal vendetta work  unrelated to Mexican cartels.

The authorities have not confirmed that none of the victims were sex offenders Martinez said McWhorter.

However, McWhorter said investigators have found that Martinez is "very specific about the details of unsolved cases."

"He knows details that no one else knows, except the murderer. Proof is in  the details, "said McWhorter.

Martinez is currently being held in the Lawrence County Jail Alabama. He is  expected to plead guilty to the murder charge in that county. It is unclear when he will face charges in the Marion County, Florida

Researchers in Tulare, Calif., are investigating five unsolved homicides in which Martinez may have been the author, according to the Tulare County Sgt. Chris Douglass.

The other five murders in California may have occurred in other jurisdictions in the state, said McWhorter

 Sources to write this post: Drug Central-NBC Florida

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Borderland Beat

This post consists of two article about the drug war, one presents facts, the other ways to end the war.  The first is "4 Ways to End the Drug War, offered by Global Post and the second found in Business Insider is a presentation from Rehabs.Com.  Also interesting is the fact check link, which is loaded with links. This is a discussion that must take place, Please share your thoughts.

Four Ways to End the Drug War

US Secretary of State John Kerry this week has come under pressure to end Washington’s “war on drugs” at the Organization of American States meeting in Guatemala City.

President Barack Obama’s administration has so far sent the message to the rest of the Americas that discussing drug law reform is good and healthy, but the US federal prohibition on drugs won’t budge.

Here GlobalPost looks at four ideas fueling the reinvigorated drug policy debate that's swept Latin America.

Decriminalization 

This alternative, considered in the OAS’s 111 page report  on drug policy, is the big one. The report looks at several existing models, including Holland’s cannabis cafes and Spain’s marijuana social clubs. Decriminalization light already exists in many countries in Latin America, where law enforcement turns a blind eye to possession of small quantities of marijuana and, sometimes, even other, harder drugs for personal use.

Washington might be able to countenance this. But a heavier version, in which cultivation or commercialization are also permitted — or at least not penalized — could be a bridge too far for the Obama administration in the face of Republican intransigence. Fully decriminalizing harder drugs, such as cocaine or heroin, is off the table in the United States, and has yet to gather momentum as a policy proposal in Latin America.

Costing the status quo

As it advocates alternatives to prohibition, the report by the OAS, a regional group based in Washington, DC, which relies on the US government as its top funder, highlights the huge costs of current policies. They include “mass incarceration,” the “profitable circumvention” of drug laws — diplomatic speak for the billions of dollars earned by some of the world’s nastiest criminals — and “human rights abuses.”

These abuses frequently include those committed by the police and, above all, the armed forces in countries such as Mexico — where more than 60,000 people died in the drug war from 2006 to 2012 — and Honduras, where the cartels outgun the police, and desperate governments have sent in the troops. Human Rights Watch has repeatedly criticized Mexico on this issue.

Negotiated eradication

Despite his staunch defense of Bolivia’s coca crops — the key ingredient in cocaine, but also chewed or brewed into tea for a mild high — President Evo Morales has actually had more recent success in reducing the Andean country’s cocaine production than US allies Peru and Colombia. The secret is Bolivia’s policy of “negotiated eradication” of coca fields.

 That involves the government actually talking with the coca growers, usually impoverished peasants with little or no economic alternatives, and supporting them to develop new cash crops such as cacao or coffee. It contrasts with “forced eradication,” promoted by the United States, which tasks police or soldiers with destroying crops without the owners’ approval. Predictably, once law enforcement has left the remote Andean foothills where coca is grown, the peasants frequently just replant their fields with the raw ingredient for cocaine.

Government pot dealing

This is the plan in Uruguay. The South American country is not just legalizing cannabis but will even create a state monopoly on the supply of the soft drug. The proposal is the response of left-wing President Jose Mujica to the country’s growing crack and heroin problems.

 

Explicitly rejecting the “stepping stone” argument that marijuana use automatically leads to harder drugs, Mujica is deliberately trying to break the biggest single link between the two — the fact that both are illegal and often sold by the same peddlers — by bringing weed users out of the shadows of illegality, while also acknowledging that, unlike heroin or crack addicts, pot-heads are more likely to doze off on the sofa while watching TV than rob or steal to fund their habit.

                                                              __________

Does This Infographic  Convince You The Drug War Is A Catastrophic Failure?

 

The U.S. war on drugs, which began in 1971, has been an utter disaster and is ultimately unwinnable

In the last decade alone, cartels have conquered Mexico and infiltrated so deeply into the U.S. that in February Sinaloa kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman was named Chicago's first Public Enemy No.1 since Al Capone.

America's draconian drug laws — outside of Colorado and Washington — have actually catalyzed an epidemic of prescription drug abuse in addition to a dangerous spike in the use of meth and fake weed.

Looking at the numbers,, it's almost as if we intentionally brought these problems upon ourselves.

Rehabs.com put together a fantastic interactive infographic called "Drug Bless America" that sheds light on the economic and social impact  of the influx of heroine, cocaine, guns, and prisoners.  (Click on infographic then click  'Dig into the problem then scroll)

continues on next page.................

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