DRUG CARTELS AND TRUE
DEFINITION OF “TERRORISM”. DOES IT FIT?
A good friend of mine is being asked by a few US
political leaders to help draft language that would identify certain drug
cartels as FTOs ( Foreign Terrorist Organizations). He and I have a “history”
of working the issue of drug cartels and I am here to tell you, he knows what
he’s talking about. Having said that, let’s take a few minutes and see if a
nexus between the word “Terrorism” and the drug cartels truly does exist.
What is a Terrorist?
Okay, first off, a lot of people have
made great a deal of money and fame trying to frame the meaning of “Terrorism”.
“One person’s, being politically correct here, Terrorist is another person’s
freedom fighter”. Now, outside the US that stance has been hard to defeat, just
ask Hamas or Hezbollah. Most typically describe terrorist groups or individuals
as motivated by political or religious issues. Almost all the “experts” will
tell you a terrorist or terrorist movement primarily targets unsuspecting civilians.
Most will say monetary profit is not a primary goal of a terrorist group or
individual, although receiving funding for their actions often leads to a hierarchy
of leadership inside the group. Again, look at the leadership of Hamas or
Hezbollah. So, in 2019, it seems the acceptable and recognized definition of
“Terrorism” is still wrapped around political, religious and social issues.
That begs the question. Can a Terrorist or terrorist movement be based upon
nothing more than profit? Again, it’s 2019 and it could very well be time for a
review of what truly terrorizes a society.
Drug Cartels:
Did the Bootleggers of the 20s resemble the modern-day
Drug Cartels, because I’ve heard that argument over and over again and it
usually comes from those who want to legalize certain drugs. Is it just a
matter of legalization and the whole issue goes away? That’s so myopic, I won’t
waste my time on arguing that stance. As for the Bootlegger comparison, it’s
simple. It’s about proportionality. In the 20s, crime took place everyday in
every major US city, crime that was based on booze, who got to move it and sell
it. Sound familiar? So is that it? Are we just talking about the Bootleggers of
the 21st Century? No. Here is the reality the “just legalize it”
side doesn’t want to face. To the Bootleggers of the 20s, it was all about
making money by selling and moving alcohol. That was it. Yes, they dabbled in
other smaller criminal activities that eventually spread into illegal drugs,
but for the most part, the Bootleggers and the criminal organizations that
sprung up with the era of prohibition limited themselves to making money on a
local scale and their scale of violence was minuscule compared to what is
taking place today. Still don’t believe me there is no comparison? Okay, show
me a time in the US 20’s where most major highways were controlled, openly
controlled by Bootleggers? Show me an example of entire towns or being rounded
up to work in a still somewhere. Forget it. There is no true comparison. Anyone
that makes that statement is hiding from reality. The violence and the ability
to carry out mass violence makes the modern-day drug cartels unique.
So What?
So what? The US and other parts of the world have a drug
usage problem? Why should that lead to drug cartels being labeled as
“Terrorist”? I mean, bombs are not going off in Chicago or New York because
someone is upset over the conviction of one of the biggest Drug Lords in
history? Why not? If these groups were really “Terrorist” wouldn’t they be
threatening the US public and government? Wouldn’t they be bombing commercial
aircraft? They sure don’t seem to be reacting like typical Terrorist, so why
would someone in DC want to place them in this category? Why should the
American people demand the drug cartels wear a title that changes the rules of
the game for going after them? Here is the shocker and the answer is right in
front of us.
Crime:
Parts of Chicago are nearly as dangerous as Northern
Syria. Why? Drugs? Yep. In the course of 30 days, twenty-five people are killed
in open shootouts in the streets over drugs, sometimes that just in one
weekend. Is that a Terrorist act? If that was a bus bombing or a mass shooting
at a Basketball game with the gunmen screaming “Allahu Ak Bar”, would the media
or the public treat it the same way? In one year, how many crimes / murders /
are directly linked to “drugs” in the US? I once say a figure that stated 80 percent…let
that sink in for a minute. Is the manner of death relevant to the issue? If we
lose 20 in good old fashion terrorist attack, is that more impactful than a
decades old drug war? When the dead are pilled up in Syria from a terrorist
attack, it’s not near as dramatic as when it takes place here right? But…what
is the fear…….what is the fear that makes the US spends BILLIONS….even
TRILLIONS of dollars? You bet…..it’s the fear those events made come here! So
there you have it. If the “ War on Terrorism” is based on keeping it from
taking place on the streets of Pleasantville USA, then why does the US accept
the failed “War on Drugs”? Is there another avenue to help change a future that
some of us know is coming?
