Obama Lays the Smack Down

"Stop, in the Name of the Border Security"

Obama has officially decided that the Mexican violence gotten too far out of hand, and is now spilling over into the United States at an alarming rate.

Unsurprisingly, he advocated a "reduction of demand for illegal drugs" and a restriction of arms sales near the border, to curtail violent outbreaks and gang organization.

He reminds the US that the violence is a "two way street", referencing the bi-directionality of the border and not-so-subtly warns us that the violence is just a matter of crossing over a line on a map; there is no invisible wall that separates Us from Them, the only division is our ideological feeling of security that threatens our very tangible, atrophying physical security.

"President Barack Obama says the violence spilling over from Mexico's fight against drug cartels has gotten out of hand and is a serious threat to U.S. border communities."

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Mexican Drug Cartel Training Camp in Guatemala

On March 27, Guatemalan military force found out about a secret camp that was training drug cartel forces.  Reports had come in about certain activities that were going on in a Ranch in Quiche.  As the police arrived, 2 commanders of the Zetas of the Gulf Cartel from Mexica, and 37 recruits ran away leaving behind more than 500 grenades, rifles, and 100's of rounds of ammunition.  This is linked to the ongoing drug wars taking control of Mexico.  More than 6200 people were killed last year due to drug violence in Mexico.  The Zetas appealed to young recruits by promising them jobs, and training.  In such a bad economic climate this was like the promise of free money which is feuling the drug cartels.  Among other things at the ranch, an illegal airstrip was found alongside obstacle courses and shooting ranges.  The Zetas themselves were in the news recently as a bus attacks happened in Guatemala city to distract attention away from the border where illegal weapons trafficking was going on.  This portrays the amount of strength that the drug cartels have recieved especially due to the global economic recession and the announced drug war by Calderon.  "'They wanted to recruit young men. They offered training in the use of certain weapons and said they had jobs,' Blanco said."

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Obama Goes Where You Shouldn't

"President Barack Obama's scheduled visit to Mexico in April will be an opportunity to align the priorities of the two countries with the interests of the new U.S. administration and to smooth over a number of problematic areas."

The list of problems is stacked high for Mexico: infrastructure-threatening drug wars, unstable state government, the looming economic recession, and poor public image. The United States, enter stage right. President Obama is planning a diplomatic trip to Mexico to talk to Mexican President Calderon to cover the aforementioned issues. In addition, Obama is going to hold a conference to discuss the "threat" of immigration, and the recently instated 20% tariff against the United States.

This meeting is a good example of the importance of 'good neighbours' in government policy; the Obama/Calderon meeting is not hostile, but rather seeking resolve on key issues in public policy.

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Mexico Raises US Tariffs - Who is in the Wrong?

Recently, Mexico raised tariffs against 90 US products, some taxes increasing to 20%.  The reason given was US failure to honor a NAFTA commitment 14 years ago, granting  looser restrictions on Mexican delivery trucks America.  A NAFTA committee ruling puts us at fault, and admittedly the entire process of escapist ignorance was started in the Clinton administration, and continued to this day.  Currently, many goods are transfered to American trucks shortly after crossing the border, allegedly because Mexican trucks are too unsafe to be on American roads.  An international random inspection program determined more American trucks to be in violation of standard regulations (21.6% - 20.7%).  US response to the tariff is expected to be minimal, because it only covers about 1.5% of our exports to Mexico.  Also no one cares.  About Mexico.

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Justified or not, this tariff is an example of a distancing between our countries in a time when cooperation is necessary.  Without working together, neither country can tackle the drug problem - Mexico lacks resources, US lacks access.  And America needs to be held accountable for the treaties it makes.  Used more popularly in our history as a protective measure for domestic industries, tariffs can be, and now are, used as a means to influence foreign powers.  And in an increasingly globalized economy, we at least need to keep geographically close countries on good terms.

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Eat more of this chocolate.

