Echoes of Colombia in Mexico drug war

Cartels up stakes with high-profile killings of officials

MEXICO CITY — On the home turf of Mexico's deadliest drug cartels, they hang banners that mock Mexican authorities trying to maintain order. "Little tin soldiers, federal officers made of straw," read one banner in the state of Sinaloa.

But a more powerful message is coming in the brazen and widespread burst of murders, much of it geared toward law-enforcement officials, that has shaken even the most hardened Mexican in recent days.

Even as the body counts spiral in northwestern Mexico, a single killing in Mexico City raised the stakes. Edgar Millan Gomez, acting national police chief, was assassinated at home last week, the highest-ranking official to be killed since President Felipe Calderon took office in 2006.

Millan Gomez's death, a coolly efficient hit in the nation's political and symbolic heart, has raised stark comparisons that Mexico could be heading the way of Colombia of the 1990s, when chunks of territory were out of government control and the indiscriminate killings of police chiefs, judges and prosecutors became commonplace.

This critical juncture for Mexico comes as the U.S. Congress is set to vote this week on the Merida Initiative, a $550 million anti-crime aid package. Bush administration officials say the recent violence shows the urgency for the proposal.

Infiltrating the ranks
But Mexican authorities said Monday that Millan Gomez's slaying was an inside job organized by the Sinaloa cartel. The murder has bolstered skeptics from both U.S. political parties who have questioned whether aid from the Merida Initiative could end up in the wrong hands.

At a news conference Monday, reporters asked Calderon whether he might need to reassess his get-tough approach, which includes the deployment of about 25,000 military troops and federal police to trouble spots.

"Those who insinuate that the government should back away from this strategy are those who would see us abandon journalists, citizens, businessmen, farmers and youth to the clutches of crime," Calderon said.

The United States has backed Calderon's efforts because Mexico is the primary corridor for cocaine and marijuana that enter the U.S. Also, violent clashes between drug traffickers often spill into the U.S., but Mexico has seen some successes, including the extradition of dozens of criminals to the U.S.

Law-enforcement officials expected a violent backlash, but the governor of Sinaloa said the recent clashes are the worst in recent memory.

More than 1,000 Mexicans have died this year in violence tied to organized crime. Security analyst Ana Maria Salazar said the new element is the killing of high-ranking law-enforcement officials.

In addition to Millan Gomez, the No. 2 police official in Ciudad Juarez was slain Saturday in the border city. A week earlier, a federal intelligence official was killed in Mexico City.

Mexican authorities reported Monday night the arrests of six men tied to the Sinaloa cartel in the murder of Millan Gomez, the nation's top police official. Millan Gomez had helped coordinate the arrests of several associates of the cartel's Beltran Leyva family.

Authorities said a lone gunman had been waiting inside Millan Gomez's home. Police immediately arrested Alejandro Ramirez, 34. It was apparently an inside job: One of the masterminds was a federal police officer who had worked in Sinaloa, authorities said.

Jorge Fernandez, a columnist in Excelsior newspaper, is one of several analysts to begin comparing Mexico with Colombia in the 1990s. He noted that it wasn't until Colombia cartels broke every barrier of society that they were eventually neutralized.

"The lessons are useful," Fernandez wrote. "What we are living in these sinister weeks and months appear to be part of a similar process that Colombia endured."

Salazar, a former U.S. Defense Department official who helped craft American military policy in Colombia during the 1990s, said the comparison is not entirely accurate but worries that Mexico is getting closer to that dangerous situation.

"At this point, the criminal organizations really feel they can get away with murder," she said. "Once the cartels decide to systematically kill cops and there is not going to be any consequences, that's what happened in Colombia."

Several risks
Erubiel Tirado, director of national security studies at Iberoamerican University in Mexico City, said the Millan Gomez slaying showed Calderon needs to move faster.

"You can't go back in midstream, but they need to re-evaluate their strategy because it is clearly not working," Tirado said. "The fact that we have such infiltration in the police structures that you can buy or threaten someone at the highest levels, it shows a great vulnerability of the state itself."

U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack also hinted this week at deeper risks, saying the resurgent violence shows a threat to Mexico's "democratic institutions."

While Bush aides see the spate of killings as reason to approve the Merida Initiative, some lawmakers are not so sure. Congressional aides say they expect the measure to come up this week.

Tim Rieser, an aide to U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), chairman of the Senate subcommittee that funds foreign aid programs, said Millan Gomez's murder illustrates that any aid request must include strict American oversight. The slaying "shows the need to help Mexico but it also shows the importance of conditionality and accountability to ensure that U.S. funds don't end up in the wrong hands," Rieser said.

For now, Mexican officials are moving forward with their offensive.

