Feral Jundi

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Mexico: Gates And Mullen Heading To Mexico, Consular Posts Get 15% Danger Pay

Filed under: Law Enforcement,Mexico — Tags: , , , , , , , — Matt @ 12:54 AM

   This is an interesting development, because now we are sending in the big guns to talk shop with Mexico about what else can be done.  And when I hear things like, ‘evolve the Merida Inititative’, I tend to take notice.  Does that mean we are going to add more teeth to it, or fast track the current orders, or what?  Will this look more and more like the Plan Colombia that everyone keeps talking about, as the violence increases on the border?  Well, when you send the chairman of  the Joint Chiefs of Staff and our Defense Secretary to Mexico, that might be an indication of things to come.

   I also noticed over at Diplopundit, that all the consulates in Mexico are getting a 15% Danger Pay increase.  So yet again, is this a sign of things to come?  Because this is definitely a recognition of the fact that things really are dangerous for our diplomats in Mexico.  Duh.

   Finally, I wanted to talk about this Merida Initiative. I have heard next to nothing about this in the idle industry chit chat out there. And believe me, I check the forums and do my searches–yet nothing.  If any of the readership has anything relevant, please feel free to add whatever in the comments. Like with China, I would like to make Feral Jundi the goto resource for anything related to contracting in Mexico.  As this thing ‘evolves’, I think we will see more interesting opportunities pop up–much like what happened with Plan Colombia. –Matt

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Gates, Mullen Head U.S. Crime-Fighting Delegation to Mexico

Camille Tuutti

Mar 22, 2010

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will travel to Mexico City this week as part of a U.S. delegation focused on helping the Mexican government fight drug-trafficking cartels and other security threats.

“It is in our interest that our friends have greater capabilities to protect their own security and to take care of transnational criminal activity such as the drug cartels,” Gates said. “It is in our interest, because we have [a] shared interest to enhance the capabilities of the Mexican armed forces.”

The Mexico visit will build on the last high-level consultative group session, when Hillary Rodham Clinton and Mexican Foreign Secretary Patricia Espinosa discussed ways to evolve the Mérida Initiative in December 2008.

(more…)

Monday, February 15, 2010

Law Enforcement: The Heroin Road–A Lethal Business Model Targets Middle America

Filed under: Law Enforcement,Letter Of Marque,Mexico — Tags: , , , , , , — Matt @ 11:12 AM

   Fascinating.  These guys have definitely tapped into a drug dealing business model that is far more superior than the major cartels. Small de-centralized  businesses, all getting their heroin from one region in Mexico, and distributing it ‘pizza delivery style’. lol And get this, they are focused on customer service and satisfaction.  Did the Xalisco Boys read the Toyota Way or something?

   So how do you defeat this is my question? You could create doubt about the product they sell, kind of like how the fuel peddle issue is really tweaking Toyota right now. But eventually the product issues will be hashed out, and rumors squashed and business would crank up again.

    Another way, is to decentralize the drug war.  If you want to eradicate small groups, you need small groups who have the incentive to go after them.  A team of bounty hunters, if given sufficient authority necessary to go after these folks, could do the job just fine.  And if you attach a sizable bounty that makes this profitable for the hunters, or implement an awards system based on seized assets, then you could create an industry out of capturing these small time thugs. To really amp up the effectiveness of bounty hunters, they need to be able cross state lines.  Issuing Letters of Marque could be one way to give them that authority, or having some federal agency deputize these hunters. Perhaps some federal and state laws could be modified in order to make bounty hunting more effective?  In either case, you need to give bounty hunters protections that will give them sufficient authority to really go after these dealers.

   Like with the military and issuing Letters of Marque to individuals, law enforcement can have problems relinquishing authority to bounty hunters. It’s one part Max Webber, and one part ego. I happen to think that both groups can exist just fine, much like the Post Office and Fedex exist in the same market, and I think it is an excellent idea to create industries out of killing or capturing terrorists and pirates, or create industry out of capturing drug dealers. What bothers me about what the Xaliscos are doing, is they have decentralized the drug trade and have a business model that is scary efficient. Decentralizing the drug war against these folks is something that should be looked at if we want to keep pace with this business model. –Matt

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THE HEROIN ROAD

A lethal business model targets Middle America

Sugar cane farmers from a tiny Mexican county use savvy marketing and low prices to push black-tar heroin in the United States.

By Sam Quinones

First Of Three Parts

February 14, 2010

Immigrants from an obscure corner of Mexico are changing heroin use in many parts of America.Farm boys from a tiny county that once depended on sugar cane have perfected an ingenious business model for selling a semi-processed form of Mexican heroin known as black tar.Using convenient delivery by car and aggressive marketing, they have moved into cities and small towns across the United States, often creating demand for heroin where there was little or none. In many of those places, authorities report increases in overdoses and deaths.Immigrants from Xalisco in the Pacific Coast state of Nayarit, Mexico, they have brought an audacious entrepreneurial spirit to the heroin trade. Their success stems from both their product, which is cheaper and more potent than Colombian heroin, and their business model, which places a premium on customer convenience and satisfaction.Users need not venture into dangerous neighborhoods for their fix. Instead, they phone in their orders and drivers take the drug to them. Crew bosses sometimes call users after a delivery to check on the quality of service. They encourage users to bring in new customers, rewarding them with free heroin if they do. (more…)

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Photo: Mexican Drug War Weapons Seizure

Filed under: Law Enforcement,Mexico,Photo — Tags: , , , — Matt @ 10:50 PM

Mexico

Monday, February 2, 2009

Mexico: Enhanced role Expected for U.S. in Drug Cartel Battle

Filed under: Mexico — Tags: , , — Matt @ 3:26 PM

     This little story has a lot of meat, and I want to point out the most interesting quote.

