This 7-part series examines the influence of Mexico's powerful drug cartels, the threat they pose to to the Mexican state, and the debate within Mexico over the Mexican Army's role in waging war against them.
From the Texas-Mexico border at El Paso and Juarez to Mexico City to Washington, the series looks at the recently approved but controversial military aid package approved by the US Congress to help Mexico stem the cartels' influence, which ranges from infiltrating police forces, particularly at the state and local levels, to intimidation of federal politicians. In one segment, the listener joins the Mexican Army on patrol, of foot and by helicopter, in the states of Sinaloa and Durango, home of the Sinaloa Cartel and a major heroin production center. The so-called "Narco-War" has Mexicans divided as their Army tries to stop the northward flow of drugs--heroin, cocaine, marijuana and methamphetamines--to the world's number one consumer market, the United States.
Typically police would conduct anti-narcotics operations, but the government of Mexican President Felipe Calderon does not trust police do do the work, and says he will not do so until police have been "cleansed and modernized."
He has chosen the Army, considered one of Latin America's most professional forces, to take on the cartels. But many in Mexico--notwithstanding their agreement that police are too corrupt to be tasked with the job--argue the Army is not trained for the kind of warfare and tactics needed to deal with the cartels. There have been complaints that soldiers have committed human rights abuses, and the Army has responded forcefully by prosecuting soldiers.
One of the pieces contains an analysis by one American expert that Mexico may be on the verge of 'failed state" status as the cartels' influence on political life, particularly at the state level, appears to expand. As does the violence perpetrated by the cartels, who are not only fighting the government, but each other.
The implications for the United States are clear. In addition to drugs and weapons flowing north, the continuing violence has made certain parts of the US-Mexico border extremely dangerous. Hide full description
This 7-part series examines the influence of Mexico's powerful drug cartels, the threat they pose to to the Mexican state, and the debate within Mexico over the Mexican Army's role in waging war against them. From the Texas-Mexico border at El Paso and Juarez to Mexico City to Washington, the series looks at the recently approved but controversial military aid package approved by the US Congress to help Mexico stem the cartels' influence, which ranges from infiltrating police forces, particularly at the state and local levels, to intimidation of federal politicians. In one segment, the listener joins the Mexican Army on patrol, of foot and by helicopter, in the states of Sinaloa and Durango, home of the Sinaloa Cartel and a major heroin production center. The so-called "Narco-War"... Show full description
