‘Scarface’ For Real On The Border
by Gary A. “Rusty” Fleming Jr.I’ve been documenting the Mexican drug cartels and their operations in Mexico and the U.S. on film and in print for the past four years. I’ve contributed to magazines, newspapers and presented segments on network news, I’ve written a book on the subject and meet regularly with intelligence agents from every three lettered agency in the alphabet. I’ve had a front row seat to one of the most violent and brutal uprisings in the history of our two countries and still I am amazed that so few people, especially within our government comprehend this problem and haven’t a clue as to the true effects it is having on our own society, economy and geopolitical landscape.
The flow of illicit narcotics into the United States from Mexico is nothing new and neither is the fact that the Mexican DTO’s (Drug Trafficking Organizations) are running the entire show. Up until recently it was believed that they were earning somewhere in the neighborhood of $40 billion dollars a year from that enterprise and for the past two decades the U.S. government has been content with the lackluster results of their interdiction efforts evidenced by the fact that nothing has really changed in that time span.
But lately it seems something has finally got certain branches of our government worried and when viewed in its totality, it should worry us all; in fact, when you have seen the vision that these highly organized, well financed DTO’s have for their future, not only will you be concerned, but if you care for this country, it will scare the hell out of you.
This is the kind of stuff you see in the movies-but even “Scarface” had an ending.
I’m going to be writing in an effort to paint this picture for all to see. I do my reporting from the frontlines because I spend about two to three weeks out of every month in Mexico and along our border.
I’ve had the opportunity to get at close range to some of the most powerful drug trafficking organizations in the world. Whether that has been a blessing or a curse remains to be seen, but nonetheless, it has given me insight into a situation that is not only dangerous, but frightening–to see first hand what they are successfully doing with the money, power and influence they are amassing by selling their wares to our own people and around the world.
The men who run these organizations are not a bunch of coked out cowboys slinging their pistols in the air as they party day and night. No, these are intelligent, educated men with the resources to surround themselves with some of the sharpest minds on the planet. They run global, multi-billion dollar businesses that operate around the clock, around the world. They know the power of knowledge. They have the latest in technologies and weaponry, they use satellites for communications and surveillance. They employ their own private armies–fully trained and armed to teeth–in order to protect their operations.
Narco-terrorism is alive and well, not just along our border but all over the U.S.
Want proof? Last week 750 operatives from the Sinaloa cartel were taken down in over 120 cities across the country. Before that, last fall, 500 operatives working for the Gulf cartel were arrested in an operation spanning the south. That’s 1,250 narco-terrorists operating on American soil, receiving their instructions from Mexico, all arrested here in the last six months.
In the coming weeks, I’ll be writing in much more detail about the interviews I’m gathering from ordinary citizens who are caught in the cross-fire of daily cartel hits–family members of kidnapped children, teachers who are being extorted by the cartels, hospital staff who are afraid to do their jobs because when a wounded cop or criminal is brought to their hospital the cartels send a hit squad in to finish the job right in front of doctors and nurses…
I’ll share stories of cops who are afraid of doing their job because even though they don’t work for the cartels, their bosses do, so when they are sent out to do a job, they don’t know if they are doing it for their government or the cartel.
The bottom line is that there is no governmental force in control of the Juarez corridor, but what’s worse is that there is no single cartel in control either, making this region the most dangerous place to be in the Western Hemisphere.
The American public has little clue what the effects of narco-terrorism looks like. Mexico itself has not yet failed, but Juarez has, and it is happening 1100 feet from our border.
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33 Comments
I was watching Michael Palin's around the Pacific show. In one episode, he ended up in Bogota. It was amazing. I knew about their rebels and the drug trade, but I had no idea what the drug trade had done to that city. It looked worse than anything created for any of these apocalyse movies. Absolutely stunning. I would assume parts of Mexico are similar. What a horrible prospect, and even worse if they start exporting it to this side of the border.
Nice article, thanks.
Another reason to reconsider the war on drugs? I don't much like the idea of recreational drugs, and I have serious reservations about legalization (or decriminalization). But would drug use get any worse (and I'm not being ironic) if we took that course? One thing is sure. Huge amounts of our legal and enforcement resources are being used to fight this "war," and the problem just seems to get worse. And now the problem is already turning into a genuine border war. Will the collapse of Mexico make the problem go away? That is no longer a mere "criminal problem" for our neighbor to the south. It's a civil war, and the drug kingpins seem to be winning. I don't have a solution, but the present methodology doesn't work in either country.
Wow, Rusty, you've got guts. Living near the border, I know some of it. All I can say is that you will be in my prayers. They are ruthless.RUTHLESS!
I know some guys.
Narco kingpins are tough, clever, and ruthless. But I haven't seen anyone able to wrestle with a JDAM and win.
Question is, who wants to make the tough decision?
It starts with the belief that intoxication is a superior state of being. Then comes the exploitation of that belief.
The .gov will ignore this until one of the cartels sneaks operatives from Al Queda et al into the US, and that group pops a nuke or a chemical weapon in L.A., Phoenix, San Diego, Dallas, etc.
