Mexico: The Forever War Is a Decade Old
29th December 2016
Mexico’s Cartel War passed the ten year mark on December 11. That’s the day then-president Calderon ordered a military-led task force to enter Michoacan state and defeat very-well armed organized criminal gangs that out-gunned local and state police. Calderon feared the drug gangs were on the verge of carving out “drug duchies” similar to those in Colombia. Calderon was quickly criticized for “militarizing” a criminal problem. However, Mexico faced an unusual situation. The drug cartels had gunmen who were better trained than the police. They also had military-grade arms. The drug gangs had lots of cash to bribe politicians as well as local and state police. Drug gang firepower and cash had overwhelmed local police forces and government institutions. The drug cartels also turned their guns on one another as they fought “turf wars” for control of drug trafficking routes to the U.S. Mexican citizens were often caught in crossfires. The gangs also extorted money from legitimate businesses and kidnapped people for ransom. With cartel gunmen ambushing and out-gunning municipal, state and federal police, Calderon decided he had to use the military as a last resort. The Mexican military is the one institution the long-governing PRI (Institutional Revolutionary Party) had never completely corrupted. As 2017 begins, the military remains one of the most highly trusted institutions in Mexican society.