Sometimes, you think it can’t get worse. When we last addressed the topic, there were 30 murders in a week in Ciudad Juarez. The police chief in Palomas asked for asylum in Columbus, NM, after his entire small town department resigned after death threats.
Living in a border state, you get to see this rolling disaster on local TV. Today, local news showed Mexican Federal Police gun trucks now patrolling the streets of Palomas. Ten gunshot victims tried to make it through the border crossing in Columbus to hospital on the U.S. side of the border.
Mexico’s drug war violence has escalated sharply since President Felipe Calderon ordered nearly 30,000 federal police and troops into the field against drug traffickers 17 months ago. Most of the federal forces are operating in states along the border and down the Pacific coast…
More than 3,000 people have been killed in Mexico since Calderon’s crackdown began, according to media tallies. The settling of scores between rival gangs accounted for most deaths. But the pursuit of the drug-trafficking gangs and their enforcers also has had fatal consequences for Mexican law enforcement, including some of its most senior lawmen.
The police chief of Ciudad Juarez was killed last weekend, cut down in a volley of some 60 bullets as he arrived home unescorted in the early morning. Gunmen killed a senior Federal Preventative Police official at his Mexico City home last Thursday, wounding two of his four bodyguards in the process…Three Mexican state policemen were gunned down in an ambush this week near the West Texas border. Another two officers were killed, and six kidnapped, in the southwestern state of Guerrero. And a large contingent of gunmen reportedly attacked a police outpost in the highlands of Sinaloa state, on the country’s Pacific coast…
Some of the policemen have been killed because their heightened enforcement started affecting the drug trade. But Mexican officials acknowledged that some police, especially on local and state forces, may be targeted because they provided protection to one cartel or the other.
Yeah, it can get worse and probably will. And, of course, the National Guard troops that should be protecting our side of the border – are in Baghdad.
Why can’t we get bush’s antiquated cowboy mentality to protect the borders? Forget shooting Iraqis, lets go shoot us sum mexicans skeeter woo!!
The number of replies this thread gets, compared to the number of replies yet another 9/11 conspiracy thread gets, should tell you how important this story isn’t to Americans.
Look at the glass half full: Cleaning this crap up is a key to the whole “American Union” thing. And since it isn’t going to get cleaned up for a long time, we don’t have much to worry about.
Just another example of why the Open Border zealots need to shut the f up and let the US government build the fence and control the border.
#2 – The number of replies on this blog is not a measure of what is important to Americans.
Legalize drugs and overnight most of these problems go away.
Just add this carnage to the damage done by self righteous nanny staters.
#4 – Wrong. It is an excellent sampling of what motivates people to state their opinions. Since most of the posters are from the United States, and all have ties to the United States, it makes for a great survey method of American opinion.
It’s also one of the few reasons to come here anymore: Most blogs don’t post a broad-enough range of story to look at data this way.
[Holy crap. Is that a compliment from James Hill? – ed.]
Hurry! Send in the troops to protect the shipments!
Mmmmm poppies.
The War on Drugs has been a resounding success by the looks of things.
>>Just another example of why the Open Border
>>zealots need to shut the f up and let the US
>>government build the fence and control the
>>border.
Oh yeah. Building a 698-mile fence to seal off a 2000-mile border. Now THERE’S a good idea. Only the Keystone Kops working for Dumbya could have come up with an idea like that. HAW!!!
Its pretty simple, they want the whole border thing and all its complications, Drugs, immigration etc to get sooooooo bad that nothing can be done about it, the NAU by defualt.
#5. Yep. Damn I hate being a ditto head.
Here’s your North American Union…
We could FIX the drug problem right now though, we’ve been through prohibition before and realized it was a bad idea. Legalize it, regulate it, Tax it, and make it immune to lawsuits otherwise no ones going to make it (so they can hopefully at least attempt to make a safer product)
This reminds me of my favorite BSG quote
All of this has happened before
And all of this will happen again
again
again
again
Mr. Mustard,
Adding to your post, and the fact that illegals are building the too short fence for us – http://www.dvorak.org/blog/?p=8718
How do Mexicans tell when they’re hungry?
Their asshole stops burning.
I quit buying Mexican drugs a long time ago. Only domestic stuff for me. Sure it’s more expensive but the quality is assured.
What’s going on around here? Too much drama. Let’s avoid making personal attacks and using fake names.
[Comment deleted – Violation of Posting Guidelines. – ed.]
#5 – Legalizing drugs will not make these criminals law abiding citizens and eliminate corruption in Mexico. All it will do is redirect their criminal behavior to other things illegal activities.
5. bobbo. To follow up on 17 Russ:
What do you think that massive illegal drug machine would then do once drugs became legal? Set up a chain of boutique macrame shops?
Obviously they would have to take things to a “new high” and go to exotic experimental drugs, and exclusive concoctions, some of which exist even now that addict with the first hit, to say the least. Or would you legalize those, as well?
RBG
This problem will never be solved because to many peoples livelyhood depend on it. police jailers, attorneys, ect. It is not just the bad guy profiting from this.
Go overdose on some crack you fucking rednecks!