Blog dedicated to reporting on Mexican drug cartels
on the border line between the US and Mexico
.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Calderon: "If You See Dust its Because We're Cleaning House

París | Lunes 16 de agosto de 2010
EFE | El Universal


















Mexico's President Felipe Calderon said in a column published Monday, August 16, in the French daily newspaper Le Monde that his first objective is the security of Mexico and that this may "create an erroneous impression about the extent of the insecurity."

The column was a rebuttal to an earlier editorial printed on Wednesday, August 11, in Le Monde titled “Le Mexique miné par les barons de la drogue” or “Mexico undermined by the drug barons” that was harshly critical of President Calderon’s strategy in the fight against the drug cartels.

Le Monde’s editorial basically stated that Mexico has been greatly weakened by the infiltration of state institutions, the government and the security apparatus by drug cartels since the end of PRI rule in 2000. It concluded by saying that the PAN, Mexico’s ruling party since that year, has been unable to contain the drug cartels and that maybe the best scenario is for Mexico to return to authoritarian PRI rule in the 1012 elections.

In his rebuttal Calderon stated “What's really happening is that we are imposing order where there was none. So, if you see dust it is because we cleaning house." He added that when he came to power in 2006 he encountered security and justice institutions "weakened by co-optation and intimidation by criminal organizations."

The president acknowledges that the violent homicides have had much resonance in the world but explains that "this violence is due primarily to the struggle of criminal groups against other criminal groups and is also due to decisive action from the federal government, which weakens them and makes them more vulnerable to prosecution."

Calderón explained the five pillars of his administration’s strategy to curb crime and insecurity in Mexico, which decided to "confront the problem rather than avoid it."

First are measures supporting local authorities and citizens by strengthening the presence of the security forces in the affected areas of the country.

As result of this strategy, the security forces have seized "more than 84 000 guns in three years, which exceeds what the Government of Colombia has seized from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in last decade."

“In 2009, authorities arrested 70 top lieutenants from all the cartels,” Calderon continued, “and seized currency equivalent to 345 million Euros, and 46 billion doses of illegal drugs from criminal organizations.”

Second is the modernization of the operational and technical capabilities of the State; and third, judicial reforms of the legal system that adopt oral trials and a system of protection of the rights of victims, "a fundamental tool to finish with impunity once and for all.”

Fourth are measures to increase public confidence, "reinforcing security in schools, rescuing public spaces that were in the hands of criminals and creating centers for the prevention and treatment of drug addictions.”

Finally, Calderon stressed the importance of strengthening "international cooperation" because the drug problem requires "multinational strategies."

"The origin of the problem in Mexico stems from our proximity to the main consumer of drugs in the world, the United States, and the ease with which criminal organizations can acquire weapons in that country," said the Mexican president, who values the "new phase of cooperation with the United States."

Calderón ended the column with his appreciation for the “beginning of a new attitude on the part of all stakeholders that will find innovative ways, and a clear understanding of responsibility and the knowledge that together we will defeat this crime"

11 comments:

  1. I wonder if Le Monde would print the photographs of a victorious cartel's armed caravan of pick-up trucks as they drive past the Parisian "Arc de Triomphe," like Hitler did?

    Their yearning for a peaceful yesterday under the PRI NarcoDemocracy is a call for peace at any cost; even at the price of national humiliation and shame. Let them carry the weight of that cross through the annals of history, alone.


    ¡VIVA MEXICO!


    AR
    Por el Monumento a los Niños Heroes en
    Matamoros.

    ReplyDelete
  2. How muc longer can Mexico really take this?? I beg to differ with President Calderon, I do not think HE is cleaning house, seems to me that the Drug lords are the ones doing the cleaning...

    Maybe it is time for Calderon to admit that this problem is way out of his hands, and ask for some foreign help

    Breaks my heart to see my beloved country going to the toilet

    ReplyDelete
  3. Whatever it takes US,UN, Interpol,Tripple Canopy,Blackwater etc. Keep the pressure up increase it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. screw Blackwater.
    the last thing you need is for Mercenaries acting like Yul Brinner
    in the Magnificent 7, go there to save us all for life, liberty and the american way.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Los ciudadanos deben de apollar al Presidente
    Calderon para hechar fuera a las mierdas de los cartles. No ira ser facil, ni se hara en un ano. Pero el PRI con sus pasados presidentes no
    hiceron nada y le dejaron el paleton a este
    presidente. Va a necesitar ayuda de paises foranos.

    ReplyDelete
  6. WHERE IS THE DRUG MONEY?WHO GETS IT? IF THE GOVERNMENT SEIZED 345 MILLION EUROS,THAT MENAS SOMEBODY KEPT MORE THAN THAT.........

    ReplyDelete
  7. Support for Calderon........You have to a least credit for the resolve of President Calderon...Since this policy was instituted (to confront the drug cartels) he has never wavered...People want to put the blame on President Calderon, but the drug cartels and Mexico's history of corruption and government mis-management have been the major causes of this terrible situation....People are to quick to critcize but don't have any type better solutions to solve this crisis...

    ReplyDelete
  8. Blah, blah, blah,Calderon is a joke !!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. This is a blatant show of demagoguery. More than 28,000 deaths is not dust, but a symbol of corruption and incompetence of a government who decided to fight a war without strategy, a plan of action and a defined enemy. Although a couple of drug bosses and many minor criminals have been killed or jailed by the state forces, most of the casualties are innocent citizens, including kids and women... The government can lie to the French, they don't live in this part of the planet, the may believe un énorme mensonge, but not to us.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I feel for Calderon. What else can he do? Far too many miscalculations.
    He inherited an inept government that he surely contributed to.
    If there's one thing, Mexico should never allow a foreign proxy to operate. That would open a whole new 'can of worms'.

    -BBA

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous at 8-19-10 at 7:27 PM:

    I understand, we're dealing with the kind of shift in administration in the U.S. as well and it's beyond frustrating, but the point is to move forward. You can't undo the past, but you can prevent what may happen in the future. And Mexico's future is important.

    ReplyDelete

Comments are moderated, refer to policy for more information.
Envía fotos, vídeos, notas, enlaces o información
Todo 100% Anónimo;

borderlandbeat@gmail.com