MartínBeltrán
Coronel, alias 'The Eagle', suspected of succeeding his deceased
uncle Nacho Coronel as the head
of the Sinaloa Cartel, was recently caught and
rapidly released for 'procedural
errors' surrounding his arrest. Sinaloa is just
one of a number of cartels operating, and
corrupting public officials, in the U.S.
U.S. Lawmakers
Blind to Cartels and Corruption in their Midst (El Universal, Mexico)
"According
to the U.S. government itself, seven Mexican cartels operate in that country,
where they obtain resources through the sale of drugs and weapons to further extract
income from the population of Mexico. … The
dimensions of the influence amassed by Mexico's organized crime cartels would
be unthinkable without the active involvement of accomplices within the U.S. government.
Up until now, it has been found that the level of infiltration has reached border
county sheriffs. One must consider the possibility that these networks have
already spread beyond that to other authorities."
Forty years ago, the then president of United States,
Richard Nixon, took his country into the longest war it has ever been
involved in: the "war on drugs." It is a campaign that this great global
power, based on all the evidence, has lost.
The effects of that defeat have influenced U.S. public
opinion: the states of Colorado and Washington have already legalized marijuana
for recreational use and 19 others allow for the consumption of the plant for
medicinal purposes. In Mexico, lawmakers haven't even begun to discuss the
issue.
The problem is that the Mexican cartels, which initially
only exported drugs, have diversified: in addition to their drug-related
activities, they have added the exploitation of persons, extortion and
kidnapping. In addition, these activities are also indirectly assisted by the
world's largest consumer of drugs:
According to the U.S. government itself, seven Mexican
cartels operate in that country, where they obtain resources through the sale
of drugs and weapons to further extract income from the population of Mexico. According
to a report from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS for its acronym
in English), at least 2,000 police officers in the country are under
investigation for alleged links to organized crime.
It's not a new subject that should come as a surprise to our
neighboring country. During President Obama's first administration, about 130 U.S.
Customs & Border Protection agents were arrested on charges of corruption
linked to the drug cartels in Mexico. In 2009 alone, the DHS Inspector General's
Office opened 839 corruption investigations involving agents of that agency.
Posted By Worldmeets.US
The dimensions of the influence amassed by Mexico's organized
crime cartels would be unthinkable without the active involvement of
accomplices within the U.S. government. Up until now, it has been found that
the level of infiltration has reached border county sheriffs. One must consider
the possibility that these networks have already spread beyond that to other
authorities.
Based on the Manichean argument that
corruption only affects Mexico, U.S. Congressmen have called on the government in
Washington to reconsider its cooperation with Mexico's battle against crime,
and have even suggested reconsidering the provision of indispensible material
and logistical support. They ignore that the United States itself is in the
midst of a battle against widespread corruption without which these huge
criminal organizations would not have the influence they already possess.
