The Mexican Government And Its Army Were Defeated This Week By The Sinaloa Cartel

Cartel gunmen are seen during clashes with federal forces in Culiacan on Oct. 17. Jesus Bustamante—Reuters

Time: How The Sinaloa Cartel Bested The Mexican Army

In Mexico’s big cities, drug cartel gunmen normally act like phantoms. They hide in safe houses or amid communities, suddenly striking with an assassination or a gunfight, and then disappearing again. Residents know they are there and are scared, but most the time, they can’t see them.

But on Thursday in the Sinaloan city of Culiacan, the cartel gunmen were everywhere. They openly drove in trucks with mounted machine guns, blockaded streets flashing their Kalashnikovs and burned trucks unleashing plumes of smoke like it was a scene in Syria. They took control of the strategic points in the metro area, shut down the airport, roads, and government buildings and exchanged fire with security forces for hours, leaving at least eight people dead. In contrast, everyone else had to act like ghosts, hiding behind locked doors, not daring to step outside.

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WNU Editor: The murder rate is now at an all-time high in Mexico, and the drug cartels showed this week who is in control in this part of Mexico. If this continues, and it will, support for President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's policy of appeasement and accommodation towards the cartels is going to disintegrate.

Update: Cartel "Narco Tanks," Heavy Weapons On Full Display During Battle Over El Chapo's Son (Warzone/The Drive)

El Chapo's Cartel Launches Military-Style Assault On Mexican Forces

National Post/Washington Post/Reuters: El Chapo's cartel launches military-style assault on Mexican forces, securing his son's release from custody

Mexican officials briefly detained Ovidio Guzman, but as the cartel freed prisoners from a local jail and turned Culiacán into a war zone, they let him go

Heavy gunfire consumed the streets of Culiacán on Thursday, as Mexican security forces struggled to fend off members of the Sinaloa cartel, once led by notorious drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. Members of the cartel deployed across the city with military-grade weapons, a remarkable, live-streamed glimpse into their ability to overwhelm the state.

Mexican officials briefly detained Ovidio Guzman, one of Guzman’s sons who has emerged as a leading figure in the cartel after his father was arrested in 2016. But as the cartel took to the streets, apparently freeing dozens of prisoners and turning the city into an urban war zone, Mexican authorities decided to release Guzman.

Security Minister Alfonso Durazo told Reuters that Guzman was released to protect lives; reports indicate the cartel took eight government soldiers hostage, as a bargaining chip to secure the cartel heir’s release.

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WNU Editor: Mexico's President is defending the actions taken by the security forces .... Mexican president defends retreat in face of cartel gunmen (AP).

More News On Today's Firefight In Mexico

Gunbattles rattle Mexican city after troops find Chapo’s son -- AP
'Failure:' Mexico admits bungled arrest of kingpin's son amid mayhem -- Reuters
Gunfight rages in Mexico after troops arrest then release El Chapo’s son -- France 24
El Chapo's son caught and released by Mexican police after intense gunfight -- ABC News Online
Mexico: Shootout rages in El Chapo's Sinaloa cartel stronghold -- DW
'We do not want war': Mexico president defends release of El Chapo’s son -- The Guardian
Police release El Chapo's son amid shootout with Sinaloa drug cartel -- UPI
El Chapo: Mexican president says police 'did right' to free drug lord's son -- BBC
Cartel gunmen terrorize Mexican city, free El Chapo's son -- Reuters
Gun battle thwarts Mexico attempt to arrest son of 'El Chapo' -- Al Jazeera

A Former Mexican Drug Cartel Assassin Is Now Targeting His Former Associates

Jeremy Kryt

Daily Beast: In Mexico’s Cartel Country, a Murderer Who Kills Murderers Tells His Story

First he trained and worked as an assassin for Mexico’s most powerful crime group; now he uses that training to “clean up” cartel infestations.

CHILPANCINGO, Mexico—The safe house sits on a side street in a barrio that looks out on the well-lit downtown of Guerrero’s state capital and the dark foothills beyond. A late-model pick-up truck is parked in the street, and the surrounding alleys are scrawled with graffiti. It’s just past sunset on a late summer evening and a woman is trudging up the hill with a basket of bread, calling out her wares. Otherwise the street is silent. Then the hit man steps from the shadows behind the parked truck and waves me on toward the safe house.

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WNU Editor: Murderers killing murderers. It makes you realize how hopeless the drug war has become in Mexico.

