Mexico - Mexico's Powerful Drug Cartels May Be Joining Forces

[Yetti]

As the violence in Mexico spikes, four major drug cartels that are fighting each other for territory and smuggling routes may be forming alliances with each other.

Currently three cartels control most of the border region between the U.S. and Mexico. But the federation, or Sinaloa cartel, is fighting for a larger area of the border and may be negotiating a truce with the Gulf cartel.

Fred Burton, vice president for counterterrorism and corporate security at Stratfor Global Security says it's not surprising these groups are trying to join forces.

"We've seen reports coming out of Mexico that cartels have set down and tried to do business together because of, let's face it, pressure. Whether that be law enforcement pressure or military pressure, (it) is bad for business."

The Sinaloa traditionally has used southern Arizona as its avenue to smuggle drugs into the United States. But these once-open borders have been shut down by U.S. Border Patrol agents, who have increased patrols and put up fences. Agents say it only makes sense that the Sinaloa cartel would fight for new territory and at the same time look for a new partner.

If the Sinaloa struck an alliance with the East Coast-based Gulf cartel it would gain another smuggling route into the United States and an important ally in the war against the Mexican military.

In the last two years, Mexico has deployed 50,000 Mexican troops and federal police officers along the northernmost regions in order to confront the drug cartels, after President Felipe Calderon pledged to tackle the growing problem. His strategy has been met with varying success.

President Obama said Wednesday that he was looking at possibly deploying National Guard troops to contain the violence, and the administration has been watching cartel movement closely.

"If they have to adapt their tactics, whether that means negotiating with another cartel, or whether it means giving up certain trafficking routes — which we have also seen — all of those are a reflection of effective strategy to pressure these cartels," said Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Roberta Jackson.

The drugs cartels are now claiming they have as many as 100,000 foot soldiers at their disposal — which include a growing number of deserters from the Mexican military. This has turned this conflict into what some experts call an evenly-matched fight. Others describe it as a propaganda battle.

"It's not particularly surprising to see them claiming thousands and thousands of people in their employ, so that they can try and frighten the population, intimidate people including the security forces against whom they are operating," Jackson said.

But Burton, who studies the unrest daily, said more disturbing than the sheer number of foot soldiers, is the cartels' firepower.

"I think the most frightening aspect of this, if you look at this, are not so much the numbers of 100,000. It's the tactical capabilities that the cartels have, for example in places like Reynosa when they are able to muster RPG's and law rockets."

Whether the cartels work together or not, the bloodshed in Mexico is expected to get worse, as the U.S. clamps down, secures border areas and tried to stem the flow of narcotics.

At the San Ysidro checkpoint near San Diego, Border Patrol agents seized some 700 pounds of cocaine from 2007 to 2008, a massive increase from under one pound the year before. And busts this year have continued to climb another 44 percent.

In some seized vehicles, agents discover drugs stuffed into every possible crevice by Mexico's powerful drug cartels. Cocaine is being found inside cassette and CD players, packed into fenders, even strapped around the engine. This is an indication that the traditional smuggling lanes are being redefined, and despite efforts to stem the flow, the drug war rages on.

"The creativity is just endless. If there is an empty void in that vehicle somewhere, I would imagine there is a smuggler out there looking to utilize that, to sneak contraband into this country," Rick Barlow of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Todd Hoffman, acting director of Customs and Border Protection field operations in San Diego said: "It's the whole balloon mentality with deeper concealments, that's what we've been seeing."

As new walls go up, the cartels are forced to find new routes north, which — in the case of cocaine — brings them back to where they started: the San Diego area. These smuggling routes, which had been used for years, were abandoned in favor of easier ways into the U.S.

"A lot of them originated in San Diego. Their roots are in San Diego and as we gain control of the border across the nation, I think some of these smuggling operations are coming back to their roots. Coming back to the San Diego area. This is home to them," said Barlow.

Back home — of sorts — because of the crackdown on once wide open areas of the border in eastern California, southern Arizona and New Mexico are closing up.

