Thread: The Lords of Narc: A look at Mexico's bloody, and risky, bat

The Lords of Narc: A look at Mexico's bloody, and risky, battle for control
By Troy Turner The Daily Times
Farmington Daily Times
Article Launched:03/20/2007 11:47:53 PM MDT

Today's story is one in a series that examines major changes in Mexico, and how they affect us.

MONTERREY, Mexico — American-trained, high-tech special forces units have turned to the dark side here, using their skills to protect and enforce Mexico's drug lords instead of their native government.

But that's just part of the problem.

Corruption, an age-old practice in Mexico, continues to involve various rungs on the leadership ladder, from the highest government positions on down to the street-corner police officer.

A seemingly endless line of rich American customers, from school children to corporate leaders, provides the big-dollar demand for the diverse supply of illegal drugs that are smuggled across the border.

The United States, distracted by the more emotional debate over immigration, is spending millions of dollars on increased border patrols and technology, some of it successful and some of it failure, while drug agents do battle under the public radar. Meanwhile, the Mexican drug cartels have moved their operations into American cities.

Enter into this expansive and complicated picture a new wildcard: recently elected President Felipe Calderón.

Calderón, in a remarkable string of actions not seen before with such veracity in Mexico, has ordered federal troops into key cities to regain government control. He also has dared to extradite convicted drug lords from their comfortable bases of operations within Mexican prisons to the more rigid and controlling American justice system.

The changing dynamics in the fight for control of Mexico have led to a new type of warfare.

Americans are not distant spectators in this conflict. The effects of its battles and the eventual outcome could have a major impact on everything from the drug trafficking to the war on terrorism, meaning the stakes were never higher, nor more closer to home.


It matters here

The Four Corners region is a few hundred miles north of the Mexican border, and farther from Monterrey, but the old West history and culture still link this American Southwest region to Mexico as if the Spanish priests and soldiers from centuries ago had arrived just yesterday.

The high-desert dust swirls outside as a touch of spring blows in on a late-winter day.

High-desert means higher altitude, and thus cooler temperatures, more water and more trees as the hills quickly turn into the great, snow-capped Rocky Mountains only a few miles farther north.

It is a thriving area, with cities such as Farmington having become a commercial center with its growing medical facilities and a booming oil-and-gas industry. The nearby Navajo Nation town of Shiprock is growing its reputation on the arts scene. But as with any region where the population grows, so seemingly does the demand for illegal drugs.

Here, methamphetamine, or meth, is the No. 1 destroyer of lives among the illegal narcotics available.

Bob Melton is the sheriff of San Juan County, which in northwest New Mexico is one of the largest counties in the nation.

He takes a sip from his lemon water during the noon lunch hour, and then he acknowledges something that he and most every other sheriff all across the United States have come to learn about one of the most notorious drugs during the past two years.

"It's just not done in the garage as much anymore," Melton said. "It's made down there."

"Down there" means Mexico.

New Mexico and old Mexico have many similarities. Both have diverse cultures that include ancient aristocratic European influences from old Spain.

Both have an appreciation of chili, one of the earliest crops linked to ancient civilizations who first learned how to survive on agriculture.

Both are lands with a variety of native tribes and many tongues, in addition to two primary languages, English and Spanish.

And both have a dangerous problem with illegal drugs, made in Mexico.

Despite a horrendous problem with alcohol abuse and drunk drivers, it is meth that most alarms people like Melton in what they see happening in their hometowns, where the drug widely is considered the top contributor to crime and broken families.

Federal data suggests that roughly 80 percent of the meth used in the U.S. comes from larger labs, increasingly found in Mexico.

Given the already established history of cocaine and marijuana trafficking, illegal drugs from Mexico are the crux of perhaps the most serious problem facing all of North America.


Organized crime

Any fight against the drug lords of Mexico started by President Calderón, no matter how successful, likely will require his successor president to be equally dedicated for the world to see measured progress in this nation over a period of time. That is because term limits here allow the president to serve only one, six-year term, meaning someone else will be elected in the next campaign.

Natividad Gonzalez is the governor of Nuevo León, which includes the state capital of Monterrey, one of the more industrial cities in Mexico and certainly one of the better urban areas in terms of infrastructure.

Many political observers in Mexico feel Gonzalez already is positioning himself for a 2012 run at the presidency.

