Today Mexican Marines recaptured Sinoloa Cartel leader Joaquin (El Chapo) Guzman in a raid in Los Mochis, Sinoloa. El Chapo escaped from prison in 2015 and was on the loose for months prior his recapture. But the Drug War there goes on, and I believe it is in reality a "civil" war. Last year nearly 20,000 Mexicans were killed in this war.
I have termed this war a civil war because in reality it involves a struggle between legitimate government (the people) and criminal enterprises (again, the people). These criminal enterprises, the various "cartels" that control the drug trade in their respective "jurisdictions" are actually engaged in rebelling against and overthrowing the elected government. The cartels have infiltrated the military, the civilian government at all levels, and industry. One level of government the cartels have penetrated (maybe this is an industry as well) is the Mexican prison system.
El Chapo will return to a prison somewhere in Mexico. This is what is supposed to happen. Now, factor in the various cartels. There is no way to know how many members of what cartels work in, cater to, or even ADMINISTRATE the prisons there. El Chapo will be once again housed in a prison somewhere that may be operated to some extent by cartel-connected guards, officers, and even wardens. To help prevent another "escape" the United States Department of Justice, through Attorney General Lynch, has mentioned that perhaps El Chapo would stay in prison longer if he were extradited to the United States, where he has been indicted by several states and the federal government for various narcotic and racketeering law violations.
I believe that this is a valid concern. We have in seen in Mexico both corrupt prison administrators and guards, and intimidated prison officials. Who can blame a prison warden for letting all the prisoners go, when his entire family is threatened with death? This is believed to have been what facilitated El Chapo's escape in the first place. On the other hand, if El Chapo were guarded by corrupt prison officials, he could easily buy his way out of prison. Either way, there is a strong likelihood that El Chapo will again somehow get out of jail a little early if he remains in the Mexican prison system.
President Nieto has his work cut out for him. One, he has to keep El Chapo in prison somehow, while at the same time convincing the United States DOJ that El Chapo will indeed serve his sentence in Mexico. That is a problem, but there is a bigger problem for President Nieto. He has to find some means of stopping the war. He may not be successful, as none of his predecessors have. At stake are not just the drug trade profits, but now the much diversified enterprises the cartels control. The combined cartel budgets are probably a match for that of the Mexican government. This is speculation on my part, but I am sure you can find sources that would support this speculation. But there is another statistic that is more alarming to me.
In the years from 2007 through 2014, approximately 21, 415 Afghanistan citizens were killed in the ongoing US created "war on terror" (WOT). Turning to Iraq, 81,636 Iraqis have perished in the ongoing civil war there, again a result of the US created WOT. But in Mexico during those same seven years, 164,345 people have died in the War On Drugs. Arguably the United States started this one as well. But the death toll in Mexico is hardly news-worthy anymore. We in the United States are concerned about where we can "safely" travel in Mexico, but beyond that we hardly bat an eye at what is happening over there. To the Mexicans, death is so frequent and so close that many citizens just exist, no longer having any faith in the federal government, and awaiting the inevitable cartel "takeover" of their towns and villages.
So El Chapo has been recaptured. That is one up for the Mexican government and the brave Marines who took part in the raid. The Marines are particularly brave given that they probably have cartel infiltrators in their own numbers, some of whom may have tipped off (or tried to tip off) El Chapo that they were on the way to capture him. I wonder how many will give their lives to keep this worthless criminal in jail, and how many others will die until the Mexican government finally defeats the cartels and brings law and order back to that nation.
Good luck, President Nieto, and may God bless all the Mexican people.
I have termed this war a civil war because in reality it involves a struggle between legitimate government (the people) and criminal enterprises (again, the people). These criminal enterprises, the various "cartels" that control the drug trade in their respective "jurisdictions" are actually engaged in rebelling against and overthrowing the elected government. The cartels have infiltrated the military, the civilian government at all levels, and industry. One level of government the cartels have penetrated (maybe this is an industry as well) is the Mexican prison system.
El Chapo will return to a prison somewhere in Mexico. This is what is supposed to happen. Now, factor in the various cartels. There is no way to know how many members of what cartels work in, cater to, or even ADMINISTRATE the prisons there. El Chapo will be once again housed in a prison somewhere that may be operated to some extent by cartel-connected guards, officers, and even wardens. To help prevent another "escape" the United States Department of Justice, through Attorney General Lynch, has mentioned that perhaps El Chapo would stay in prison longer if he were extradited to the United States, where he has been indicted by several states and the federal government for various narcotic and racketeering law violations.
I believe that this is a valid concern. We have in seen in Mexico both corrupt prison administrators and guards, and intimidated prison officials. Who can blame a prison warden for letting all the prisoners go, when his entire family is threatened with death? This is believed to have been what facilitated El Chapo's escape in the first place. On the other hand, if El Chapo were guarded by corrupt prison officials, he could easily buy his way out of prison. Either way, there is a strong likelihood that El Chapo will again somehow get out of jail a little early if he remains in the Mexican prison system.
President Nieto has his work cut out for him. One, he has to keep El Chapo in prison somehow, while at the same time convincing the United States DOJ that El Chapo will indeed serve his sentence in Mexico. That is a problem, but there is a bigger problem for President Nieto. He has to find some means of stopping the war. He may not be successful, as none of his predecessors have. At stake are not just the drug trade profits, but now the much diversified enterprises the cartels control. The combined cartel budgets are probably a match for that of the Mexican government. This is speculation on my part, but I am sure you can find sources that would support this speculation. But there is another statistic that is more alarming to me.
In the years from 2007 through 2014, approximately 21, 415 Afghanistan citizens were killed in the ongoing US created "war on terror" (WOT). Turning to Iraq, 81,636 Iraqis have perished in the ongoing civil war there, again a result of the US created WOT. But in Mexico during those same seven years, 164,345 people have died in the War On Drugs. Arguably the United States started this one as well. But the death toll in Mexico is hardly news-worthy anymore. We in the United States are concerned about where we can "safely" travel in Mexico, but beyond that we hardly bat an eye at what is happening over there. To the Mexicans, death is so frequent and so close that many citizens just exist, no longer having any faith in the federal government, and awaiting the inevitable cartel "takeover" of their towns and villages.
So El Chapo has been recaptured. That is one up for the Mexican government and the brave Marines who took part in the raid. The Marines are particularly brave given that they probably have cartel infiltrators in their own numbers, some of whom may have tipped off (or tried to tip off) El Chapo that they were on the way to capture him. I wonder how many will give their lives to keep this worthless criminal in jail, and how many others will die until the Mexican government finally defeats the cartels and brings law and order back to that nation.
Good luck, President Nieto, and may God bless all the Mexican people.
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