And it's not just what's coming north, but what the American drug demand is shipping south. Last year Mexican immigrants sent remittances home totaling about $25 billion dollars, while estimates of drug money flowing south to the cartels total up to $39 billion dollars, many times in large bundles of cash.

Federal agents say better training, intelligence and scanning equipment has helped them crackdown on smuggling in both directions. The Mexican government tells Fox News they are also trying to increase their enforcement, while at the same time battling the cartels for control along the San Diego border.


http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,509042,00.html

Reputation Comments on this post:

nice find, though a shame they dont appreciate that the mexican govenment essentially own the cartels they speak about

[Phentasies]

I find it hard to believe they could settle their differences after blowing away 15,000+ of their own buds.

And what about the zetas? They broke AWAY from the gulf cartel and become an independent operation and are infact behind much of the violence.

The gulf cartel has been on the verge of collapse ever since losing their paramilitary wing. Id be more inclined to say its a corporate takeover rather than an "alliance". Sinaloa/Tijuana, did they merge after the Felixs went down?

There is or at least was the other year, 3 cartels, not just 2. The tijuana cartel (Felix-arellano organization), the Juarez cartel (Sinaloa Cartel) with their death squad Los Numeros, and the gulf coast cartel with their uber paramilitary wing Los Zetas - which has since become its own criminal enterprise thus substantially weakening the gulf coast cartel.

I guess the tijuana cartel was taken over by the sinaloa or has become a federation of independent traffickers after Eduardos arrest and his brother Ramon being killed by police in a Sinaloa shootout. If the Sinaloa control Tijuana and are fighting to hold Juarez and are successful then the gulf coast cartel is going to crumble and you will then see the zetas fill their place with the most hardcore violence possible - likely will start to see very large scale bombings become commonplace, more insurgency-like tactics to maintain control of the eastern corridors against a force significantly more richer and powerful with control of the massive central and western corridors.

[Greenport]

America wouldn't be killing drug cartels if drugs were legalized and taxed.

Drug cartels wouldn't be fighting back if America weren't killing them.

This war wouldn't exist if the prohibition wasn't in place!! They're trying to stop human nature. It's in our nature to use drugs. We do every single day of our lives - both legally and illegally, and regardless of a drug's legal status, if a person wants it, by all means they will try to get it. It is government versus human nature.

That doesn't mean I think that it's right for the drug cartels to be killing people, but I understand - unlike the easily led sheep - that they're only fighting back when they are met with force.

Let it happen, America. Let it escalate into an entire WAR, with murderers controlling the flow of illegal drugs into this country. All the meanwhile, your citizens will keep smoking their weed and doing their other drugs, wondering why the fuck they live in a place where their government kills and arrests people for it.

America doesn't even know what it's fighting for.

Do not let that be forgotten people - in the next few months the American government is going to try and make the drug cartels look like the bad people. And yes, many are evil people but nonetheless they are fighting for human rights. Don't let that cause be overshadowed!

[xctico]

Originally Posted by Greenport

Do not let that be forgotten people - in the next few months the American government is going to try and make the drug cartels look like the bad people. And yes, many are evil people but nonetheless they are fighting for human rights. Don't let that cause be overshadowed!

What do you mean "make them" look bad?

Drug cartels are friends with Al Qaeda, & Saddam Hussein!

Who wants some freedom fries? or perhaps this time we'll get freedom nachos?

[umbra1010]

America wouldn't be killing drug cartels if drugs were legalized and taxed.

Drug cartels wouldn't be fighting back if America weren't killing them.

not necessarily. If we put taxes on it, there would still be those who dislike the taxes and evade them. Look at the moonshine business. Once prohibition ended, there were still moonshiners because they did not want to pay the taxes.

[Sven99]

Originally Posted by umbra1010

not necessarily. If we put taxes on it, there would still be those who dislike the taxes and evade them. Look at the moonshine business. Once prohibition ended, there were still moonshiners because they did not want to pay the taxes.

Sure, but they were and are a very small percent of the market.