In response to domestic drug violence catalyzed by a military crackdown on hostile drug cartels south of the border, Obama took the most logical action: a crackdown along the border and increased cooperation in hunting down and killing narco-traffickers. In all fairness, the package is fairly comprehensive, with measures aimed at preventing arms sales, preventing movement across the border by smugglers, and a more comprehensive approach to security that may stem the tide of attacks that claimed 7000 last year. Obama took a leading role in cooperating with his equivalent head of state, phellipe Calderon, in attempting to adress the situation amidst fears of state failure.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/21/AR2009032102247.html

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Suspected drug cartel hitman arrested in Mexico

A drug cartel member suspected of planning an attack on the US Consulate in Northen Mexico has been arrested. The man was part of 'Zetas', a group of armed men, working for the Golfo Cartel. The group had executed a grenade attack on the consulate in October.

Attacks on the US consulate may make the US more hesitant to send support, which would not be good for the President. However since they captured one of the assailants, Mexico still has some control.

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Tariff on the US

In a suprising turn of events, after the US ended the pilot program allowing a limited amount of Mexican trucks on US highways, Mexico retaliated and implemented a tariff on a variety of US goods. Mexico announced higher tariffs on $2.4 billion worth of imports coming from the US. This comes alongside other news of the ongoing Mexican drug wars. Based on this and the drug wars, Felipe Calderon and Obama have planned a meeting to discuss the "US-Mexican relationship" on a variety of topics which are easily guessed. Mexico has stated that the US has violated the North American Free Trade Agreement by ending this pilot program. Secretary of State Clinton will also be visiting Mexico this week, and this alongside other issues in the drug war will probably come up. The implementation of the tariff in retaliation will hit imports from a variety of states across the US with the threat of expanding the list if the trucking issue is not solved. However some of nervous about such things as shown just this past week after "after a Mexican big-rig truck crashed into a bus in northern Mexico this week, killing seven Americans, three Canadians and the Mexican bus driver." This goes to show the interaction of nations especially in the economic turmoil as is happening now; and the importance of free trade between nations.

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Death, Gloom, Destruction, Mexico

Somebodies getting work in the economic crisis. Mexico's morgue's are experiencing an influx of bodies due to the recent explosion of drug-related violence. So far this year 1000 people have been killed, compared with 6000 in the entirety of 2008, raising concerns about stability and civil order. In a particular criminal lab and morgue in Ciudad Juarez, founded after women were found raped and dumped in the desert, is experiencing overflow to the extent that they pack fridges supposed to have a mazimum capacity of 80 with 200 people. 40 percent test positive for marijuana or cocaine use, suggesting the futility of the drug wars. The fact that many friends of the deceased refuse to claim the body as a defense mechanism compounds the problem. This is indicative of larger systemic violence, undermining mexican stability and providing exact, visceral proof of impending catastrophe.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hQk0IcGHRThAZGok6vKI4lrnPasQD96Q0D7G0

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Turns Out, People Don't Want to Die

The recently blogged about decision of the United States travel agencies to declare the majority of Mexico a "Go at your own risk" location, Mexico's tourist industry is bracing for the worst. As simple as this seems, the economic challenges that Mexico faces right now can only be exacerbated by foreign (negative) speculation, especially for key markets like tourism.

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Mexico condemns US 'corruption'

President Calderon has blamed the US 'corruption' for the problems of Mexico. As the US is a huge consumer of drugs, and the authorities do nothing to stop. Calderon has been attempting to step up the anti-drug cartel plan, but he feels the US has failed to assist by stopping the high number of guns from crossing the border. However he feels that recent talks with President Obama have been fruitful.
I think it says a lot about how much Calderon needs our help that he is throwing insults at us, desperate to stop all the death.
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GM Corn Experiments Tentatively Begun

Genetically modified corn, formerly a no-no by Mexican law, is now allowed with special permission on a kind of trial basis.  Mexico (and the surrounding region) is, historically, the birthplace of corn, and it had totally banned all genetically modified variations until now, largely out of fear that GM would limit genetic diversity, thus making their entire crop more susceptible to famine, or any major disaster.  Technically the usage has not been officially legalized, and the government has made no statement about future plans for GM corn.

