I've written before about the danger from Mexican drug cartels, both in that country and in the USA. They're operating in most major US centers already. Now it appears they're spreading their operations - and their violence - to other South American nations as well. Guatemala is their latest target.
Men claiming to belong to the Zetas drug gang forced radio stations to broadcast a threat of war in a northern Guatemalan province where the government declared a state of siege last week, authorities said Tuesday.
The men arrived at three radio stations in the northern city of Coban and threatened to burn the premises down and kill journalists and their families if the message was not broadcast, Interior Ministry spokesman Nery Morales said.
The message, which the radio broadcasters read out Monday, threatened violence if Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom does not fulfill unspecified promises. It said "war will start in this country, in shopping malls, schools and police stations."
Guatemala declared a month long state of siege Dec. 19 in the northern province of Alta Verapaz, a prime corridor for smuggling drugs from Honduras to Mexico and a bastion of Mexico's brutal Zetas drug gang.
Residents in the city of Coban say gangs roam the streets with assault rifles and armored vehicles, extorting and kidnapping people. Shootouts have become a daily occurrence.
There's more at the link.
It's more and more clear that the Mexican drug cartels are no longer merely criminal organizations. They've grown so strong through decades of criminal activity, official corruption and enormous profits that they're as well organized and financed as many national governments. They can buy the same quantities of military equipment as many small armies, and hire and train their own 'soldiers' to carry out paramilitary operations in defiance of security forces. So far, their activities in the USA have not risen to this level, but that's not the case in Guatemala and elsewhere. There are also worrying indications that the cartels have linked up with terrorist movements such as FARC in Colombia, and perhaps even with Muslim terrorist organizations like Al Qaeda and Hezbollah. How long can it be before such ties lead to terrorist actions on US soil?
Peter
3 comments:
So far, their activities in the USA have not risen to this level,
Because no other American country has the second amendment, I suspect.
Leatherneck
I suspect that it'll be the same with the Mexican terrorists as it was with the Islamic terrorists. Years and years of pin-prick incidents which get bigger and bolder over time, then a huge explosion followed by massive reaction on the part of the U.S. government. I'm torn between telling my kids to learn Arabic or Spanish if they plan on going in the military.
What's surprising is that it took this long for the drug gangs to move south in an organized fashion. Northern Mexico may be the conduit towards their biggest customer, but it's also a magnet for Mexican army action. It's a smarter move to get your truly important command and control resources either to southern Mexico or to one of the small central American countries.
There's no reason for the drug gangs to commit terrorist actions here. We're the people supplying their money.
And, of course, the main outcry will be to enforce the drag laws even harder, thereby ensuring that drugs remain at the 100 times higher than pharmaceutical cost on the street, and ensuring high profits for the drug gangs.
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