Forums > General > General Forum

tonyburton

Jul 14, 2012, 11:08 AM

Post #1 of 8 (1812 views)

Shortcut

Interesting graphics related to "drug war" etc

Can't Post | Private Reply

Canada's National Post has published one of the more interesting sets of graphics relating to the "drug war" that I've seen so far.
Follow the link.
If it is too small to read easily, then [windows] right click, hit "View image" which will show you only the graphic. Clicking on the image will then enlarge it.
http://news.nationalpost.com/...g-influence-graphic/
Full URL is http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/07/13/mexican-drug-cartels-spreading-influence-graphic/

(This post was edited by tonyburton on Jul 14, 2012, 11:08 AM)

esperanza

Jul 14, 2012, 5:57 PM

Post #2 of 8 (1758 views)

Shortcut

Re: [tonyburton] Interesting graphics related to "drug war" etc

Can't Post | Private Reply

It's really a weird article, with even stranger graphics.

First question: I keep up with this stuff, and I have never heard of the 'Federation Cartel'. What is that, please? And the article mentions the Zetas, but the Zetas do not appear anywhere in the graphic.

Second question: the graphic shows methamphetamine coming from some unnamed place to the far west of Mexico. A large percentage of Mexican meth is produced in the state of Michoacán. ???

Third question: are we to assume that drug shipment simply stops before crossing the Canadian border?

It seems to me that this is yet another incident of poor research disguised as "OMG Mexico's cartels are coming to behead us" yellow journalism.

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

tonyburton

Jul 14, 2012, 7:00 PM

Post #3 of 8 (1746 views)

Shortcut

Re: [esperanza] Interesting graphics related to "drug war" etc

Can't Post | Private Reply

Taking them in turn:

The 'Federation Cartel' is one of the many names used for the Sinaloa cartel or Sinaloa Federation. [google will provide numerous other synonyms].

The Zetas, at least in some circles, are not considered a drug-trafficking cartel, but a group of violent thugs more interested in the violence, extortion, etc, than in drug trafficking per se. [I'm also somewhat surprised that the graphic ignores them, since they now have a presence in more states, apparently, than any of the other groups].

Making meth relies on imports of chemicals from Asia; the west coast ports such as Manzanillo and Lázaro Cárdenas are the sites of regular seizures by aduana etc. I'm not sure what the percentages are, but certainly the largest finds of meth labs have been in Jalisco, including one on a farm in Tlajumulco that was allegedly the biggest bust ever.

"Are we to assume that drug shipment simply stops before crossing the Canadian border? " - No!!! There has been lots of press in Canada about the influence of Mexican cartels, especially relating to Vancouver. This is a good question, though, and might be worth asking the National Post direct.

(This post was edited by tonyburton on Jul 14, 2012, 7:01 PM)

johanson

Jul 14, 2012, 8:48 PM

Post #4 of 8 (1732 views)

Shortcut

Re: [tonyburton] Interesting graphics related to "drug war" etc

Can't Post | Private Reply

And of course when we were much younger, we in the US looked north and knew that the best bud was called "BC bud". And no I am not comparing what happened in BC in the wonderful 60s to be anything even being close to like what is happening here in Mexico.

Luckily the only drugs I take are from the drug store and are not that expensive.

mazbook1

Jul 14, 2012, 9:55 PM

Post #5 of 8 (1722 views)

Shortcut

Re: [johanson] Interesting graphics related to "drug war" etc

Can't Post | Private Reply

I think it's interesting that the only heroin (a laboratory produced drug) they take into account is Columbian, which I never heard of before. And they only seem to show it flowing to the midwest and eastern U.S. Mexican homegrown opium and home labbed heroin, called Mexican brown heroin or black tar heroin, has been an important part of the illegal drug scene in much of the western US for years.

esperanza

Jul 15, 2012, 9:27 PM

Post #6 of 8 (1627 views)

Shortcut

Re: [tonyburton] Interesting graphics related to "drug war" etc

Can't Post | Private Reply

Tony, I've spent some time today looking around to see what I could see in Mexican newspapers about the Federation Cartel. I see that this was a term used briefly in the press during 2010 and part of 2011, but since then I can't find reference to it in Mexico's press. Sinaloa Cartel is the term of choice in all Spanish-language news. I continue to believe that the person responsible for this article and graphic are behind the times at best.

As you know, I lived in both Jalisco and Michoacán for quite some time. Michoacán's leading daily newspaper, La Voz de Michoacán, reports frequently about meth labs out in the boonies being shut down and dismantled by either state police or military. I understand that there have been large methamphetamine 'finds' in Jalisco, but as far as labs go, I stand by what I wrote about Michoacán. You know and I know that the ingredients for meth are shipped in from the Far East, but they generally arrive at the port of Lázaro Cárdenas, Michoacán for distribution to the cárteles of Michoacán. At one time--around 2005-2007--the shipments were received in Manzanillo, Colima. Those shipments slowed appreciably when the Chinese kingpin Zhenli Ye Gon's property was raided and more than $205 million US dollars, Euros, and Mexican pesos (all in cash) were found stashed in a room in his house. Shutting down his shipments to Manzanillo forced the drug lords to find another port of entry into Mexico; Lázaro Cárdenas was the choice.

For more about Zhenli Ye Gon, read here: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhenli_Ye_Gon)

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

tonyburton

Jul 16, 2012, 8:26 AM

Post #7 of 8 (1573 views)

Shortcut

Re: [esperanza] Interesting graphics related to "drug war" etc

Can't Post | Private Reply

Esperanza,
As you will know, I've continued to use the term "Sinaloa Cartel" in things I write, mainly because it is readily understood by most people. I have never explored the possible merits of the alternative terms.
I didn't intend my previous response to suggest that meth wasn't a serious issue in Michoacán as well as Jalisco; I was taking that as read! My only point about meth, beyond naming the two main ports, was that I didn't have any idea how the meth industry was split between the various states involved.
Tony

richmx2

Jul 16, 2012, 11:49 AM

Post #8 of 8 (1546 views)

Shortcut

Re: [tonyburton] Interesting graphics related to "drug war" etc

Can't Post | Private Reply

"Federation" may actually be a better term, though it's misleading. The Sinaloa "Cartel" is perhaps a true cartel in that it is collusion among separate organizations to control the market, but considering that much of the violence is not collusion but competition, it might be seen as an unfriendly merger by the largest of the various enterprises.

Add the widespread perception that the Calderón Administration favors the group run by Sr. Guzmán, and there's a built-in incentive to report all government activities against any of these groups as activities against the largest of the various organizations, even when the attacks help Guzmán y Asoc. And, for the narco.pornographers, a crime "federation" sounds a lot scarier... like something out of Batman.

It would help us if these guys had a public relations department or published an annual report.

http://mexfiles.net
http://voiceofmexico.com
http://editorialmazatlan.com