Or they'll wait until the flailing Mexican government finally collapses, and we have 60 million refugees flooding northward in the span of days, and we have to re-deploy 5-10 military divisions across the southern border and warships into the sea lanes offshore with no forseeable end date.
Until then, private citizens continue to both document and interdict more than the government agents do.
Which might sound impressive, until you find out how abysmally inept, leaderless, and hamstrung those agents are, and how little they actually accomplish.
Rusty,
Saw your segment on Beck the other day. It was great, hopefully he will ask you back on for more time on this. I just read in the news that the county next to mine in ATL was considered a major trafficking site, and that they were coming up the coast to GA to use it as a gateway. Great, I was already scared before I saw this. Thanks for all your hard work, keep safe.
Rusty, I look forward to reading your stuff.
Right now, I have a (possibly false) sense of security in that I know the heads of the DTOs are businessmen and their goal is to make money. Much like the mob and inner-city gangs, the fastest way to ruin your business is to get the US government after you. So, it is very much in their interest to make sure that Americans (especially on our soil) do not get hurt by their drug war.
I have a similar thought about DTOs smuggling in Al Qaeda types. No matter how much they were paid for the job, it would not be worth the resulting crackdown on border security that would necessarily follow.
But, hey, maybe I am naive.
PLEASE report how sanctuary policies like those of Los Angeles and it's former gang-member mayor contribute to the comfort level of illegal drug gangs to operate here in the United States, and how they imperil all Americans. This is so interconnected to unfettered illegal immigration that it's truly mind-boggling how American politicians don't/can't/won't do anything about it on any level. Dig into which American politicians and law enforcement officials are being paid off by the cartels. Looking forward to your reports.
I eagerly anticipate this particular series. Recently, I moved away from a tiny West Texas town circa 70 miles from the border. It is one of the least populated areas of the lower 48 states, but due to drug trafficking, it has the HIGHEST ratio of police to population, and it did nothing but get "worse" every year that I lived out there.
Rather than possibly stepping on your suggestions, as I'm sure your first-hand experience trumps mine, I'll just hold my tongue and wait (Yes, this is a sign of the End Times. LOL!).
[...] Fleming, over at Big Hollywood, is describing the Mexican Drug Trafficing Organizations (DTOs) that increasingly are the law and government in are…. Go read the whole article. And then consider the Obama Administration’s laser focus on this [...]
[...] Fleming, over at Big Hollywood, is describing the Mexican Drug Trafficing Organizations (DTOs) that increasingly are the law and government in are…. Go read the whole article. And then consider the Obama Administration’s laser focus on this [...]
I'm really looking forward to this. My cousin lives in El Paso and the tales she tells!! As for legalizing drugs….I dunno, I'm one of those odd souls who hates to be out of my right mind so I don't indulge in pharmaceuticals or alcohol. But I'm beginning to think that most of mankind is genetically progammed to take mind-altering substances. I'll just stick with caffeine.
I look forward to your insights. I would say the first (and one of the only purposes) of the government is to defend our borders. We should fight this like a war. The narcos are.
BTW what is a narco-terrorist? I don't want to see the term terrorist become meaningless because it's applied to every situation.
I happened to catch that one.. I think it was the only episode I saw, and I just got to thinking, maybe EVERYONE in the a three-letter govt agency (INS, FBI, DEA, etc.) should be forced to watch this episode.
and then you have complete fools, like the mayor Chicago that says this is all our fault. Yep, not whether Mexico has ever had a legitimate govenment, or whether the cops down there have ever been honest, nope, its our fault. Yep, its american guns and american drug use. on that last one, hasn't it been liberal democrats that celebrate drug use?
Perhaps we should re-define the "war on drugs." Shift it to a national security threat (for real, not the lip-service version). The rules of engagement will be to allow the military to engage anyone coming across the border.
The Media is in complete denial on this and on illegal immigration. When the guy who murdered Chandra Levy was named, NO media outlet would mention that he was an illegal alien. They have such a knee jerk response of denial on this issue it is infuriating.
Don't expect much for from the feds either.
As the present methodology is to do essentially nothing, your "solution" is pointless.
Yes drug use would get worse. The cartels now also smuggle weapons into this country, as well as people, including known and suspected terrorists, because they control all the smuggling routes.
Virtually NONE or our "legal and enforcement resources" are being used to fight ANY of this. The U.S. Attorney in S.D. refuses to prosecute anyone crossing illegally unless they've been arrested at least 200 times! That's beyond insane. It certaily isn't a "war".
Do you suppose that Mexico agreeing to suspend *their* war on drugs would make the cartels go away?
They lose more people in a year to it (and we're talking police, soldiers, and judges, particularly) than the number of US casualties in Iraq.
The problem gets worse because it's NOT being preosecuted as a war.
