Mexico and Corruption
Silicon Graybeard’s blog piece is worth a read (link). As best I recall, that allegation of coordination between USGOV and the Sinaloa Cartel came up during the prosecution of Ismael (Mayo) Zambada Garcia’s son, Vincente (Mayito) in the Northern District of Illinois. During that time, Mayo was on the outs with the Sinaloa Cartel and was at war with both Joaquín (Chapo) Archivaldo Guzmán Loera, who ran the Sinaloa Cartel and Rubén (Mencho) Oseguera Cervantes, who runs Cartel Jalisco New Generation (CJNG).
Sorry for dropping names, but I suggest is that the story was made up by Mayo and the defense team to provide a legal defense for Vincente. The fortunes of drug cartel leaders ebb and flow and Mayo, whose family and foster family I know personally (been to their home, been invited to weddings, etc.) is no exception. The relationships between these various factions are continually in flux as fortunes and turf are won and lost. Between 2012 and 2014, Mayo was on the losing end of a struggle for turf in Guadalajara and elsewhere and he was on the outs with Chapo. I know some of Mayo’s lieutenants personally and they know me. I had a remit to deal with these people in that time period and spent time in that region.
The Fast and Furious case was engineered to demonstrate that firearms are transferred from the US to Mexico to arm the cartels by SECSTATE Clinton and Attorney General Holder. President Obama may claim to be unaware of the details but I suspect that he knew the broad strokes. There was an ongoing push to increase firearms control legislation in the US and this was intended to be a pretext and it went horribly wrong. Sharyl Attkisson, a reporter, did considerable research on this and her work is stellar.
In my experience, the Mexican Army (SEDENA) usually carries H&K G-3’s and the Mexican Navy (SEMAR) carries M-4’s (.223). Most cartels have a wide assortment of firearms to choose from, but most frequently carry AK-47’s. We can chat about where they buy their arms and ammo, but it’s most often Chinese or Russian origin and they trade drugs for arms. They buy military grade hardware from military inventories in Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, etc. So you see them with hand grenades and armament from Israel, USA, etc. that was sold to these governments with an end user certificate — and sold from inventory or “stolen”. Most of the arms and ammo that they use does not originate in the USA, but admittedly a smaller percentage does. The point is that you can’t buy military grade hardware in the US and that’s what they prefer.
The truth is that the cartels never had much of a problem smuggling vast amounts of narcotics into the US and don’t today and it doesn’t require US corruption to facilitate it. Don’t get me wrong. CBP Officers at the ports of entry have a vast corruption problem, but the drugs get through irrespective of those ports of entry.
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| LeBaron Family – before the massacre |
I’m not privy to the fine details of the cause of the slaughter of the women and children who lived in the Fundamentalist Mormon town (which has been in existence for generations) or the interrogation results from the suspect with the two hostages/kidnap victims who was taken down. Suffice to say that there have been incidents where Catholic hospitals have been wiped out. Doctors, nurses, staff and every patient in the hospital in bed or in an operating theater for very little reason. It’s a dog bites man story that never makes the US press, that is almost always focused on political crap, or on the Military Industrial Complex’s need for more war. It’s life in Mexico under the rule of a narco state.
Taxes
Some cartels require people in their areas of control to pay taxes to them. In areas where control is disputed, more than one gang/cartel may require that you pay taxes. If you don’t pay, the slaughter of family as an example is very common. That may have happened here in this recent mass murder. But as I stated before, I’m not up on this incident. I’ve seen and heard of similar events in the past. The difference is that these are US Citizens (even though they’re also Mexicans by nationality, born in Mexico).
As I have mentioned before on this blog, any of you could smuggle narcotics into the US if you are willing to pay the tax to the local cartel. If you’re a small operator and want to piggyback a few kilos of whatever, you’d normally pay 10% insurance to the cartel to insure that your load arrives in the US. The 10% isn’t for a bribe to USGOV employees, it’s a way that the cartels make money because they have confidence that they can get the load through. Sometimes the loads are intercepted and they make good on the loss. You’d pick up your narcotics in the US and would distribute them, through your network, and would collect the proceeds (in cash) and do what you would with that money. The process is simple and it repeats. The only requirement that the cartel levies is that you sell at a fixed price and pay the tax. Insurance is optional. The process is very simple and it happens every day, except that most of the narcos take Christmas and Easter off to be with family.
All of this corruption detailed here sounds like a well-oiled machine; you play by the well known rules, and you are good to go. You run afoul of the machine, and things can go very poorly for you and yours.
