Feral Jundi

   You know, on the flip side I guess this should be good news that the cartels are killing each other.  But the violence impacts the locals, and the police and army get in the way and they get killed too. And eventually someone takes the top position of the heap, and imposes their will on the population.  It will be interesting to see what cartel wins in this exchange, and it would be a fascinating study to find out what was the strategy involved.  This kind of cartel/gang warfare, is really free market warfare. It is also hybrid warfare, because these guys are using military hardware and tactics–complete with grenade launchers, assault rifles, and IED’s.

   The cartels contract their hit men or contract killer companies, and they all fight each other with no limitations on strategy or tactics. That is interesting, because in that kind of environment, innovation can really flourish.  If chopping someone’s head off makes strategic sense, they do it. Putting a price on the head of their enemies, and turning it into a sustainable industry makes sense to them.   So this kind of cartel/private warfare is interesting to watch.

   The question I have is when the dust clears, will we see a cartel that rises to the top that has the kind of capability that not only can destroy their competitors, but can take on the government and all of it’s forces?  For the sake of Mexico and the world, I hope not. –Matt

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Mexico: Cartels team up to destroy hit men gang

By OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ

Apr 12, 2010

MEXICO CITY — Two Mexican drug cartels have joined forces to destroy a feared gang of hit men along the border with Texas, a shift in allegiances that is fueling drug-war violence, federal police said Monday.

Intelligence reports indicate the Gulf and La Familia cartels — formerly bitter rivals — have formed an alliance to fight the Zetas gang in the Mexican border state of Tamaulipas, said Ramon Pequeno, the head of the anti-narcotics division of Mexico’s federal police.

It was the first official confirmation of the alliance, which has been rumored since banners appeared throughout the region announcing the pact and warning residents not to leave their homes, saying the conflict would get worse. E-mails were also sent with the same message.

The campaign to wipe out the Zetas has raised fears of open warfare in Tamaulipas, with armed men throwing up roadblocks around army garrisons and ambushing military patrols, brazen tactics that experts say are meant to get soldiers out of the way of the turf war.

Mexico has deployed tens of thousands of troops to the border and other regions to combat drug trafficking groups, an effort backed by U.S. intelligence work and aid. Gang violence has surged despite the three-year-old deployment, claiming more than 18,000 lives since 2006.

Last weekend, assailants threw a grenade at the U.S. consulate in Nuevo Laredo, a city across the border from Laredo, Texas. Nobody was hurt.

On Monday, the State Department extended until May 12 the authorized departure of relatives of U.S. government employees from consulates in Nuevo Laredo and five other border cities — an indication that Washington does not expect the violence to subside soon.

La Familia, whose stronghold is in the Pacific coast state of Michoacan, has sent a large number of members across the country to Tamaulipas to help the Gulf cartel, Pequeno said.

He spoke at a news conference to announce the arrest of three alleged members of La Familia, a brutal gang known for beheading its rivals and staging bold attacks against federal police in Michoacan. One of the three suspects confirmed the alliance to police, Pequeno said.

Mexican and U.S. authorities previously confirmed a break between the Gulf and the Zetas, which once was the enforcement arm of the Gulf cartel.

The feud escalated when a member of the Zetas was killed in January in Reynosa, a city across the border from McAllen, Texas. Battles ensued when the Gulf cartel refused to hand over the man responsible.

Story here.