Calderón, who took office in December, had an interesting first 90 days on the job that included challenges to his narrow election victory and major protests over his food-pricing policies. He wasted little time, however, in attacking the drug cartels, going after several top kingpins and authorizing extraditions during his first weeks in office.

Perhaps in a wise move to help Calderón do this, on his first day in office, he ordered a pay raise for federal police and military troops, despite freezing the salary scales for other public servants.

Local police, nationwide, rank much lower on the credibility scale than do federal troops and officers, largely because of widespread corruption. However, as observers note, that makes the current military operations led by Calderón all the more risky because it means the effort cannot fail and tarnish what credibility remains with the trust in the Army.

All of this puts mayors and governors, such as Gonzalez, in a difficult political dilemma.

No local leader appreciates the thought of having federal troops ordered into town to retake control from the drug lords.

On the flip side, if the local police cannot stop the violence or become the target themselves, as in Monterrey where seven officers were gunned down and killed in recent weeks, then desperate means call for desperate measures.

Because the stakes are high in trying to lure more economic progress, international investment and tourism to Mexico, not to mention improving the local quality of life, taking back control and ensuring security is Mexico's greatest priority, Gonzalez admitted.

Put another way: Brutal killings in the streets and a lack of control are not good for business.

"Problem No. 1 we have to face is organized crime," linked mostly with the narcotics trade, Gonzalez said.

"During the last several years, we didn't make it a priority on the national level, and that is a problem for Mexico and the United States both," Gonzalez said.


Men with ambitions

Monterrey is a beautiful city.

When you can see it.

The city sits in a scenic valley between mountainsides, but there are days when the smog is so bad, it is difficult to see the mountains.

Modern architecture abounds in the bridges, buildings and many artistic displays, and it is easy to see why Monterrey is one of Mexico's most thriving metropolitan areas in a nation ill with widespread poverty and poor infrastructure.

Gov. Gonzalez is hoping that once his large state of Nuevo León can earn greater respect as an economic power with less corruption and threat of anarchy, that its American border state to the north, Texas, will welcome greater trade and travel opportunities. "We have a lot of things to do with security and with poverty," he said. "We have the will to change and do better."

He also is watching the American political landscape with interest, such as the influence of New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, whom Gonzalez praised for his open dialogue and knowledge of U.S.-Mexico issues. "I am impressed by the level of communication," he said of Richardson. "That represents his comprehension of the region."

Richardson has declared his interest in seeking the American presidency and is exploring an election campaign.

Gonzalez seems to be making all the moves to position himself for a future similar run in Mexico, and at least one high-ranking American official here agrees with the talk on the streets that the governor will carry great influence.

"The path to the Mexican White House comes through Monterrey," the official said.

That would suggest that Monterrey, and the actions of both Calderón and Gonzalez in their respective approaches to battle with the drug cartels, could make for an interesting case study in Mexican politics over the next six years.


16 bodies found

That same, high-ranking American official, who asked not to be named for security and political reasons, painted a dark picture of the situation presented by Mexico's powerful lords of narcotics.

After years of crackdowns on cocaine production farther south in Columbia and other regions of Central America, "Mexican cartels have filled the void and taken the role of getting drug shipments to the U.S.," he said. "That is why you see the escalation of violence."

Cocaine remains one of the top money-makers for the cartels, which are in bloody conflict over control of primary trade routes for smuggling into the United States.

Corruption and intimidation with death threats rule much of Mexico, the official said, citing one example of where the Mexican media was influenced not to report a story in which 16 bodies were found murdered near the U.S. border. The drug cartels did not want to bring attention to their violent actions and their own warfare.

The journalists complied "because they see these guys operating with impunity," he said.

The drug cartels are very much concerned about getting any increased attention on drug-trafficking violence, from Mexican and especially American officials, who might feel pressured to act toward greater security measures than what are in place now if the public outcry demanded it.

Ironically, the source said, "there are some cases like that where the Narcs tipped the United States to potential Mideast-type problems on our border because they didn't want interference with their own business."

Hinting that the actions could have prevented terrorism plans, he would not share details of what plots might have been spoiled because of the help from drug traffickers looking to keep the American spotlight elsewhere.

He did acknowledge, however, that targets existed in the area that if taken out, would have profound impact on the American economy. Among them are the key bridges linking primary trade routes between Mexico and the United States. The economic effects of a devastating attack on those bridges, he said, would be "far greater than the amount of damage done with the World Trade Center."

