I spent a year living in Mexico City during 1992-1993 studying and writing about a variety of security issues including the U.S. led “war on drugs.” My longest paper from that research era, “US Drug Control in the Americas: Time for a Change,” reviewed historical and contemporary efforts (as of 1993) to combat the scourge of illegal drugs “at the source” in Latin America. Of course Latin American countries are certainly not the only sources of illegal drugs and never have been. The opportunity to make meth in labs has made many communities in the United States sources as well as distribution points for illegal drugs. The summative, negative impact of the drug trade on our society is HUGE. While living in Mexico and traveling not only in Mexico but also in parts of Central America (Panama, Guatemala and El Salvador) I became aware of the VERY strong role of Mexican drug cartels in the politics, economics, and overall social scene of Mexico.
I remember hearing about the potential “Colombianization” of Mexico and the US Mexican border back in 1992-93. My perception at that time was that IF the Mexican and US governments conducted strong police and military efforts to try and break the power of the drug cartels in Mexico, particularly in the northern states, the result would be an untenable war zone and political instability like that of Colombia. The 1985 assassination of US DEA agent Kiki Camarena was a dramatic example of the potential power of Mexican drug cartels in the 1980s. Friday’s Associated Press article, “E-mail warns of bloody weekend in Mexican border city,” confirms my perception of 15 years ago that the lawless state of some areas in Mexico make the regions ripe for Colombianization. The AP authors wrote:
The streets of Ciudad Juarez are empty after police became aware of an e-mail warning that this weekend will be “the bloodiest” in the Mexican border city. Ciudad Juarez police have been given assault rifles and instructed not to patrol the streets alone. The e-mail says that gunmen will open fire at malls, restaurants, nightclubs and other public places and that there will be “killings all over the city.” Ciudad Juarez Police Chief Roberto Orduna says the threats must be taken seriously and sought to reassure residents in a news release Thursday, saying police will be more vigilant. Officials say that more than 200 people have been killed in Ciudad Juarez, a city of 1.3 million people across from El Paso, Texas, as drug cartels fight for territory.
When many U.S. citizens think of lawlessness and war today, we likely think of our ongoing, bloody and costly war in Iraq– in both human lives of US combatants, Iraqi combatants, Iraqi non-combatants, and U.S. taxpayer dollars. We also SHOULD think of our (U.S.) ongoing war effort in Afghanistan. We should not lose sight, however, of the violence taking place just south of our border.
Growing up as I did in the United States, I took it for granted that if our family had a problem with criminals, we could call the police for help and they WOULD help. When I lived in Mexico, if you had a problem the LAST thing you wanted to do was call the police. Fortunately I was connected to the US Embassy at that time, and if needed I could call the Marine guard station at the embassy. I never had to do that, but I certainly remembered that option. People who ran into trouble in Mexico more often (if they didn’t have embassy connections) called friends for assistance rather than the police. Private bodyguards were VERY common among the wealthy and elite. The overall civil climate with respect to law and order was much different than what I was used to in the United States. Even with these realities, I LOVED living in Mexico City (except for the horrible pollution, of course) and wouldn’t trade my year there for anything. The relationships I built and cultivated in Mexico were life-changing and ones I still treasure. That said, however, I am certainly glad I do not live with the uncertainly and fear which can come from living in an environment where law enforcement officials have relatively little power over strong criminal elements and very little respect and confidence from the general public. This article about expected violence this weekend in Ciudad Juarez brings all these ideas to mind.
I hope this prediction of violence in Ciudad Juarez does not come to pass. I have not been to El Paso for a couple of years. The last time I was there, my breath was literally taken away at night by the expanse of lights at night which WAS Ciudad Juarez. If you haven’t spent time on the U.S. – Mexico border, I think your ability to form insightful and accurate perceptions about it is extremely limited. I’ve spent very little time on the border myself, but my time there has influenced my thinking in important ways. See my May 2007 post, “Humanizing discussions about immigration and borders” for more of my thoughts along these lines.
We need to help our students develop and cultivate more personal perceptions and understandings of our global society. The challenges faced by people just like us in other places and contexts would likely surprise and even shock many U.S. students. We are barely beginning to scratch the surface of opportunities we have for international education and collaboration via digital learning tools. I am dismayed by articles like this one from the AP about violence in Mexico and on the US/Mexican border, but I am motivated by it to further equip learners of all ages with the knowledge and skills to be constructive change agents in their local communities for important values like human rights and self determination. The WITNESS website is an example of a technology-powered initiative focused on political activism and change-making. Their steps are:
See it. Film it. Change it.
This type of message of empowerment for political change is certainly anathema (banished, exiled, excommunicated or denounced, sometimes accursed) in many contexts, including many of our schools where read/write websites and technology tools are completely banned from both teacher and student use. I am not naive enough to think simply arming people with Internet-connected laptops, blogs and digital camcorders is going to immediately change political realities like those in northern Mexico, where the power of drug cartels is enormous. I do think, however, that citizen journalism as well as more “traditional” journalism will continue to play a HUGE role in supporting movements for constructive political and social change around the world.
Renavatio Productions’ documentary “Drug Wars, The Colombianization of Mexico” is scheduled for release in fall 2008. The trailer for this film is very bloody and may not be appropriate for a student audience at school, but it certainly gives a stark, visible edge to these conversations about drug cartel power in our hemisphere. (Thanks to jnsampson for this link.) I have not seen this film and do not necessarily agree with its conclusions or political message, but the REALITIES it is highlighting in terms of drug-related violence and the potential for it to escalate in both the United States and Mexico is very real.
This weekend, if you are living in the United States and celebrating the Memorial Day holiday with family and friends, attending events like air shows, picnics and festivals like we are in Oklahoma, it would be good to keep the people of Ciudad Juarez in your thoughts and prayers. I certainly will be.
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Comments
2 responses to “Drug violence in Mexico is bad: VERY bad”
Immigration issues are important to discuss and address in schools. The video Torres Family was created by one of our recent “Celebrate Oklahoma Voices” project teacher participants and reveals the kind of personal connections many people in our state DO have in their families to the fear of violence, reprisals, etc., and the reasons why they immigrated to the United States and eventually Oklahoma.
Find more videos like this on Celebrate Oklahoma Voices!
I hope more of our participants create videos like these in the months ahead as our oral history project grows.
@Wes
Thanks for sharing on the situation in Northern Mexico. My father recently returned from some business trips to Mexico city and commented that the company hires private security to escort them from facility to facility. I thought he was joking until I read your post. Certainly a lot of fun.