Mexican President Lopez Obrador Wants To Legalize All Illegal Drugs

WNU Editor: This Mexican plan was released last month .... Mexico Wants to Decriminalize All Drugs and Negotiate With the U.S. to Do the Same (Newsweek). What's my take? This plan will cripple the drug cartels, but there will be a heavy health cost. There was a reason why the U.S. banned drugs like cocaine, morphine, heroin, etc. over a century ago, and it was to address the massive health crisis that evolved from Civil War veterans who became addicted to opiates. Are we repeating history? I hope not. But making addictive drugs available to the public will have consequences, and it will certainly encourage Americans to travel to Mexico to get there fix.

Mexico's Marines Are Leading The Fight Against The Cartels

Mexican Marines. AFP

Camilo Carranza, Business Insider/InSight Crime: Mexico's marines are leading the fight against cartels — and they're killing more and more criminals and civilians

* Mexico's marines have been deployed to lead the fight against the country's cartels and criminal groups.
* Those marines have become far more deadly in recent years, killing suspected criminals and civilian bystanders.
* That has raised concern as Mexico moves ahead with the formation of a new paramilitary force to address widespread insecurity.

Recent data shows that Mexican marines have become far more lethal in clashes with armed gangs, raising concerns of accountability at a time when Mexico prepares to send a new National Guard unit into the streets.

During the past 12 years, Mexican marines have engaged in at least 400 battles with allegedly armed civilians, killing over 400 people, according to data obtained by Animal Politico. All but one of the deaths came within the last seven years, the data from the Navy Secretariat (Secretaria de Marina Armada — Semar) shows.

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WNU Editor: President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is trying to change this by creating a special National Guard unit. But considering how heavily armed and vicious Mexico's drug cartels are, I wish him luck.

Mexico's President Declares An End To The Drug War

Mexico’s president-elect, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, addresses the media. Photograph: Edgard Garrido/Reuters

Time: 'There Is Officially No More War.' Mexico's President Declares an End to the Drug War Amid Skepticism

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador declared an end to his country’s war on drugs Wednesday, announcing that the army would no longer prioritize capturing cartel bosses, Agence France-Press reports.

“There is officially no more war. We want peace, and we are going to achieve peace,” he said at a daily press briefing after being asked if his government had captured any kingpins since he assumed office in December.

“No capos have been arrested, because that is not our main purpose. The main purpose of the government is to guarantee public safety … What we want is security, to reduce the daily number of homicides.”

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WNU Editor: This reminds me of the old saying .... "you may not want war, but war wants you". This announcement is premature.

Mexico's Notorious Drug Lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman Escapes From Prison (Again)

Reuters: Mexico kingpin 'Chapo' Guzman stages brazen jailbreak in blow to president

Mexico's most notorious drug lord, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, broke out of a high-security prison on Saturday night for the second time, escaping in a tunnel built right under his cell, and heaping embarrassment on President Enrique Pena Nieto.

The kingpin snuck out of the prison through a subterranean tunnel more than 1.5 km (1 mile) long that ended at an abandoned property near the local town, National Security Commissioner Monte Alejandro Rubido told a news conference on Sunday.

Guzman, who had bribed his way out of prison during an escape in 2001, was seen on video entering his shower area at 8:52 p.m. on Saturday (0152 GMT Sunday), then disappeared, the National Security Commission (CNS) said.

More News On The Escape Of Mexico's Notorious Drug Lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman

Escape by top drug lord a strong blow to Mexico’s government -- Washington Post
Mexican Drug Kingpin, El Chapo, Escapes Prison Through Tunnel -- NYT
Top Mexican drug lord Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman escapes from prison using tunnels, officials say -- FOX News
Massive manhunt for escaped Mexican drug lord Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán -- Washington Post
Dismay in US over Guzman's escape from Mexican prison -- FOX News/AP
Escape by Top Drug Lord a Strong Blow to Mexico's Government -- NYT

A Bloody Day In Mexico's Drug Wars

Daily Mail/AP: Gun battle on Mexican ranch leaves at least 42 cartel members dead in THREE HOUR bloody siege against federal troops

 * Forty-two suspected drug gang gunmen and one officer killed at Rancho del Sol in Michoacan state
 * Authorities would not name gang involved, though area next to Jalisco state dominated by New Generation
 * Police helicopter called in for deadly battle, after which authorities found a grenade launcher that had been fired and dozens of other high-powered cartel weapons

At least 43 people died Friday in what authorities described as a fierce, three-hour gunbattle between federal forces and suspected drug gang gunmen on a ranch in western Mexico, the deadliest such confrontation in recent memory.

All the dead were suspected criminals except for one federal police officer, National Security Commissioner Monte Alejandro Rubido said.

He said the officer died trying to help a colleague wounded in the shootout.

Photographs from the scene showed bodies, some with semi-automatic rifles and others without weapons, lying in fields, near farm equipment and on a blood-stained patio strewn with clothes, mattresses and sleeping bags.

