Taxes Driving Mexican Government Casino Raids - The Associated Press: Mexico gov opens corruption probe in deadly fire

 

Comment:  What’s important to take away from this piece? 

• 53 Innocents are killed?
• Ah…talk about the government regulating gambling because of concerns of “corruption, money laundering and extortion”?  It’s too late there.
• Guess again, it’s about taxes…the corruption, money laundering and extortion has gone on for decades.  Despite this though, it does need to be under government control.
• It’s plato, plato, plato more than plomo

Excerpt:  Mexico gov opens corruption probe in deadly fire

By ELLIOT SPAGAT, Associated Press – 1 hour ago

MONTERREY, Mexico (AP) — A casino fire that killed 52 people in the northern city of Monterrey has put new pressure on the government to regulate a rapidly growing gambling industry that many Mexicans believe is vulnerable to corruption, money laundering and extortion.

The state of Nuevo Leon, where Monterrey is located, launched a new offensive Wednesday against casinos as a videotape was released of the brother of the city's mayor taking wads of cash inside an unidentified gambling establishment days before last week's deadly arson attack.

Mexico's gaming boom has occurred under the administration of President Felipe Calderon, which has led a bloody crackdown on organized crime. The Calderon government says it has not approved a single casino permit since he took office in late 2006 and blames judges for issuing injunctions to allow gambling halls to operate outside of local authority.

…

"The pace of growth has been very fast, outstripping the authorities' ability to enforce the existing regulations, including prosecuting those who are operating without the necessary permits," David Elizaga, Codere's chief financial officer, said during a conference call with investors last week.

Gambling businesses must report their earnings to Mexico's tax agency, which industry experts say has had trouble monitoring the income of legal operations, let alone illegal ones.

Some 700 soldiers, federal police and tax agents raided 11 casinos and confiscated more than 3,500 machines in Monterrey and Mexico City over the weekend, an operation the tax agency said was part of its regular enforcement…

Read Full Article:  The Associated Press: Mexico gov opens corruption probe in deadly fire

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Why Extraditing Mexico Drug Traffickers Could Strengthen US Gangs

Excerpt:

The significance of this increased contact between Mexican cartels and prison gangs like La Eme and Nuestra Familia is that, through these new supply connections, California and the rest of the United States could see a long term increase in the supply of drugs coming from Mexico and Central America. The connections will likely overlap so that even if the “choke-point strategies” of U.S. law enforcement are successful in arresting those individuals who serve as the links between Mexican cartels and U.S. gangs, the criminal networks will simply shift to other points of contact.

The Law of Criminal Cartels: Practice and Procedure (0)

Read:  Why Extraditing Mexico Drug Traffickers Could Strengthen US Gangs

Latin American Herald Tribune - Mexican Police Chief Finished Off in Ambulance by Gunmen

 

Shadows of Things Past and Images of the Future: Lessons for the Insurgencies in Our Midst

Comment:  While the conflict in Mexico is generally not political, the cartels are subverting rule of law, general safety and security and overall stability.  Mexico appears to continue crumbling before our eyes from a state into fiefdoms.   Insurgencies DO NOT have to be political because the narco-insurgents/terrorists kill all the policy enforcers and creators thereby filling the political/institutional voids to levy and enforce their own form of law in their areas of operation and influence.

Mexican Police Chief Finished Off in Ambulance by Gunmen

GUADALAJARA, Mexico – A wounded municipal police chief was finished off by gunmen while he was being transported to a hospital by a Mexican Red Cross ambulance over the weekend, prosecutors said.

Jesus Caledonio Humildad Galaviz was ambushed and shot Saturday night on a highway in a remote area of Jalisco state near the border with Zacatecas state.

Full article:  Latin American Herald Tribune - Mexican Police Chief Finished Off in Ambulance by Gunmen

Commentary Regarding Nongovernmental Terrorism in Latin America

The discussion catalyst: 

Fieldmann, Andreas E. and Maiju Perala. “Reassessing the Causes of Nongovernmental Terrorism in Latin America”. Latin American Politics and Society, Vol. 46, No. 2 (Summer, 2004), pp. 101-132. Available at http://www.jstor.org/stable/3177176, accessed 9 Jul 2011.

 

The Issue, a Macro View.

The central problem addressed in Fieldmann’s and Perala’s piece, “Reassessing the Causes of Nongovernmental Terrorism in Latin America”, pertained to the identification of the driving factors associated with terrorism, specifically nongovernmental terrorism. It was hypothesized by a number of scholars that terrorism in Latin American was a derivative of the Cold War. During the Cold War it was well known that the two major driving forces for these efforts were the United States and the former Soviet Union. Both nations reportedly supported activities that often involved terrorism in order to disrupt the ideological and political influences of the other party in Latin America. As a result, it was assumed by these scholars that terrorism would cease once the Cold War ended- that did not happen. Instead terrorism continued, and even increased in parts of Latin America.

Okay, Now What?

Caught off-guard, scholars decided to address the issue. They wanted to determine what conditions were conducive for the creation, development and sustainment of nongovernmental terrorism. This approach resulted in a five-part piece, of which, the last piece concludes with the most significant findings resulting from the research effort.

How Was This Done?

As noted previously, the articles consisted of five parts. The first part provides readers a common baseline before moving further into the problem by establishing a definition for terrorism and how it is addressed in the piece. The scholars intentionally separated nongovernmental terrorism from guerilla/insurgent warfare and politically driven conflicts. Second, the part referred to historical records to identify and gauge the growth associated with nongovernmental terrorist movements. Some of this data derived from statistical/quantitative findings. Third, causes were identified and addressed. This data was used to test their assertions. Finally, an analytical conclusion was made. Of note, data sets pertaining to drug-trafficking were not included.