This level of corruption is simply too dug in to change. Best defense against it is to build that wall, and stay out of Mexico.
The problem for you and I, Fredd – and everyone else in the US – is that it's dug in here too. Granted, it's very different from Mexico in the way that it manifests here, but it's been allowed to fester.
It's a federal government problem really because of the international nature of the situation, but the federal machine that deals with it is cumbersome, it moves very slowly, and it is very sensitive to cries of 'racism' and so forth. All this is exploited by flexible, well funded, well entrenched criminal organizations that continue no matter who in their structure is arrested and imprisoned.
Maybe decriminalizing all narcotics is the way to go? Provide cheap drugs to all who want oblivion and allow them to just shuffle off this mortal coil as they all find nirvana? It would destroy the cartels (cancer) but would it also destroy the society?
What's that movie…American Made…drug transport, gun running…and major cash. Begs the obvious: What happened to the Fed's "war on drugs" campaign? Maybe drug related property seizures went down so they ran out of the good money and decided to change the operation to a quid pro quo set up.
The older I get the more I discover that "always follow the money" is at the root.
The Marxist Propaganda Machine (MSM) is currently trying to promulgate a story about one of the victims' relatives blaming US gun availability for this incident.
Obvious BS, but what it makes me wonder is: So, what – these are some sort of Pacifist Mormons !?
Pretty much all the Mormons I've ever interacted with are armed to the freakin' teeth (at least). It would really compound the stupidity of deciding to live in Mexico, if you chose not to do it in a fortified camp.
-Kle.
During the Administration of Calderon, about 8 or maybe 9 years ago, the Mexican government authorized the various Mormon colonies in Mexico (I think that there are 3 or 4 in the same general area) to be armed with small arms up to and including AK-47's for their own protection. Again, fuzzy recollection, but the permission was to have the arms in town, and wasn't a general license to carry them elsewhere.
My sense is that when in town, they're capable of defending themselves, but if you are going north to cross the border, you wouldn't normally take that firepower because of the problem of crossing with your AK-47's (or whatever).
Clearly there has to be a re-thinking of strategy on the part of the US citizens who live there. (1) vehicles leaving town should be armored, (2) armed men/women in separate vehicles should escort the caravan and break off when they get to the border.
Based on articles that I've read and local knowledge that I picked up suggest that traveling from the settlements to the US/Douglas, AZ had been conducted in relative safety with "safety in numbers" as evidenced by 3 vehicles traveling together that were ambushed. These settlements have been there since the late 1800's and the people who live there are locals with an understanding of local problems. They all speak fluent Spanish and are well known in the area. Generally they've managed to live at peace with everyone. Additionally, my guess is that they fear USGOV in general more than they fear MEXGOV. Religious persecution caused them to leave the US in the first place.
Never heard of the hospital massacres, though I'm not surprised by them.
Follow the money is good in general, but in specific cases such as this ambush, the motivations may be more complicated. I frankly don't know. None of the little settlements are wildly prosperous. They raise cattle and harvest crops for cash. In general they are self sufficient and have been for a hundred or so years.
Appreciate your insight. Problems years in the making won't be solved overnight. That frustrates our impatient, fix it now, USA culture.
El Lobo (I forget his actual name) from the Colima Cartel was involved in those, but there have been a number. If a cartel member goes there for treatment and dies and they feel that maximum effort wasn't made to save him, they wipe out regional hospitals to send a message.
The Mexican media are careful in what they report since their ranks are culled by cartels regularly. The US media stopped reporting the news years ago.
Exactly. And the present push by the Donkeys is to open the border to allow the free flow (or an even freer flow) of drugs and weapons into the USA. We lock our homes, we lock our cars, we lock schools, and if you go into a government building you have to pass armed guards and metal detectors. Putting a genuine wall along the US Border with Mexico makes sense.
How many people in Congress use illegal drugs? I wonder if they'd all agree to regular drug screening for themselves and their staffs? What about every state legislature as well? Tell you what, WSF, let's start THERE.
For those with an interest:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mormon_colonies_in_Mexico
From what I have read in a couple of translated Mexican papers, it sounds like this family and the local cartels have been kinda nipping at each other for about a decade. The Mormons armed themselves…one of their people got kidnapped…they mobilized the locals and got him back mostly intact…the pissed cartels killed a couple more that were involved in the mobilization. No speculation on what spurred the latest attack, but it sounds like part of an ongoing low level feud. The Mexican Govt. story that it was bad luck being caught in a crossfire hardly rings true.
