MEXICO POLICE OFFICERS SLAUGHTERED, BUT WHO CARES?

How many times have I addressed the issue of Mexico's stability? Honestly, I've lost count. So why once again do I find myself banging away on my keyboard on the topic of Mexico? Because it matters. It matters to the overall security of the US. It matters to the good people of Mexico, and it matters to the men and women of Mexico's law enforcement agencies and military. Most of all, it matters to me. If you ask, " what is he going to rant about this time," then I have an answer for you. Fourteen Mexican State Police Officers were butchered in a military-style ambush by what I no longer refer to as "Drug Cartels." The cartels have a new name in my world. FTO's / Foreign Terrorist Organizations. Have I gone down this path as well? Yes, and I'm going to go down it again. 

Aguililla Mexico: 

That's where this latest terrorist attack took place, but it could have been anywhere in Mexico. Why do I say that? Simple. Because it's true. A terrorist group that goes by the initials of CJNG set out to not only attack the Mexican Police, they plotted to ambush them and carry out a mass killing. Yep, I used the buzz words for the US; " Mass Killings," maybe that will get DC's attention. Not only was this latest attack a Mass Killing, but it was also an information operation mission. How? The same way, many of the violent attacks by these terrorist groups have unfolded. Social Media. Not only did the CJNG ambush the police, but they took the time to place posters on the Officer's vehicles and take pictures as if they are on some trophy hunt. Yes, just days before the attack, this same terrorist group placed written messages in public, warning the police not to support the group's rivals. Does this give the perception these Officers were corrupt? Yes. Was that the purpose of the messaging? Yes. Are the police of Mexico corrupt? Yes, but not all of them, not most of them. Leadership. Look to leadership when you want to find corruption. Look to leadership all the way into the finest offices in Mexico City. Yes, this event took place in Aguililla, but the reality is, it's taking place all over Mexico. Once again, you may be asking yourself, "why is he on this again? If it's happening all over Mexico, then why pick out the attack in Aguililla"? Here is an answer you may not like and I know DC and Mexico City will deny.

Changes in confidence thus Tactics: 

Recently, you have seen me talking about how embolden Tehran has become. Well, I've also attached this change to the terrorist cartels as well, but this event was an indication of yet another change. Let me give you a break down of what took place in Aguililla from a tactical perspective. 

1. The decision was made to go on the offense against the state police. That in itself is not totally new, but the rest of this depiction makes the statement noteworthy. 

2. This ambush was planned and not just by a group of killers having a few Cervezas inside a safehouse. This event had the indicators of a well thought out attack; Yep, like any terrorist organization in the Middle East. Members placed in exact positions that would lead to maximum damage with minimum risk to the attacking party. Did you see anything in this story about bad guy bodies at the scene? Historically, when the Mexican authorities are involved in a conflict that results in the loss of Mexican government member's lives, the body count of the enemy is given as well. The lack of this information, enemy KIA, is disturbing. 

3. Inside information. If you are going to set up a complex ambush, you need intelligence. You need patterns of life and or, you need someone telling you when and where the target will arrive. Does this take us back to the issue of corruption? yes, but again, the level of that corruption is the real story. Who gave up these Officers? Just who was in on the slaughter of fourteen Law Enforcement members?

Alright, what do these three points add up to? What, "change" is taking place? Hit and Run. that was the tactic here. a new event in Mexico? Perhaps not, but the level of the attack and the amount of effort placed into the event is only rivaled by the reality the terrorist group publicly announced they were going to carry out such an attack. Does this indicate a change? What if I told you, the more important question is, is anyone paying attention? 

Guerrilla Warfare:

Hit and Run and attacks designed to demoralize the enemy, are those new to Mexico? If drugs were not involved and this was taking place in Columbia with the FARC, would this not be covered as yet another Guerrilla attack? Look. Things are changing in Mexico and some of us have been warning of these changes for some time now. Cartel Terrorist are becoming more emboldened. Their weaponry, tactics, and attitudes are unlike anything Mexico has attempted to deal with in the past. Aguilillia may or may not be the first salvo of a new cartel terrorist movement, but one this is undeniable, the threat from these groups is growing and the US will not be immune to what is taking place. 

Failure: 

Why does the Mexican government send the state and federal police as well as the local police out to fight these insurgency wars, that is what they are by the way, in vehicles that might as well be hauling watermelons to a market? Has anyone noticed how Mexico Cities High-Value Targets, political and privet sector leadership, travels in armored limos? Just what would it cost to have the very force that must confront the insurgents/terrorists on a daily bases able to move in somewhat secured vehicles? It's been going on for decades now? Is this not a topic the Mexican Government should address? If you answer my question with, "they are civilian Police Officers" not military units", then you need to look at what even the military is asked to respond with. Vehicles. That's just one topic I can bring up. When it comes to the topic of failure, the list of issues might make this post too long for people to pay attention to. So, why bring up the vehicle issue, it's not like Mexico City is going to do anything about this fact. Let me give you an answer  Mexico City and DC better pay attention to. 

Commitment: 

You wake up every morning, put on your uniform, say good buy to your family and walk out the door. your jog? well, it's one of the most dangerous jobs in all of Mexico and by the way, the guy who sells ice cream from a cart, he probably makes more money than you and nobody is out to kill the icecream guy. Anyway, you get to work and you know you have three groups of people you work with. 

Group one.

 Well, they are crooked as the day is long and this group has evey level of management involved. These members often act like they are out to change the world, but they also understand, at the end of the day, everyone they work with knows they are corrupt. 

Group Two. 

Group two is made up of those who are just trying to get by. These are the Officers who know the organization is infested with corruption, but they also know how futile and dangerous it has become to say something, much less do anything. Objective? Make it home!

Group Three:

This is the part of the force, an every decreasing percentage I might add, that is dedicated to making a difference. Those that are willing to give everything to make Mexico a better, safer place. This is the group that knows the corruption cannot be stopped, but they go out and do their job every day, regardless of the risk. 

Who made up those ambushed in Aguililla? To hear the terrorist cartels tell it, it was group one. The reality is, it was most likely members from all three groups, with groups two and three realizing, the minute the attack started, group one was the reason they were about to be killed. 

Once again. If you are still in the mood of, "so what? It's Mexico"! If you've taken this position and you live in the US, I have a dire warning for you. the day groups two and three are ambushed to the point they walk away or are simply killed off, then all that is left is group one! If that day comes, then Mexico will complete its journey into the darkness of Hell and the US will wake up to a crisis unlike any it has witnessed in the past hundred years. 

Meanwhile; back in DC, "TRUMP....TRUMP....IMPEACHMENT....VOTES..... POLLS.... REELECTIONS....TRUMP...TRUMP"! 

It seems the Mexican version of Nero has a twin brother named DC.