Most moonshiners do it as a hobby. While you'll occasionally get those who do it to make money, its not very common - mostly because they can't compete with the big legal suppliers on price and make a decent living.

And most importantly, the Police would have more manpower and resources to target the much smaller illegal market as it wouldn't have to focus on the much larger legal market.

[Absu]

Yea no... Sinaloa and Gulf cartel cannot and will not ever stand together, its not that simple... actually the rupture between the gulf cartel and the Zs started when the GC announced a "temporary truce" with sinaloa, its kind of hard to listen to your boss tell you to not try to get revenge and forget about the fact that half your family and your friends are dead, and that theres gonna be a truce because your loosing money... and by the way since theres a truce were gonna cut back on your salary. lol. Its suicide fpor the cartels to give contradictory messages to people... Yea the government is doing a few "hits" but just like the economical crisis its a cycle, bosses cant be around forever, and even so it seems like they do...

I dont think Sinaloa is really scared at the government, they are more like REALLY ANGRY at it right now... and the GC/Zs which is pretty much the same, their really isnt any gulf cartel anymore only Zs... they see the government as their primary enemy, even knowing they will die one by one they dont care, they actually worship death... but anyway, my point is Sinaloa and gulf are like two gladiators in a coleseum, and the government and its new "refined" drug on wars is like heavy rain, sure its gonna affect their battle skills, but it wont cross their minds to unite and do a "anti-rain" dance...

Actually the battle was practically over in 2007, the federation had the gulf cartel and the Zs pretty much "contained" and cornered... but then Mayo Zambada and one of the strongest members of the federation "Alfredo el Mochomo Beltran" which had MANY MANY followers for being so humble and philantropic, and also Chapo guzmans cousin, well they got into a no-turning-back fight over a person MZ killed after Mochomo asked him not to, so MZ scared of betrayal sent the army to get Mochomo, and he was arrested on january 2008... MZ actually sent him a "im sorry" gift for the relative he killed, a briefcase filled with the worlds finest watches... and a gps device hidden in it how sick is that.
After mochomos arrest, his big brother arturo beltran, the family leader, went COMPLETELY CRAZY about his little brother being betrayed by MZ and after he had fought hard against the Zs for years, knowing the federation was gonna betray him too, he went back to the gulf, rearmed and injected the cartel with millions, the gulf is made out of family-less mercenaries who as I said worship death and cut off your head after days of torture, they were happy to receive a new, crazy, completely enraged boss, and even happier to know it was THE ONLY GUY WHO WAS ACTUALLY KICKING THEIR ASSES.
Thats how the war and the bloodshed started in 2008, the governments little war on drugs had little or no inlfuence on the chaos that came because many people had to decide what side to take, PEOPLE IN THE SAME CITIES who on one hand knew MZ was the ultimate boss, but they also empathized with the beltran family, knowing they had been betrayed after so much work they had done, so many people were like "shit, this guy is gonna betray me next fuck that".... another factor came into place here, everyone who was unemployed by the cartels at the time and knew how to work a gun got an offer of 500 dlls A DAY to take a side and join the war... the rest u saw it on the La times...

My humble conclusion, the spree of violence and death we have seen these past 2 years are the symptoms of decadence of an invisible empire that had quietly formed very much past the power of the government,... MZ, right now, is probably regreting his betrayal.

Reputation Comments on this post:

interesting information - wonder what is source?

[umbra1010]

That's a good point Sven99.

[FuBai]

What is a "law rocket"?

[umbra1010]

Originally Posted by FuBai

What is a "law rocket"?

its an anti-take weapon properly called the m72 LAW.

[Woodman]

Originally Posted by FuBai

What is a "law rocket"?

It's a Light Anti-Tank Weapon (LAW), like a small shoulder-fired bazooka.

I don't know if it's still a one-shot deal, or now capable of re-loading, but unless the original design was updated, it is probably still a single-shot disposable weapon.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M72_LAW

There's much better shit out there though, like wire-guided (or TOW) missiles. Harder to get, more expensive, but far more versatile and much more accurate than the LAW.

http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/tow.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4H1u7iWVfdY