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Agriculture still employs a fairly large sector of the Mexican workforce (18% in 2003), another indicator of the fact that it is not a fully developed country.  Yet even in agriculture, modernization provides for greater efficiency and better production, a sign of potential growth overall in a country that definitely needs it.  Their reservations about going full-speed farming revolution also shows economic prudence - as the "shock therapy" of Russia has shown, blindly jumping into reform is not necessarily as effective as gradual change.

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The Obama Factor

Yep, it seems pretty certain now that Obama and his Joint Chief of Staff Mike Mullen are planning on helping President Calderon and his all out war-on-drugs.  On Saturday President Barack Obama was briefed by Mike Mullen on the situation (yes, the situation) in Mexico, and how it's possible for the US to help.  Yes indeed, you heard correct: The US plans to help.  As a matter of fact it seems that Obama's administration and Mullen have been sharing intelligence with Calderon in terms of fighting the drug cartels.  The recent (relatively recent that is, which means not recent at all) surge in violence among the Mexican drug cartels is pretty much due to a power struggle happening over the drug routes since the major cartels have been destroyed by Calderon.  All the smaller gangs are now going after the routes and fighting for power.  This same violence is now spilling across the border in places like Arizona.  It is adventageous to both President Calderon, and President Obama to help each other out.  Or in this case help Mexico from becoming a (seemingly) failed state.  Thus this shows the trends of globalization and shows how the United States is trying to mantain its reach for the hegemonic status by helping (or so we think) the smaller and more fragile nations.  Whether they can pull through or not is up to speculation.  However, with the added benefit of OPTIMUS PRIME, who can fail?

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Namárië

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Spring Break: Beer and Bombs

Spring Break is approaching, and many college students, as have students of the past, are booking flights and reservations for Mexico.  However, as every previous post can testify, Mexico is in no way the safest place to be right now.  The University of Arizona in Tuscon is urging about 37000 students to stay out of Mexico, yet without a legal, or otherwise official, obligation, there is nothing really to stop the millions of wild teens from flocking to beaches around Cancun, Acapulco, and elsewhere.  Certain observers, such as Mexican Attorney General Eduardo Medina Mora, assert that "nine out of 10 people who have been killed in this fight are attributable to organized crime," and that any travelers should be able to avoid trouble by "behaving."  Ultimately, they are screwed.

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Tourism being the biggest example, the economies of America and Mexico are closely intertwined.  The industry created by the Spring Break rush is enormous, and arguably the most profitable week out of the year (ignoring whatever damage or trouble those damn kids get into).  The fact that recent escalations in violence might interfere with the industry, shows the enormous and pervasive effect the violence has not only in the political spectrum, but in the economic as well.  As we have observed in class, nothing does more to stabilize an oppressive regime, or oust a perfectly good one, than the economic conditions of the country in question.

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The Devil's Highway

As the U.S. cracks down on immigration along the Mexican border, those still determined to enter are forced to take longer and more dangerous routes through brush and miles of desert. A new wall is under construction and 300 agents were added as guards. Reported deaths rose from 39 last year to 67 in 2008, reflecting this shift. In response, agents now carry basic necessities and life saving supplies, such as water and shoes to prevent fatalities. The overall effects of immigration and remittances plays a direct role in the economies of both countries, political affiliation with the culture, and civilian support for immigration policy. 

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6288540.html

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Mexico is in Free Fall

Mexico's drug cartels goal is to tame and control the Mexican state, not just the border. It's state institutions are under attack in a way they haven't been for decades, or so this article claims. Journalists are more afraid to go to Mexico than anywhere in the Middle East even experienced war zone reporters.  The cartels target important officials without fear: Jose Felix, co-coordinator at the national centre for planning and analysis to combat organized crime;  Edgar Gomez, the highest ranked federal police official ; Juan Mournio, the national security adivsor, crashed in a plane under mysterious circumstances; Mauro Quinones was tortured and killed a week after recieving the positon of anti-drug chief in Cancun. The United States has in the past only paid lip service to foreign relations with Mexico despite this being a time when Mexico needs as much help as it can get.

It is terrifiyng to realize the implications of these targeted murders.  The drug cartels are confident that they don't have to worry too much about anyone. They have the power. People listen to them and fear them. Without help, it is uncertain whether Chalderon will be able to keep a handle on this already out of control situation.

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