Although the targets are much different, the ability to conduct terrorism campaigns also is well within the capability of the drug cartels.

One such group of immense concern to federal authorities in both countries is the U.S.-trained elite paramilitary unit known as the "Los Zetas."


Invading the U.S.

A senior FBI official, Chris Swecker, told a congressional committee in 2005 that paramilitary groups such as the Zetas are a serious threat to public safety on both sides of the entire U.S.-Mexico border.

"They are well financed and well equipped," he said. "Their willingness to shoot and kill law enforcement officers on both sides of the border makes these paramilitary groups among the most dangerous criminal enterprises in North America."

The Zetas are made up of Army deserters, former anti-drug federal policemen and others who defected to the higher-paying ways of the cartel they serve. Along with their special-operations training is the ability to use high-tech surveillance methods, such as monitoring phone calls and tapping into computer bases to learn more information about those who gain the cartel's attention.

Los Zetas was established in 1998 by Osiel Cárdenas Guillén, the leader of the Gulf Cartel, and the militia's original mission was primarily to ensure safe passage of drugs or other cargo into the U.S.

Today, their task includes enforcement, as the cartel charges a 10 percent tax to those using its trade routes, with the penalty of death often falling on those who refuse to pay. Meanwhile, other cartels in Mexico are fighting for similar interests.

That is why American officials were elated when the new Mexican president, Calderón, recently extradited 15 top drug kings to the United States in an extraordinary message sent to the cartels in the battle for control of Mexico's streets.

The 15 represented leadership in each of Mexico's most powerful cartels, including the Tijuana cartel, the Juarez cartel, the Gulf Cartel and the Federation. "Geographically, it's a clean sweep," said Karen Tandy, an administrator with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency.

"This is the first time in the history of Mexico that they have extradited to the United States what amounts to a clean sweep geographically of the cartel leadership," she said.

Among those extradited was Cárdenas Guillén, the founder of the Zetas. He is thought to be responsible for moving four to six tons of cocaine per month into the U.S., across major transit routes in the Southwest, and into cities throughout the country.

"It is ironic that Osiel Cárdenas Guillén was a former Mexican police officer who obviously betrayed the public trust of Mexico and exploited his knowledge to protect the Gulf Cartel," Tandy said. During the past eight years, he "manned one of the most brutal and powerful drug cartels in the world. For the last four of those years, he did it from within a Mexican prison outside of Mexico City." Now, he faces a long list of federal charges in Texas.


A risky gamble

The drug and smuggling trade in Mexico is much too powerful, much too lucrative and much too entrenched with its long arms of corruptive influence to be destroyed by one president, a president who also has his own critics claiming improper influences and poor economic management after less than three months of the new administration.

Nevertheless, Calderón is making a statement in his new battle against the drug lords, having dispatched as many as 25,000 troops to locations throughout Mexico.

The United States is watching closely, concerned about the fine-tuned organization of drug smuggling with cocaine, meth and humans, and well aware that cartels and militias such as the Zetas could, if they so desired, sell their services to terrorist organizations.

That is why Calderón's actions are drawing high praise from high places in the American government.

"We can't say enough about the overall effort that is going on with the Calderón administration in confronting some of the most powerful and vicious criminal organizations in the world," U.S. Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty said in a recent conference call with senior administration officials to discuss the sudden upswing in high-profile extraditions.

"Because of these organizations' vast financial resources and the use of violence in promoting their criminal activity, they've achieved a major influence within Mexico," he said. "The Calderón administration has staked out a position in favor of law-abiding citizens everywhere in both the United States and Mexico by choosing to stand up to these vicious criminals."

Perhaps, but Calderón must survive, both politically and literally, while swimming against a strong current of corruption. He will need the help of the independent-thinking Mexican Congress to pass laws with teeth, and to help arm him with his biggest weapon for change: Finding a prosperous economy.

He also will need the help of the Mexican military, with hopes that the country's one remaining branch of enforcement that holds credibility in the eyes of its countrymen will remain loyal and be victorious.

Calderón cannot afford to lose.

And neither can Mexico.


Troy Turner is the editor of The Daily Times and has covered important issues throughout the world during his career, including in South Africa, Jordan, India and Europe. He can be contacted at P.O. Box 450, Farmington, N.M. 87499; or at tturner@daily-times.com.


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