Mexican army success mixed so far in combating drugs

Thanks to: UPI.com

The Mexican army is claiming progress in battling drug cartels siting the arrest of a suspected cartel leader in Cancun and the separate detention of 25 suspected traffickers dressed as soldiers.

However other reports speak of gang members dressed as Mexican soldiers harassing and burning villages. 53 inmates even broke out of a jail with the help of a convoy of trucks. Prison guards were held for questioning afterwards because security camera footage reveled guards doing nothing to stop the prisoners from leaving.

As much as I hate to say it the worse things get down there the better it will be for getting marijuana legalised in this country. That may even be true for us as well, the worse it gets here legalization of marijuana will only look like a better option.

I'll keep my first real post in a wile short, let me close by reminding you to call your congress people and let them know that marijuana legalization is important to you. The sooner we fix the law in the US equates to less suffering for the Mexican people caught in the middle of a pointless drug war.

I'll Be Right Back!

I want to apologise to all of the people who started following this blog recently. Lexi is home now and she has to stay downstairs because of her broken legs. The computer, of course, is upstairs and because of this I have not even turned it on in the past four days. I borrowed a second hand router to solve that problem but it doesn't like vista and I haven't had the time to fix it. 

I plan to continue this blog at the publishing frequency it was at before this accident. I have no idea when that will be, but at worst it shouldn't be any longer than mid June. I'll post what I can in the mean time.

Anyone who has dealt with caring for someone, human or animal, after a major injury knows how physically and emotionally draining it is so thank you for your understanding.

Keep up the fight to end marijuana prohibition and I'll talk to you all as soon as possible.

Peace,

-Vegantoker

Please help Lexi!

I know this is not what this site is about, but our wonderful pitbull terrier Lexi fell off a 20-30ft bridge last night onto asphalt. She broke both right legs, shattering her rear leg and requiring amputation. Her front leg is fixable, thankfully. Neither my girlfriend or I have much money, as a matter of fact just getting by month to month can be tough. Now,  $7,000 in vet bills (at least, we don't know the final amount yet) later, we don't know what we are going to do, besides whatever we can do to help our dog. 

I understand no one has money right now but anything you could do, even a dollar would be greatly aprecated. Please email me  if you would be willing to help in any way, or have some idea as to how to go about paying for her bills. 

Thank you all so much for reading this. I will post some pictures too as soon as we get them off our phones.

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UPDATE: We heard from the vet yesterday (Monday) and he said Lexi will be able to keep her rear leg! Turns out the back leg will be easier to fix then the front. Her Surgery is today, so wish her luck!  

P.S. that's the bridge she jumped off. 36ft from the asphalt to were her feet left the ledge. A human person might have died, let alone a 60lb dog. She's a miracle puppy.

Undercover Mexican drug agents killed

Thanks to: BBC News

Mexican drug kingpin  Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman is probably to blame for the two agent's deaths. A note reading, "Neither priests or rulers will ever get El Chapo" was found with the bodies. The Mexican government has issued a 2 million dollar reward to informants that help arrest  the 24 most wanted drug kingpins in Mexico.

"The note may represent a major change in the drugs war in Mexico which has seen 8,000 people killed in the past two years as drug gangs fight for territory amid government crackdowns."

The only change I see is the drug gangs showing the government in no uncertain terms that they are ready for a fight. Obviously not much of a change at all. The United States and Mexico's policy regarding the Mexican drug cartels' is like fighting a fire with gasoline instead of water. What makes it even more insane in this case is the fire hydrant full of water is two feet away from the gas, and it costs less too.

Mexican official says army will fight drug war until 2013

Thanks to: Reuters

"Monte Alejandro Rubido, who recently joined President Felipe Calderon's National Security Council as a technical director, said troops would stay at the core of the war on drug cartels who have slaughtered nearly 2,000 people so far this year, mainly rival smugglers and police." (italics mine)

Facing a corrupt Mexican police force that, understandably, has in many cases chosen to supplement their income providing protection for the cartels', the Mexican government has resorted to using their army to fight the cartels' and retrain and modernise the police. Now Mexican officials are on record saying the Mexican army will be involved until at least 2013. The first question that comes to mind is how does Mexico plan to pay for this war? With a global recession that is showing no signs of ending, Mexico's defence budget will almost certainly have to be cut between now and 2013.  The cartels' on the other hand have no shortage of cash flow and could in theory continue battling the Mexican army indefinitely wile simultaneously continuing their drug smuggling operation. 

