There in Germany [where Peña Nieto is on a state visit], by what can be seen, things are in full swing: a long walk, many events, many photos with Chicharito [star Mexican soccer player now playing on German team], perhaps some shopping, but things are not going well back here in Mexico. Not well at all.
If you don't want to believe it, just ask the residents of Morelia [capital of Michoacán], who for the second day yesterday lived through episodes of street violence, the burning of dozens of vehicles and violent highway blockades, including the Century 21 Highway that connects Morelia, capital of Michoacan, with Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, a tourist resort center par excellence [on the Pacific Coast in Guerrero, near the Michoacán port of Lázaro Cárdenas, major port of entry for drugs from South American and Asia]. Yesterday, Ixtapa was taken, burned and blockaded. Local authorities attribute the outbreak of violence to drug trafficking groups splintered off from other drug groups.
Morelia is not the only city that has seen its streets taken by narco-terrorists. In the last 24 hours, in the streets of such other Michoacán cities as Uruapan, Apatzingán and Zamora the peace has also been altered by narco-violence. [MV Note: These are in the southwestern region known as Tierra Caliente, Hot Country, along the lower Balsas River that runs through Guerrero, with branch rivers in Michoacán. Morelia is in the north-central region of the state.] It is extremely clear that Michoacán state authorities headed by nominal Governor Silvano Aureoles are totally overwhelmed, and the Federal Police have also slacked off, since it seems that today there are little hells throughout the country, which have left them scatter-brained.
Events clearly indicate that the misnamed "Commissioner for Peace" [Alfredo Castillo Cervantes, Commissioner for Public Security and Comprehensive Development of Michoacán] sent by President Peña Nieto early in his administration [January 2014] left things worse than he found them [removed, January 2015]. Before, the self-defense groups, such as those led by now-[political] prisoner Dr. José Manuel Mireles, were able to bring to heel the most aggressive groups. Today, without the self-defense groups and with other narco-cells operating with increased levels of violence, nothing seems to curb the lack of public security in Michoacán and its neighbor state Guerrero, where they [narco-gangs] have now put an end to the glorious Pearl of the Pacific called Acapulco.
The issue is not helped by cuts in the Federal Government budget, since, for example, one way of combating the narco-terrorist groups now agitating throughout the country is confronting them with more troops, be they Army or Navy. But if there is no "dough or hard cash", it's difficult to resort to this effective, though perhaps not very efficient, method.
Something that perhaps should be considered is reassessing the "Decapitate" strategy that has been the basic play in "our" fight against criminal organizations with the "War on Drugs." The main focus of government action, in short, has been to 'Go After the Heads' of the organizations. For example, "La Tuta"—narcotrafficking boss of bosses in Michoacán—has been imprisoned for more than a year, but how well has that ended the narco-violence?
If anything it only worsened the violence, so "decapitating" the narco doesn't work. Perhaps it's time to look at other strategies, broader action, an action focused on operational mechanisms, rather than on the leadership. One thing we know for sure: this extremely grave problem of narco-terrorism plaguing Mexico cannot be straightened out from long distance.
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*Manuel J. Jáuregui is a regular columnist for Reforma.
Morelia is not the only city that has seen its streets taken by narco-terrorists. In the last 24 hours, in the streets of such other Michoacán cities as Uruapan, Apatzingán and Zamora the peace has also been altered by narco-violence. [MV Note: These are in the southwestern region known as Tierra Caliente, Hot Country, along the lower Balsas River that runs through Guerrero, with branch rivers in Michoacán. Morelia is in the north-central region of the state.] It is extremely clear that Michoacán state authorities headed by nominal Governor Silvano Aureoles are totally overwhelmed, and the Federal Police have also slacked off, since it seems that today there are little hells throughout the country, which have left them scatter-brained.
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| Balsas River Valley Lower, western section of the Valley, in Guerrero and Michoacán is known as "The Tierra Caliente", "the Hot Country", because of its extreme heat. |
At the border, in Guerrero, in Veracruz and not to mention half a dozen major urban areas of Michoacán, a land that already has had a "hot" sexenio [six-year presidential administration; refers to President Felipe Calderón, 2006-2012] and it is going for another six years without peace showing up anywhere. It even seems that, in Michoacán, the Federal Government has allocated extra effort to finishing off the "self-defense" groups that firmly put a stop to the narco-terrorist groups that plague the area.
Events clearly indicate that the misnamed "Commissioner for Peace" [Alfredo Castillo Cervantes, Commissioner for Public Security and Comprehensive Development of Michoacán] sent by President Peña Nieto early in his administration [January 2014] left things worse than he found them [removed, January 2015]. Before, the self-defense groups, such as those led by now-[political] prisoner Dr. José Manuel Mireles, were able to bring to heel the most aggressive groups. Today, without the self-defense groups and with other narco-cells operating with increased levels of violence, nothing seems to curb the lack of public security in Michoacán and its neighbor state Guerrero, where they [narco-gangs] have now put an end to the glorious Pearl of the Pacific called Acapulco.
Fortunately, not traveling in the entourage on this trip to Germany, where the new presidential plane, the [multi-million-dollar]Boeing 787 Dreamliner "Jose María Morelos y Pavón" left his Germans hosts wide-eyed upon his arrival in Berlin, was Miguel Ángel Osorio Chong, Secretary of Government Relations [SEGOB] responsible for public peace in Mexico. [MV Note: The Secretary of Government Relations is, by law, supposed to stay in the country when the president is abroad, but Osorio Chong has accompanied Peña Nieto on trips, causing much criticism.]
Hence, it must be the Secretary's office on Bucareli Street that is attending to these issues that have severe repercussions for the smooth sailing of our "Magic Mexico" [government tourist office slogan] The worst is that things are also going badly in Tamaulipas, with risks of infecting Nuevo León, such that Secretary Osorio Chong must pay attention simultaneously to several pans in the fire.
Hence, it must be the Secretary's office on Bucareli Street that is attending to these issues that have severe repercussions for the smooth sailing of our "Magic Mexico" [government tourist office slogan] The worst is that things are also going badly in Tamaulipas, with risks of infecting Nuevo León, such that Secretary Osorio Chong must pay attention simultaneously to several pans in the fire.
The issue is not helped by cuts in the Federal Government budget, since, for example, one way of combating the narco-terrorist groups now agitating throughout the country is confronting them with more troops, be they Army or Navy. But if there is no "dough or hard cash", it's difficult to resort to this effective, though perhaps not very efficient, method.
Something that perhaps should be considered is reassessing the "Decapitate" strategy that has been the basic play in "our" fight against criminal organizations with the "War on Drugs." The main focus of government action, in short, has been to 'Go After the Heads' of the organizations. For example, "La Tuta"—narcotrafficking boss of bosses in Michoacán—has been imprisoned for more than a year, but how well has that ended the narco-violence?
If anything it only worsened the violence, so "decapitating" the narco doesn't work. Perhaps it's time to look at other strategies, broader action, an action focused on operational mechanisms, rather than on the leadership. One thing we know for sure: this extremely grave problem of narco-terrorism plaguing Mexico cannot be straightened out from long distance.
Reforma only allows subscribers to access articles online.
*Manuel J. Jáuregui is a regular columnist for Reforma.