Mexico: Calderon is winning

Since Mexico’s President Louis Calderon began his war against the drug cartels over 30,000 people have been murdered. That’s just the reported ones, the many more individuals that have disappeared, never to be found, is scary.
A sane person would call the battles in Mexico outright war. Reports say that the Mexican government is deploying an additional 3,000 troops to the northern Tamaulipas area and they have been arriving there since November 13. This is in addition to the Mexican marine forces already in the area and special operations forces will be sent into the area as well.
Military officials have said they will be establishing checkpoints on the highways and one hundred per cent of all vehicles will be stopped. Mobilizing that much armed manpower into one area sounds impressive, but it’s small compared to areas like Chihuahua which has over 10,000 troops on guard.
In the Greater Reynosa area, a city of just over a million people, drug traffickers have complete control. Armed Thugs openly patrol the streets shooting any opposition. In Reynosa, those who can leave have done so and the others are forced to live like hidden mice.
Also in the same general area residents had to flee because gunmen began running through the town yelling at people to get out. These incidents occurred on November 5 in Cuidad Mier because the Los Zetos cartel wanted the town for a staging area.
Reports indicate that about 300 residents have found shelter in the town of Miguel Aleman where a couple of temporary housing settlements have been established.
The killings have taken on a bizarre evil twist as beheading and dismemberment are taking place following torture. In that wonderful exotic resort Acapulco, four beheaded bodies were found in a park.
The Mayor’s body in Santiago was found with its eyes gouged out. In the pretty community of Cuernavacas four decapitated bodies were hung from a bridge for all to see.
One reporter for the Los Angeles times says that it’s hard to cover any story in Mexico because there is no one to be trusted. The local police are corrupt, the mayor is on the cartel payroll, the cab drivers are informants and every business is probably linked to the cartels.
In the last weeks of 2010 federal authorities began to make major gains with more than a half dozen cartel leaders being shot or arrested. As of this date, the La Familia cartel is having serious trouble surviving.
On November 5 the leader of the Gulf Cartel, Tony Tormenta was killed and that has weakened his organization’s fight against the Los Zetos cartel. Sinaloa cartel leader Jesus israel de las cruz Lopez was arrested by federal forces on January 5, 2011 which is another blow against these evil cartels.
It is regrettable that the President of The United States, Barack Obama will not make the same efforts from the United States side of the border. We do hear of some arrests and tunnels are found and closed, but those are having a very small effect on the overall war.
The United States and Mexico border needs to be sealed with only controlled crossings. Pandering to the large Hispanic vote in the United States is not helping the war inside Mexico. One can understand the emotional fear for family that exists in the southern United States, but the cartels must be stopped.
We can only hope that President Calderon will continue his gains and we should pray that his successor in 14 months will continue the battle. The President of Mexico is brave indeed, and he is fighting for the life of his country.
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