The Cartelization of Mexico by WSJ Editorial Board

 Article mostly by the WSJ Editorial staff printed in the "Yucatan Times":

 Following the massacre of members of the LeBarón family, where six minors and three women were murdered, The Wall Street Journal considered that a U.S. military intervention in Mexico “cannot be ruled out”. In its Wednesday editorial, “The Cartelization of Mexico”, they newspaper noted that if Mexico cannot control its territory, the United States will have to do more to protect Americans in both countries.

The Wall Street Journal stated that drug users in the United States are complicit in the violence and murders that take place in Mexican territory. The cites a report by the “Council on Foreign Relations” that says Americans spent nearly $150 billion in 2016 on drugs such as cocaine, marijuana, crystal and heroin, and that synthetic opioids such as fentanyl have aggravated the problem.

—WSJ Editorial—

The slaughter on Monday of three Mormon women and six children, all U.S. citizens who were longtime residents of Mexico, brings home a gruesome reality of the United States neighbor in the south. Drug gangs control huge swathes of the country, and the Mexico City government is too often overwhelmed by the criminal firepower and money.

The women and children were attacked by gunmen as they traveled in SUVs in the northern state of Sonora in broad daylight. Mexican officials said Tuesday that it could have been a case of mistaken identity. But, according to survivors hiding in a nearby forest, one of the women was shot outside her vehicle with her hands up. It seems more likely that the killings were a warning from the drug cartel to everyone in the region, and especially to Mexican officials, that the gangs are responsible.

Details of the killings are shocking, but the truth is that such chaos is a common occurrence in Mexico. A foreign relations paper, updated October 22, reports that killings are rising in the country, often linked to drug cartels. Murder of killings reached a new peak of 36,000 in 2018 and this year has killed an average of 90 a day.

The border states of Sonora and Chihuahua are crucial to the cartels because of their access to the United States and the gigantic US market for illicit drugs. The killings at Sonora police have doubled to around 20 this year, according to Mexico City consulting firm Empra.

The gangs are reckless and want to kill anyone who intervenes, with their families. Last month, about 35 Mexican police and national security forces were forced to release drug lord Ovidio Guzmán after being surrounded and beaten by cartel forces. Ovidio is the son of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, who is currently serving an American prison.

“The hard truth is that Mexico is dangerously close to being a failed state,” Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse said Tuesday, and despite the country’s economic progress in recent decades, he is not far from the security flaws. Especially along routes of drug trafficking, there are essentially cartels.

Mayhem has risen under the Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who took office last year and promised to end the anti-cartel campaign accused by his two immediate predecessors. He called the war on drugs a failure and promised to “start a peace process with organized crime organizations and adopt transitional justice models that guarantee victims’ rights.” This is left-mumbo-jumbo for surrender, and the cartels have taken the message and gone on the offensive.

Americans should also recognize the role their drug caravan plays in inflicting this violent violence. The Foreign Relations report says Americans spent nearly $ 150 billion in 2016 on cocaine, heroin, meth and marijuana, and synthetic opioids like fentanyl compound the problem. Most of this comes across the Mexican border, and the money from the drug sale allows the cartels to bribe law enforcement in both countries.

We are far from Nancy Reagan campaign for “just say no” to drugs. Now elite and entertainment culture sends a message that drug use is a habit without habit, even glamorous. There is more social stigma in the United States against cigarettes than against cocaine or marijuana. Youth are getting the message, and growing demand for drugs is feeding the cartels.

Drug enforcement against the supply of drugs amid such demand is a losing battle, but that does not mean that the cartels can be allowed to destabilize a government next to or control territory like a drug caliphate. The most basic duty of the government is to protect citizens against lawlessness, which means that the massacre of women and children is not allowed on a motorway on the way to the airport.

President Trump offered help to Mexico in a tweet on Tuesday, although Mr. López Obrador responded that “I think we don’t need intervention.” The truth is that the US already provides intelligence and security assistance to Mexico, and police cooperation is extensive.

But if Mexico cannot control its territory, the United States must do more to protect Americans in both countries from the cartels. The Drug Enforcement Administration should be able to find out the identity and location of those who ordered or carried out Monday’s killings, ensuring that their passing would be a signal that American justice has long reach. An American military operation cannot be ruled out.

https://www.theyucatantimes.com/2019/11/the-cartelization-of-mexico-by-wsj-editorial-board/