The arrest of Richard Cramer earlier this month is very disturbing news for many reasons. Cramer was arrested by DEA on September 4th for his participation in a conspiracy to provide members of a Mexican drug cartel with information and background on U.S. narcotics enforcement activities.
Mexico recently took a dramatic step in the war on drugs, decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana, cocaine and heroin. In the midst of battling the drug cartels that grow fat on the profits of drug abuse and addiction, not to mention all of the violent crime that accompanies drug trafficking, the Mexican Government has sent a clear message. Unfortunately, it’s the wrong message. It is the message of surrender.
Researchers at Leicester University have used research in crime and space technology to develop a system for the detection of counterfeit pharmaceutical packaging. Professor George Fraser and Professor Martin Gill are heading the Spectral ID project based on work carried out by Leicester University spinout Perpetuity Research and Consultancy International (PRCI) and the university’s Space Research Center.
I am told, almost as if by way of explanation, that the people doing the shooting in Juarez are very good at what they do. They kill well. They don’t often miss. This is not collateral damage. The executed can usually be tied to the drug trade. Gang-related, as they say in the United States. Small-time dealers who owe money. The double-crossed. The nasty business of achieving dominance over rivals. Still, that doesn’t account for the judges killed. The law enforcement agents and soldiers. The reporters who cover the killings and who end up resented and dead for the effort. It doesn’t account, exactly, for the 18 murdered in cold blood at the rehab center on September 3rd.
How effective is CBP in keeping U.S. borders safe? – Homeland Security News Wire In fiscal 2008 U.S. Border Patrol officers working at checkpoints that are typically set up along roads and highways 25 to 100 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border stopped three people “who were identified as persons linked to terrorism,” according to […]
U.S. anti-drug aid to Mexico reaches $214 million | Reuters The United States has written checks for $214 million of the $1.4 billion promised to Mexico in 2007 to help fight the country’s powerful drug cartels, Washington’s top anti-drug diplomat said on Tuesday. The amount is a fraction of $1.12 billion authorized by the U.S. […]
There were many things that surprised me during a State Department-sponsored trip to Mexico this week, where we took a tour of U.S. border security operations before heading into Ciudad Juarez and Mexico City to meet with groups organizing against the spiraling violence in that country. I was surprised, for instance, that a representative from one of the Juarez drug cartels did not meet me at the airport, a block-typed sign with my name on it in one hand and a diamond-handled .45 in the other. I was surprised by the Border Patrol video with shrieking death metal background music. I was surprised by the mixture of courage and nonchalance of the college students living in Juarez who have grown sick of the murders and extortions and kidnappings in their city and who want desperately for the world to know that these cartels do not define them. I was surprised that traffic lights in Mexico City are optional …
The State Department’s Tech.Del: Can People Power Crush Mexico’s Drug Cartels? | techPresident The United States has tried a variety of tactics in its effort to confront the drug-fueled violence and instability that plagues the U.S.-Mexico border. Diplomacy with political leaders. The equipping of local law enforcement with helicopters and other aircraft. Direct cash transfers […]
Mexico Eases Ban on Drug Possession – WSJ.com Mexico decriminalized small amounts of marijuana, cocaine and heroin on Friday, in a move that creates one of the world’s most permissive narcotics markets and that opponents say could complicate President Felipe Calderón’s war against illegal drug cartels. The law goes beyond what is allowed in many […]
Homeland Security Today – preparedness and security news – Mexican Cartel Violence Will Continue, Officials Believe US counterterrorism officials continue to be increasingly concerned about the growth of Mexico’s narco-cartels and the Mexican military’s inability to substantially break up their operations. Officials who spoke on background said the cartels and their “enforcers” have become emboldened […]
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