Joaquín
Guzmán Loera, alias 'El Chapo': Mexico's most wanted
drug
trafficker and one of the richest men in the world according
to
Forbes Magazine, he has been on the run for 11 years. Is the
U.S.
keeping it that way to demonstrate Mexican incompetence?
La Jornada, Mexico
With Tale of Drug
Lord, U.S. Builds Case for Mexico Intervention
"The
U.S. placed 'El Chapo' on the list of the richest men in the world, carefully
avoiding any comment on its sources of information. And if these were indeed
trustworthy, why didn't Washington provide this information to the organs of
justice? No country or body has corroborated this story. Ergo: it is of
interest only to the U.S. Why? It has a lot to do with its intent to further
subjugate our current government - or perhaps the government looming on the
horizon. What is the pretext? Our incompetence."
A U.S. Department of Justice wanted poster for Joaquín
Guzmán Loera, alias 'El Chapo.' The drug lord has been on the run for 11 years. Is that the way the United States wants it?
This text refers to an
unusual event in contemporary political history, and one that the government is keeping
in almost total obscurity. The president is constitutionally responsible for
informing the public about the state of his administration. He can delegate
certain cases depending in what they're about, but what he cannot do is avoid
them.
The case of Joaquín
Guzmán Loera has long since transcended the sphere of criminality and
inserted itself into the conduct of domestic policy - with serious consequences
for international relations. We should point out the willingness of the United
States to exaggerate the importance of this man. It was the United States and no
one else that propagated an inflated and exalted image of this individual.
The U.S. placed him on the
list of the world's richest men, while carefully avoiding any comment on where
such information came from and what the sources were. And if these were indeed
true and trustworthy, why didn't Washington provide this information to the
organs of justice, as the law stipulates? No country or international body,
public or private, has corroborated this story. Ergo: it is of interest only
to the U.S. Why? This is a puzzle to solve, but it certainly has a lot to do with its
intent to further subjugate our current government - or perhaps the government
looming on the horizon. What is the pretext? Our incompetence. The United
States indeed knows something about planning for the future.
The truth is evident, and although
the U.S. doesn't spell it out, it waits for people to deduce it for themselves.
And as the defense secretary disclosed, the Calderón administration has refused
or otherwise failed to deal with this individual or his criminal entourage. It
is plain and simple and demands a fundamental political explanation from Felipe
Calderón: why has justice failed? Eleven years have passed since his escape - and
nothing has been achieved in those 11 years! I don't believe it. Neither do I
believe that Guzmán is hiding in a super-fortress in Sierra Madre. Oh, no. He
is everywhere and nowhere, in an anonymous city, in Mexico or out of it, along
with so many other drug lords.
At the Merida meeting in
February 2007, Calderón asked George W. Bush for software, hardware, training
and many millions of dollars. Then not another word was heard about it. What else
is that electronic equipment for if not locating, tracking and intercepting
communications? Has it all been in vain? Guzmán's escape was 6 years old at
that point and Calderón's war [on drugs] had just begun, as was boasted about
at the meeting. And then nothing happened - why?
He knows and tolerates the
ominous presence of U.S. agents here; he knows what they are doing,
what occupies them. Then why not require from them the results of their already
long years of effort, having at their disposal technological resources that are
nothing short of incredible: radar, satellites, photo-thermal capable aircraft
- like Lockheed's U-2; the monitoring of bank accounts, credit cards, telephone
calls, deposits in offshore fiscal paradises, infiltrators, informers. Why do
we tolerate this lack of success?
Joaquín Guzmán may have
become a piece of the puzzle that we have been unable to assemble and which may
exacerbate bilateral tensions when Washington defines Mexico as a nation at
risk - an inconvenient and potentially dangerous neighbor. Calderon's advisors
certainly know by now what are the real intentions and ulterior motives of
their U.S. associates.
And then their have been
those strange visits of General David Petraeus, head of the Central
Intelligence Agency and former commander in Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan, along
with a group of U.S. House members led by Speaker John Boehner himself ... Was
their goal merely the exchange views about the security of the two nations, as
has been stated? Would the CIA director and such a distinguished group of
legislators travel only to "exchange ideas"? The truth may be that
they demand more influence over our domestic security, including our electoral
process. Wouldn't recent leaks from DEA have something to do with it? They want
more, they want it now and they want it tomorrow. In other words, this and the next
government will have to be in the same mold.
More than ever before, Mexico
has become the inconvenient neighbor, and it is happening in the middle of the
U.S. campaign trail. For Republicans it is an article of faith: They would very
much like to use the argument that Mexico is incapable of controlling its own destiny
and is a national security risk. El Chapo and the tremendous trafficking in
drugs have become proof of our weakness, which is now a dangerous symbol. The
ultimate goal of the United States is to be able to say "Let us resolve
the problems that the Mexicans cannot.” Therefore, continuing with the theme of
Guzmán Loera, Calderón is either feeding us a big lie or he's hiding behind a
mask - which amounts to the same thing.