As I highlighted in the above quote the cartels' violence is mainly directed at those who stand in the way of profits. Most of the violence began as infighting between cartels' competing for the best smugging routes and landing strips.  As the government of Mexico has tried to quell the fighting they have also become targets. 

"Several high-profile arrests, including that of a presidential guardsmen who allegedly received $100,000 a month to track Calderon for drug traffickers, have also revealed drug cartel infiltration inside the military." (italics mine)

I love this part for so many reasons. Mainly the fact that it is the very last sentence of the article. Anyways, Hey guess what? The army is on it's way to becoming just as corrupt as the police force! I don't think that might be a bit of a problem in waging a 4 year against the same drug gangs that are "infiltrating" the army, do you? 

Well, do you?

Signs point to Mexican government in cartels' pocket

Via: LA Times

"Reporting from Mexico City -- In the tense state of Durango, Roman Catholic Archbishop Hector Gonzalez announced over the weekend that the fugitive drug trafficker who tops Mexico's most wanted list was living nearby.

And everyone knows it, he added. Except, it would seem, the authorities, who fail to make an arrest.

A shocking revelation indeed. But in Durango, most local newspapers and television stations declined to report the comments, and for some reason national papers that contained the remarks did not appear on many newsstands."

When stories like this come out it's pretty apparent we already lost this war before the US even gets actively involved in fighting it. If the Mexican cartels' can simply buy off Mexican political leaders and police forces then they have already won any increased armed conflict that the policies of the United States regarding the Mexican drug war may incite.

 

Free the herb this 4/20!

It's time for society to ask what are we accomplishing by keeping marijuana illegal? We lock up productive otherwise law abiding citizens by the hundreds of millions, most for simple possession, deny tens or even hundreds of billions in tax revenue, spend billions on maintaining the war on marijuana, allow a black market to run wild that with no legal means to settle disputes must turn to violence to expand or defend turf, and thousands a year are being murdered in Mexico in drug war violence.

 You would think with sacrifices like these there must be some benefit to marijuana being illegal, but I challenge you to specifically prove what that is. Kids can get pot easier than cigarettes, and more US citizens smoke now then ever. 

Plain and simple Prohibition is a failed policy. It was with alcohol and it is now. It's not a matter of if marijuana will be legal again, it's just a matter of how long it will take for those it Washington to admit they were wrong.

Vote for us!

overgrowthemafia.org is nominated for a bloggers choice award in the catagory of best blog about stuff. Go vote for us and help us end the drug war!

Mexico's government sends 10,000 more soldiers to border city

Mexico seeks tighter lockdown in drug war city

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico, April 16 (Reuters) - Mexico's government is hiring more police and sending federal agents to the bloody border city of Ciudad Juarez, where it already has thousands of troops trying to quell drug violence.

President Felipe Calderon, who has made crushing drug gangs a central goal of his government, sent 10,000 soldiers and federal police into Ciudad Juarez in March.

His government says drug murders in the city have since dropped by 80 percent. But police corruption and complaints of rights abuses threaten to undermine early gains and the federal attorney general's office is sending more agents, recruiting more police and appointing a general as an aide to the city's mayor, the army said on Thursday.

"People are asking what will happen if the army leaves Ciudad Juarez. Well, the army's presence here is permanent, but we are also strengthening all areas of security," army spokesman Enrique Torres said.

So let me get this straight, Mexico has to bring in their army to police the streets permanently in Ciudad Juarez to reduce drug war violence in the city and President Obama is praising Mexico?

What  kind of solution is that? Based on this I guess Mexico and the United States are willing to become police states  before they would allow the legal market to regulate the sale and production of Marijuana. This will result in an unacceptable loss of freedoms and privacy for all citizens just to keep some people from using a plant that they prove

time and again they are going to use

anyways. 

We couldn't ask for a better illustration as to why working to end the war on drugs 

sooner, rather then later will make the transition easier for every sector of society to 

accommodate. The longer the drug war rages in either country the farther we could 

descend into a paramilitary police state designed to protect us from the same violence 

that was created by bad drug policy in the first place. I don't think the US or Mexico can 

afford to continue this path for long, it remains to be seen how long the Mexican cartels' 

can hold out.

What are you doing on 4/20?

I was just surfing around and I found this cool blog at 420-now.blogspot.com. 420 guy wants to know what your doing this weekend. Go share your planned festivities with the world!