Now for something completely different... War on Drugs

[nadinbrzezinski]

another good thing of being in Mexico is that I get to catch up on nooz outside the US. Now pay attention because this is important. On september 29th they found 35 bodies outside Veracruz. Ok, so what right? This happens all the time. Well, not that the NYT will go there, the group Matazetas took responsibility for this. So guess what is the big talk now in Mexico? Wether we have paramilitary forces in Mexico... death squads.

Now think Colombia, or El Salvador, or Nicaragua... and this is not necessarily the US. But if this is the case (which would not shock me) this is a huge escalation.

[lunatica]

1. Do you mean does the US have paramilitary forces in Mexico?

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. No they are local

but the government has denied they exist... a professor from the ITAM made the case that these are dirty cops cleaning up the area from one band to the other... for a price... and of course the Mexican Military is denying any role in this. Heck, the spokeswoman for the office of the president denied their mere existence.

Still this is an escalation with huge social and yes, military consequences.

That said the US has been advising mexico through the Merida accord and Perry wants us troops here. That has led to even more ahem... discussions.

[lunatica]

3. Sorry to be so dense, but is the Mexican government killing the cartels and

Making it look like their killing each other?

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. No, the Cartels are using state assets, like municipal cops

to go after each other... that is how it looks like for the moment.

Paramilitary is not just right wing or left wing or just run by the military... but it is still a hell of an escalation.