Howard Campbell, a border anthropologist and drug expert at the University of Texas at El Paso, said Mexico’s situation is different from Colombia.

“I really characterize this as a civil war, even if it’s not formally declared,” Campbell said. “We’re seeing all the casualties of a war, people murdered, people wounded, people fleeing their homes, social disintegration and chaos.

“This is more like Afghanistan than Colombia, with regional, powerful chieftains who operate with complete authority, oftentimes through graft and corruption.”  

    Mexico is more like Afghanistan, than Colombia?  Boy, this gets more interesting the more we look at this.  And it sounds like with the Merida Initiative, private contractors will be an important element to the plan, much like how we were used in Colombia.  Interesting times. –Matt  

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Enhanced role expected for U.S. in drug cartel battle

January 28, 2009

By ALFREDO CORCHADO / The Dallas Morning News

acorchado@dallasnerws.com / The Dallas Morning News

chief Alfredo Corchado is currently a Nieman fellow at Harvard University.

MEXICO CITY – Alarmed by spiraling drug violence along their shared border, U.S. and Mexican officials say they foresee an enhanced U.S. role in the battle against powerful cartels, including joint operations that could involve private American contractors or U.S. military and intelligence personnel.

The U.S. and Mexican officials say their cooperation could go beyond the current practice of “sharing intelligence.” They say that historical concerns about Mexican sovereignty may be overcome by the challenge in restoring stability to key regions, particularly along the border.

(more…)

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Mexico: Could Hamas or FARC Ideas, Inspire Mexico’s Narco-Insurgency?

Filed under: Crime,Mexico — Tags: , , , — Matt @ 3:00 PM

 

   Today I want to look at the situation across the border, and kind of look into the future of the narco war in Mexico.  Also please read General McCaffrey’s After Action Mexico Report, as a good little primer on the situation.  The question I have, is Mexico strong enough to battle these drug cartels, and how will the drug cartels treat the US as we feed the anti-drug war with Plan Merida?

    So with that in mind, let’s for a second explore the possibilities, no matter how ridiculous.  Already tunnels have been used to smuggle people, drugs, and weapons on the US/Mexican border.  Notice how this same tactic is used by Hamas in Israel?  There have also been incidents of criminals engaging with Border Patrol using automatic weapons, and operating more like military units, as opposed to thugs.  Is this not what Hamas does?  Or how about FARC?  We have a deal with Colombia called Plan Colombia, and that support is used to fight a very bloody narco war there.  Imagine if Colombia was right on our border in the US?  Would FARC have crossed the border, and made the US pay for our support of Colombia?  I am positive they would.  

   So where do all of these examples lead us?  With a determined group, they will try everything they can to survive and keep the business going.  These groups will learn from others, and will be inspired by working models of operation.  Mexico’s Narco-insurgency will learn from Hamas and they will learn from FARC, and I am sure they will learn from others, as to the best way to stop the governments of both the US and Mexico from messing with their business.

    One way that I could see these guys going, is launching rockets into the US, much like Hamas did with Israel.  Hell, the FARC even did something similar within Colombia, by using propane lob bombs or IRAM’s.  The idea being, is to piss off the larger neighbor to the north, and force the US to do something violent.  They would want US forces to come into Mexico and try to shut things down.  But once that happens, then the larger picture of Public Relations presents itself, and a US military action in Mexico would make the Mexican military and police seem even weaker and this action could piss off a lot of civilians.  At worse, even civilians could be killed in that scenario.  And if you are to study the FARC in Colombia, civilians have been killed during that narco-war, mostly by FARC, but also by accidents with government reaction to the FARC. 

   Now with an insurgency, when a smaller group attacks an occupier or an invading force, that smaller group actually becomes the good guy in some cases amongst the local populations.  The drug cartels would love for this scenario to present itself.  So if these guys could egg on the US, to become more involved, then they would be happy.  The Plan Merida, much like the Plan Colombia, is our first step in combating these narco-insurgencies.  But we also have to be prepared for some push back from the drug cartels for getting involved like this.  Will these guys start launching rockets into US cities to start a fight?  Who knows, but I do know that the drug cartels in Mexico are getting more brazen and more powerful all the time.  The Mexican government is having a hell of a time fighting this, and my big fear is that a full blown narco war in Mexico could look a lot like the one in Colombia, and that would not be a good thing for the US. –Matt 

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General McCaffrey’s After Action Mexico Report focusing on drugs and crime in Mexico.

Academic Mexico Trip Report – December 2008

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Mexico’s Narco-Insurgency 

 Hal Brands | 22 Dec 2008

World Politics Review

When Barack Obama takes office on Jan. 20, his foreign policy will almost certainly be consumed by the insurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan. Yet Obama would do well to pay equal attention to a third ongoing insurgency, one that is currently more violent than the war in Iraq and possibly more threatening to American interests. This insurgency is raging not half a world away in the Middle East, but just across America’s southern frontier in Mexico.

(more…)

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