The End Result

Many scholars and government institutions widely disagree with definitions of terrorism. However, this piece basically concluded that terrorist acts deliberately target “noncombatants” and their environmental needs (e.g. water, electricity, police, etc.) that tie to their “well-being” for the purposes of spreading fear and instability.

Several key findings were identified. States with poor human rights records, and poor governance, appeared to have a significant number of nongovernmental terrorist incidences. Ironically, nations that improve civil liberties and improve local conditions found themselves victim to nongovernmental terrorist attacks one year after such changes were made. Scholars assessed that such incidences were a result of political opposition, and that terrorist actions resulted when peaceful means of oppositions were prosecuted unsuccessfully. Terrorist attacks tended to be cyclic. This meant that terrorist attacks seemed to happen in clusters and seemed to follow suit of the original attack.

Of note, the data collection and data sets were limited. This means the findings were not conclusive and further data collection, data processing and analysis is needed.

So What? 

The piece highlighted several key facts that can skew terrorism analysis, particularly the reference to the possibility of eradicating narco-terrorism in Latin America as noted on page 34 ofGlobal Issues: Selections From CQ Researcher by Pine Forge Press 2010. First, terrorism has existed since the birth of man, yet there still continues to be debate regarding the substance and universal meaning of terrorism. Analysis, problem identification and mitigation will be hampered by lack of agreement. Second, the data sets specifically ignore narco-terrorist incidences. Terrorism impacts systems; states consist of a system of systems; meaning that terrorism in whatever form impacts society at large, and not one specific segment. That said, answer to the question on page 34 asking “Can narco-terrorism be eradicated?” will remain no. Why? Words shape policy, and policy controls money, will, resources and force. The value of the piece was its lack of recognition of narco-terrorism as a form of nongovernmental terrorism worth studying. Ergo, the problems will continue.

 

                                                                                                    

Social Science for Counterterrorism: Putting the Pieces Together

Cartel Intelligence Collection Operations on the Web: Mexican Drug War Spreading to the Web

 

Comment:  This article provides some interesting details regarding Mexican Drug Cartel intelligence collection efforts, psychological operations and command/control through the use of the internet in creative ways utilizing social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.

Source and Video Link:  Borderland Beat: Mexican Drug War Spreading to the Web

Borderland Beat: Mexico Blocks Extradition of the 'Queen of the Pacific'

 

A federal court in Mexico has ruled that Sandra Avila Beltran, also known as the “Queen of the Pacific,” cannot be extradited to the United States on drug trafficking charges, a decision which comes as a major victory to one of the most well known figures of Mexico’s criminal underworld.

Read Why Here:  Borderland Beat: Mexico Blocks Extradition of the 'Queen of the Pacific'

Cartel: The Coming Invasion of Mexico's Drug Wars

Ohio - Drug cartels reach into valley

 

Drug cartels reach into valley

August 14, 2011

Article By NATALEE SEELY (nseely@newsandsentinel.com) , Parkersburg News and Sentinel talks about Mexican Drug Cartel ties and activities throughout parts of small town America, such as Parkersburg, Ohio.

The piece highlighted the following items of interest:

• Cartels operating in small rural town often develop working business relationships with local dealers.
• Cartel affiliated groups provide for the needs of their ‘employees’, such as basic necessities e.g. food, clothing transportation and legal aid.
• Drug distributors come to this small-town Ohio area from larger cities like Columbus, Detroit and Chicago to do business.  They tend to be attracted to local strip bars and nightclubs.  Additionally, a large marijuana field was discovered with an estimated value of one-million dollars.
• The local drug activity resulted in “large number of people” with drug addiction.

The so-what to consider here is with the bad US economy, illegal drug distribution and use may increase in small down communities which can contribute to long-term break downs of families and societies.  

Read full article:  Drug cartels reach into valley

Former drug cartel says drug war on Texas-Mexico border likely will last generations | abc13.com

 

"Is this a battle that is not going to be won by the Mexican government?" we asked Tomas, a former cartel thug.

"No, this is going to take years and years -- generations," he replied.

Tomas knows the power of the Zeta Cartel. He openly admits his deadly work in Mexico and in Texas for the cartel.

"Like I say, they know me. They come for me, just like that. There's no law around," Tomas said.

After spending time in a Texas prison, Tomas is back in Mexico, watching this time, as the cartel's influence spreads like wildfire.

"How powerful is the cartel?" we asked him.

"I think they are more powerful than the government," he said.

Just one look at this town of Nuevo Laredo and it's clear who is in control. The cartel killings are everywhere and local police are nowhere.

"It seems as though the drug cartel can pay off everyone, from the lowest to the highest. Is that true?" we asked Tomas.

"That's true," he replied.

Police officers in this town were given an edict, plato o plomo, silver or lead -- cash to keep quiet and play along with the cartel or a bullet to the head.

The officers were fired or quit and soldiers have replaced them. But residents here have no love for the military.

"Who's going to help us? Nobody. We don't have police. The people want the police back to the streets," a Mexican journalist named Susana said.

The fear here is so thick, nobody wants to go on camera. Even soldiers run when they see us. We followed some soldiers as they raced away, reaching speeds of nearly 100 miles an hour.

Full Article:  Former drug cartel says drug war on Texas-Mexico border likely will last generations | abc13.com

Mexico Arrests Suspected Drug Cartel Hitman

 

Mexico Arrests Suspected Drug Cartel Hitman
Voice of America (blog)
Acosta is the suspected chieftain of La Linea gang, in northern Mexico, whose members act as enforcers for the Juarez drug cartel. In 2006, President Felipe Calderon launched an army-led crackdown on Mexico's drug cartels. Since then, more than 41000 ...
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