I agree 100%. The crossfire story doesn't hold water. When the woman stepped out of the SUV, hands up and surrendered and they centerpunched her, then her baby, then lit them on fire – that doesn't sound like a crossfire.
+1
Thanks for improving on my take on the situation.
As you probably know, one of my standard thoughts in life is to always ask, "and then what happens?" When I think of legalizing all the drugs, that leads me to this contradictory set of answers. (A) The cartels go home and get an honest job flipping burgers (or the Mexican equivalent) or (B) The cartels move to something a little harder to do but that's still far more enriching than working at Taco Bell. I don't know what it might be – I assume they're already selling prostitutes and child sex slaves – but I think the answer is B.
This doesn't end quickly or easily.
There's a guy who used to run ICE who suggests that declaring Mexico a failed state opens up the migration trains out of Honduras and Guatemala that Trump just got re-routed to Mexico. It makes our lives worse.
Here's me going hmmm and wondering the chance that these Mormons were involved in refugee importation like the guy below?
usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/10/09/paul-petersen-arizona-official-indicted-adoption-fraud-scheme/3926733002/
Thanks for the update/inside information. And agree, Sig's post is excellent!
There is a possibility that the US will declare a couple of the cartels to be terrorist organizations, which opens up military options against terrorists operating in the USA and elsewhere. I'm positive that President Trump will proceed with circumspection on this.
You can buy a child sex slave (or just household slave) in Mexico for under $200 US. University of San Diego did a human trafficking case and I directed the professor to the traffickers in TJ through a person in Mexico. He visited the facility and wrote it up. It's not cartel controlled because there's no money in it. But you're right. They'll find other mischief.
My sense is that they're not.
The Marshall Islands passport schemes are run by Chinese organized crime. I know the case and the people who are behind it. One of them, Marcus Maher, an Australian, is in Chinese custody in Nanjing. He's not a shot caller but the organization is scrambling because Marcus was arrested about two weeks ago. The FBI has a case in the US and Homeland Security is working it from Hong Kong.
Sometimes you need a program to tell the players. USGOV will take action in these matters under President Trump. I anticipate that it will happen quietly.
Yeah, looks like the cartel was definitely hot about something the Mormons did to jack things up like that.
I don't think this level of corruption can be rooted out short of military intervention. I think the wall would help, but that's like closing the well after the child has drowned.
Yes, very dug in here. Especially our two-tiered justice system; you can be as crooked as a dog's hind leg (Hillary) but if you are connected to the Deep State, you're good. If you are as honest as the day is long and served honorably and with valor for 30 years in the military (Gen. Michael Flynn), they throw the book at you.
How can we change this? Well, for starters, clean out every damn government employee about GS-9 every change of administration, every damn one of them. In all departments: State, Treasury, Justice, all of em.
Then maybe….
Thanks for the update and info.
The wall is useful as a layer, primarily against illegal immigration. It's like a wall around a house or a business. It's not secure in and of itself. Most security systems are layered. But I don't even think that military intervention would work in this case because you'd be striking locations in the US as well a Mexico.
You're welcome, Brig.
I've read that the Fundamentalist Mormons were drilling more water wells than the locals thought were fair and there were some ongoing disputes of that nature. I don't see how that translates into murdering women and babies, but maybe you can't rule it out.
Yeah, maybe. I chose to flee to the Arizona mountains. I don't think that it can be fixed.
You are thinking about it from your American perspective. That limits your potential understanding of the why. Mexico is NOT America, but is North America. Mexicans are not American, but are North Americans. Semantics, yo.
Water wars are a fine old tradition in the Southwest.
I agree. Good post.
That they take Christmas and Easter off is kind of mind boggling, considering what they do.
Hope you are staying warm and the family is still doing well in Kalifornia.
Beginning about December 15, the narcos head home to spend time with family. Street narcotics activity continues, but the major traffickers go home. It usually resumes a week or so after New Year's Day. The Easter recess usually lasts about two weeks.
Well, I think it can be fixed; but it would take dumping the whole thing and starting from scratch.
Paul
The tentacles inside the USA could be fished out and killed, but you'd need to bury the Constitution to do it. Too many US citizens are involved and you'd need to go medieval in terms of interrogations. Spanish Inquisition and all.
Makes sense, USGOV is actually worthy of fear, MEXGOV ia more in the pity department.
I guess that's sort of good.
-Kle.
+1 indeed!
I gotta get screened to drive my School Bus (good plan, IMO), they should have to be screened to drive the Ship of State.
-Kle.
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