“It’s Mexico….It’s always been like that”. Those that follow my post, you know how often
I have addressed this ignorant viewpoint. What event or series of events makes
the US population wakeup to the dangers of the Drug Cartels? Do they get mad
over the conviction last week and bomb a public event? Is that what it would
take? Would they consider them Terrorist then? These groups control a 60
BILLION dollar industry. At what point to they decide to up their game and why
oh why should we wait until that fateful day takes place? Let me give you an
example of the kind of day the US doesn’t want to reach. Several years ago, I was talking with a few
SEDENA “Officials” about their operations along the US/ Mexican border. Two of
them had the moral integrity to admit they only control the area while they are
physically there. That same day, I sat and listened to multiple US Ranchers
testify they know longer felt safe on their own land. Several even talked of
how they would not travel onto large sections of their property near the border
because of the constant threats from the drug dealers? Is that not being
“terrorized”? Is that not a form of Terrorism? That same day, I sat with a
Rancher who had over twenty hired guns that simply helped him stay safe on his
own land. That was probably 2009, not 1869! I listen to young people talk about
what clubs you didn’t go into in cities like Del Rio Texas because the drug
gangs ran those clubs. Is that not being terrorized on you own land, in your
own town?
So why hasn’t it happened?
Why haven’t the drug cartels actually
taken on the tactics of the more known terrorist organizations? Here’s the bad
news……………..they have. I remember when the first video taped beheading started
in the Middle East. I remember how outraged the West was. As soon as that took
place, a few of us made a prediction………..it would begin in Mexico on a grand
scale. Now, in 2019, it’s a daily occurrence and not just in one city or
another, but all over the country. What is it the US government would like to
do? Wait until that level of narco violence is a daily event in the US? Look,
the short answer is this. The drug cartels are already “Terrorist”, just ask
any person trying to walk the streets of Juarez, or any other major city in
Mexico. Why hasn’t the level of violence elevated to the point it makes the
nightly news in the US? Well, do you watch the news from Chicago? What do you
think is the catalyst behind that cities image being destroyed?
We’ve tried this before:
Before I hear it again, let me address
another standard response from those who are walking through life blind. “We
tried the War on Drugs and it didn’t work. We tried intervention in Central
America to prevent the flow of illegal drugs and all we did was back ruthless
Dictators”. If I was in a classroom, that would be the moment in time I would
toss an eraser at anyone spouting out that BS. What the US was doing in that region was a pathetic attempt
to control the spread of Soviet influence in the US’s “backyard”. Yes, the DEA
went in there to make an attempt to answer the drug issue, but the effort was
just that, an attempt. Clandestine operations to “deal” with the drug world did
work, the problem was, it was never a complete national strategy. It was what
it was………a half-ass attempt to deal with a complex issue and it failed. Here is the real bad news. Times have
changed. The days of watching bad things happen in Mexico and then believing
they wont take place in the US are coming to and end. Label these groups what
they are……. A Clear and Present Danger to the United States. Does this sound
like a corny support to a fairly decent movie………… a movie that painted the
picture of an out of control US government…. a government that was actually
made to look like the bad guys? Call it
what you want, but I will tell you this. The day the flow of drugs, human
trafficking, theft of oil and I could go on and on, stops or it truly threatens the drug cartels, then the US
better be ready for a very different optic on the nightly news. Oh…..by the
way…………… these so called modern day versions of Bootleggers have documented
interaction with real terrorist organizations…..Hezbollah! Don’t believe it?
That’s okay, but the next time you want to spend a few days just seeing the
great countryside of the US, I would encourage you to take a drive along the
Texas, Mexico border. Stop in a few small towns and ask the people there if the
drug cartels influence their lives? FTO status…………it must take place and it
must take place soon! If this movement in DC keeps going, you can bet I will
keep talking about it.