WNU Editor: 42 drug cartel members dead .... one officer killed .... this was not a gun battle, this was a massacre.

More News On Yesterday's Bloody Gun Battle Between Mexican Federal Forces And Drug Cartel Members

Mexico gunfight kills 43 as government hits gang hard -- Reuters
An 'intense gunfight' kills 43 in troubled Mexican state -- AFP
Fierce gunbattle kills 43 in west Mexico cartel territory -- AP
Mexican gunfight kills 43 as police and drug cartels battle on ranch -- The Independent
Gunfight kills 42 cartel members in Mexico -- SKY News
Mexico gang shoot-out leaves dozens dead -- BBC

Cocaine Is Not The Only Drug Fueling Mexico's Drug Cartel Wars

Soldiers guard packages of marijuana at a military base in Tijuana. Mexican soldiers discovered 12 ton of marijuana in trucks at Mexico's border with California last year. REUTERS/Jorge Duenes

In Mexico, A High Point For Pot Farms -- Miami Herald/McClatchy News

With authorities focusing on other areas, Mexico's marijuana trade is reaping the benefits, drawing business in the U.S.

CORRE COYOTE, Mexico -- Times are good for the dope growers of the western Sierra Madre mountains. The army eradication squads that once hacked at the illicit marijuana fields have been diverted by the drug war that's raging elsewhere in Mexico.

The military's retreat has delighted farmers who are sowing and reaping marijuana. Cannabis cultivation in Mexico soared 35 percent last year and is now higher than at any time in nearly two decades, the State Department says.

It's also been a boon for Mexico's powerful organized-crime groups.

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My Comment: I live in Quebec, and I have a farm a few miles from the U.S. border. Every summer when I check the property, I am always finding small pot plantations here and there. This is not an isolated incident, all of my neighbors have the same problem, and we all know that criminal gangs are behind this type of enterprise.

Fortunately, the police in Quebec are nowhere near the corruption levels that exist in Mexico, but it is very disquieting to see how narcotics and drugs can quickly transform what was once a poor but peaceful country like Mexico (a place that I visited every year in the 1980s) .... into what it is today. And need we not forget .... but the first cash crop for Mexico's drug cartels was marijuana, providing the seed money to enter other criminal activities including heroin, cocaine, and God only knows what else.

Mexico's Cartel War Is Now In America

Mexican Police: Photo from LA Times

Wave of Drug Violence Is Creeping Into Arizona From Mexico, Officials Say -- The New York Times

PHOENIX — The raging drug war among cartels in Mexico and their push to expand operations in the United States has led to a wave of kidnappings, shootings and home invasions in Arizona, state and federal officials said at a legislative hearing on Monday.

The drug trade has long brought violence to the state, which serves as a hub as illicit drugs and illegal immigrants are smuggled to the rest of the nation.

Over all, in this city and surrounding Maricopa County, homicides and violent crime decreased last year. But the authorities are sounding an alarm over what they consider changing tactics in border-related crime that bear the marks of the violence in Mexico.

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My Comment: I hear administration officials from Hommeland Security to the White House talk about how they are prepared to encounter the drug wars when they start to enter the United States.

As far as I am concerned .... the drug wars are here already, and have been here for a long time.

Mexico: The Coming Collapse

Open warfare has erupted in the last two years between the Mexican government and the country's powerful drug cartels. President Felipe Calderon has deployed more than 20,000 troops into areas dominated by the ruthless drug gangs. (Televisa)/ABC News

From Strategy Page:

The internet has been rife with reports that US Joint Forces Command (JFCOM) is predicting the collapse of Mexico. The root of this story lies in a study produced by JFCOM entitled; The Joint Operating Environment (JOE). The report appeared in November 2008, and was intended for use in "long range planning guidance." It was not meant to predict anything. Media sensationalists latched on to the comments about "rapid collapse" scenarios in the JFCOM speculative study and totally missed the point that this was a "what if?" scenario for planning purposes, not a prediction. JFCOM's long-range planners thought Pakistan and Mexico were "worst cases" of rapid collapse. Okay, this is fodder for wargaming and long-range planning excursions. No doubt a Mexican collapse would have huge effects on the US. However, the direct comparison to Pakistan was a huge stretch. For numerous reasons we will get to in a moment -- though we were glad to see JFCOM discussing Mexico and its complex security challenges.

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My Comment: Pakistan is a far worse case than Mexico. It's society is not as fractured as Pakistan's, and it is money not religion that is motivating many who are fighting against the central government. In Pakistan, religion is the rallying cry .... a far more difficult foe to fight against.