Calderon dispatched a security working group of Cabinet members to Sinaloa on Tuesday and deployed nearly 3,000 more troops there.

James Jones, former U.S. ambassador to the country, said that Mexico is not the ideal partner but that the U.S. must be supportive. He recalled passing intelligence on a drug lord to Mexican authorities in the 1990s and being told "that there are only five people in the whole department they could trust."

"As long as Calderon really keeps up this commitment, I don't think Mexico will be a Colombia," Jones said. " We have to help him."

By Oscar Avila | Tribune correspondent
11:31 PM CDT, May 14, 2008
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-mexico-violence_avi...
-----

Me thinks this is the result of Colombia's need to employ Mexican gangs as middle-men to deliver cocaine shipments into the US due to the fact that Colombian traffikers can no longer export to the US as freely as they once were able to with the help of a few good gringo pilots and captians.

The spike in violence started as Mexican gangs fought for control of the routes, many of which were once used by Mexicans looking for work in the US.

As it becomes more difficult for Colombian drug traffikers to safely deliver the cocaine into the US, they have now begun to ship cocaine to new markets in Europe, which is growing at an alarming rate.

The government of Mexico needs to drop the hammer on these gangs before it slides into the point of no return..... make the banditos pay dearly.

Vive Mexico!

By Medellin Traveler on May 15, 2008, 06:28 in Friendly Talkzone.

lili says on May 15, 2008, 09:28:

It's so sad to see my country go down that path, especially after being here in Colombia for some time and learning how painful it's been for colombians to live through all that violence. It is especially sad because in Mexico all you know is that whatever happens to you there's no authority there to effectively protect you or your family. I know, my family has been through that already.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Simon says on May 15, 2008, 11:21:

Hey Med Traveller....why don't you become 'Tijuana Traveler' instead and leave us Colombians alone?

HERE'S SIMON!!!!

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Medellin Traveler says on May 15, 2008, 14:21:

Simple Simon,

Why did you get your panties into a bunch over one of my post?

Que te pasa?

La cuidad de la primavera, estoy feliz porque te vuelvo a ver - www.medellintraveler.com

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Monpirri says on May 15, 2008, 15:23:

MT, Although you post a lot of stuff about Medellin, Medellin it’s evident that you have managed to put several paisas in your packets, I still see you as a person whose goal is to gradually promote your cultural background via Medellin, Medellin, Medellin, a good example of this are the travel videos you have posted with music from another country but from Colombia on Youtube. Talking about cultural misinformation.

Annette Taddeo for US Congress 2008

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Medellin Traveler says on May 15, 2008, 18:21:

My cultural background?

What do you know about my cultural background besides.... NOTHING!

As far as the videos and music on the YouTube... well I shoot videos on a cheap palm-size camera, download them to my computer, edit on the free movie-maker program, and use songs that I find available on the net which can be downloaded for free. I make 'em quick and cheap, sorry if they are not up to your approval, but I don't have a collection of Colombian music to use in any of my videos.

There's no hidden agenda or motivations on my part behind the making of the videos. Don't read so much into it, enjoy the videos for what they are, videos made by some guy who travelled to Medellin and wanted to share with others the magical city of MEDELLIN!

What does "it’s evident that you have managed to put several paisas in your packets" mean?

La cuidad de la primavera, estoy feliz porque te vuelvo a ver - www.medellintraveler.com

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Monpirri says on May 16, 2008, 07:54:

Like I said last time if you are not familiar with Colombian culture for instance, music, food, traditions, ask the mayor of Medellin he would be able to help you to produce a 100% accurate representation of Colombia! Or you can ask any paisa here who knows anything about Colombian culture, and just in case you do not know it at this point; bachata, zamba, rancheras, regaeton, calypso and rock are not Colombian music. I am pretty sure that you want to create videos and information about Colombia that is not misleading.
I will be glad to assist if you have any questions about any stuff that you want to dessiminate on the net.

Annette Taddeo for US Congress 2008

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Medellin Traveler says on May 16, 2008, 14:33:

Monpirri -

There are many friends who can help with with my little projects, but I do not like depending on most peopel and/or working on their schedules.

I do most of my work when the mood strikes, nothing is planned, these things just happen.

Thanks, I will keep you in mind when/if I have any questions on future projects.

La cuidad de la primavera, estoy feliz porque te vuelvo a ver - www.medellintraveler.com

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Monpirri says on May 16, 2008, 17:27:

Documentaries, professional or not, videos, stories, blogs and other info related to a country should be 100% or more 100% accurate and I do understand that you don't have the time or the money to invest in these little projects but the type of work that you have decided to do requires time and lots of research. You can always get help from this site, I hope.

Annette Taddeo for US Congress 2008

0 funny, 0 helpful.