Mexican drug cartels

Over 85 political candidates have been murdered during Mexico’s brutal election campaign

Over 85 political candidates have been murdered as Mexico gears up to one of its biggest elections ever. Conditions are particularly dangerous for those running for mayor.

“Today is a special day,” said Alma Barragan with excitement in a video she shared with her supporters. The video extended an invitation to a campaign event in the city of Moroleon in central Mexico on Tuesday. It was to be the 61-year-old mayoral candidate’s last video. She was shot dead the same day, in broad daylight.

Legislative, gubernatorial and local elections are all taking place on June 6 in one of the biggest elections Mexico has witnessed. According to the consulting firm Etellekt, Barragan was the 88th candidate to have been murdered this electoral season.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inMexican drug cartels, Mexico, Mexico - Failed State, WTF?

DEA Official: Mexican Cartels Smuggling Fentanyl Across Border With Impunity

Mexican cartels are trafficking deadly narcotics into the United States with impunity, a top Drug Enforcement Administration official said on Monday.

Cooperation between U.S. and Mexican authorities to target cartels has deteriorated amid a surge of illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border, Matthew Donahue, the DEA deputy chief of operations, told NPR. Donahue said Mexican law enforcement have cut off ties with the DEA, fearing punishment from the Mexican government if they cooperate with the U.S. agency—a breakdown that has helped cartels smuggle fentanyl and methamphetamines into the United States.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inMexican drug cartels, Mexico, Mexico - Failed State, USA

Former US Ambassador To Mexico: Cartels Control Up To 40 Percent Of Mexican Territory

Christopher Landau, U.S. ambassador to Mexico during the Trump administration, said during a roundtable event with former diplomats last week that drug cartels control between 35 and 40 percent of Mexican territory.

“I think there is no doubt that they play a broad role in the governance of Mexico,” Landau said.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inMexican drug cartels, Mexico, Mexico - Failed State

Mexico ambush: 13 state police killed in attack on convoy

Thirteen Mexican police officers and investigators have been killed in an ambush as they travelled through a rural region – marking the latest attack on law enforcement by brazen criminal groups.

Eight state police officers and five members of the state’s investigative police force died in the ambush in the municipality of Coatepec Harinas, 125km (78 miles) south-west of Mexico City in Mexico state on Thursday afternoon, according to officials.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inMexican drug cartels, Mexico, Mexico - Failed State

Drug Trafficking: The Dirtiest Little Secret

Here is the answer: Law enforcement corruption. The question? Why are we continuing to fight and lose the “War on Drugs,” proclaimed by President Nixon, almost fifty years ago, in June 1971?

Think about the U.S. forces arrayed against Mexican drug cartels: DEA, FBI, Homeland Security, state police forces, county sheriffs, municipal police forces, even the postal service. We have established High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area task forces with their own regional fusion centers.

The United States is incapable of defeating Mexican cartels? We can transport armored and special operations forces halfway around the world to the Middle East and Southwest Asia, and defeat both conventional and irregular military forces — but we cannot secure our southern border and stop the poisoning of our own population?

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inCrime, Mexican drug cartels, Mexico, Mexico - Failed State, USA