You're absolutely correct that the problem is just not at the borders. Come to Phoenix. What's more troubling is that a former Arizona governor, Janet Napolitano, now runs Homeland Security. She only got religion on the borders when Republicans in our Congress forced her hand. I wouldn't trust Janet Napolitano to run a neighborhood block watch program much less Homeland Security. People should be very concerned. It's a war on multiple fronts–drugs, human trafficking, illegal immigration. And it's not getting any better.
http://the100mostannoyingthings.blogspot.com/
You're right…..it IS a national security threat. I am with LawhawkSF that we need to rethink our policies. "Drugs are Bad, MKay" but…….this "War on Drugs" only serves to enable farm subsidies, eliminate potential tax revenue, actually make drugs easier to get(especially for kids), expand the prison state and generally grow the Government Beast! OOpps my Libertarian is showing…….pardon.
And for those of you who keep musing or intellectually flirting with drug legalization, where do you then draw the line? If you ever do.
Do you intend to legalize heroin, cocaine, and meth?? The drug lords import all of that too.
And they do smuggle Islamic terrorists, because it really is all about the money, as the recovery of Korans and prayer rugs among the tons of detritus left behind in the southwestern desert regions attests. People don't pay $20-40K to get into the US in order to pull down $15K/yr working in car washes.
When gangs formerly occupied in selling drugs are now here, with guns, and no sense of responsibility, do you think they'll all get jobs and pay taxes once dope is legal?!?
Or will you wait until they're raping your daughters in front of you and robbing your businesses weekly in broad daylight, having long since paid off the cops, before you recognize that perhaps there's a host of problems that appeasement doesn't solve?
Honestly…
With everything legal the hardcore would just kill themselves off……Darwinian theory in action……just kidding. You hit on the real quandary of our situation, but it would be interesting to study which costs more(financially and morally)….what we do now or legalization and better treatment for the hardcore? Just throwing it out there.
You discribe the gang issue just as effectively………..this whole issue is one of the biggest problems facing our society and the world as a whole……..I wish there was an easy answer…….I fear there is not.
Whoa, please re-read what I said. "your 'solution' is pointless." I went out of my way to say that I don't have a solution, so I'm not sure exactly what you're referring to. I recognize that there is a distinct possibility that if we decriminalized drugs, drug use might go up, but that's not a proven fact. At least as to marijuana, in The Netherlands where it is legal, usage is considerably lower than in the U.S., where it is not legal.
One possible alternative is to treat recreational drugs as we treat the big drug–alcohol. If you do something illegal as a result of drinking (e.g., drive under the influence, beat the crap out of somebody, rob a liquor store), then you get arrested and prosecuted. Drink yourself into a stupor at home, you're on your own.
CONTINUED
"Virtually NONE of our 'legal and enforcement resources" are being used to fight ANY of this." My friends on the various police departments and my son-in-law (a California prison guard) would beg to differ. Our courts are tied in knots with drug prosecutions. Our jails and prisons are overflowing with drug-related offenders. And if drugs had been legalized or decriminalized in the 70's, my driminal defense practice would have been cut in half.
I think it would be beneficial to very quickly pass legislation that would make it a capitol offense for a US official to accept bribes or work for criminal organizations. That would quickly drop the appeal of making money on the side, and anyone who was told that they could take "silver or lead" could honestly say "I'm dead either way", thereby nullifying the threat. Threats don't work if the threatened party is unable to comply. It is outrageous that some officers fear that the people they report to could be employed by these gangs. That is no way to live, and certainly doesn't promote productivity.
It's time to get creative, goodness knows the criminals are.
Just out of curiousity, how many criminals in federal custody have been executed in the last 30 years, and how many federal agents have been killed by criminals in the same time span?
Passing more rules to cover those who, by definition, don't obey rules in the first place, is generally only espoused by the liberal sophists among our citzenry.
If we're serious about a war, it bears noting that we don't have a *law* that says our troops can kill the enemy.
We simply tell them to do that, and they do it, with aplomb, with gusto, and with a calm professionalism that has cowed the entire world.
What would be beneficial would be setting them to it, minus the recent custom of preliminary bed-wetting, hand-wringing, and self-loathing apology usually appended to efforts to protect ourselves from the world's evil ones.
The drug cartels are peopled by criminal murdering thugs beyond the pale of criminal justice protections. We oughtn't be out to arrest them. We ought to hoist the red flag, slit their throats, and napalm their enclaves.
We can do it *there*, or we can wait until we have no other choice but to do it *here*.
History commends fighting your battles elsewhere than your living room and front yard.
CONTINUED
If the production of drugs were made legal, we would probably find that usage would remain fairly static, or even drop when the "forbidden fruit" factor is eliminated. There might even be the added benefit of less dangerous drug quality, plus tax revenue. That's what happened when the 18th Amendment was repealed. The mafia lost a major source of money, and gang activity dropped dramatically, while police and courts were freed up to deal with all the other crime.
Finally, you have intermixed the illegal immigration issue with the drug issue. They are currently interlaced, but legalization/decriminalization could go a long way toward alleviating that problem. I'm a hawk (pardon the pun) on illegal immigration, so you won't get any argument from me on that issue. We solve our problem, let Mexico solve its own. Perhaps once the "drug war" is over, we can get serious about protecting our borders and fighting the spillover cartel wars when they try to enter our sovereign territory.
And once again, I was asking questions, not proposing a "do-nothing" solution.
If we want the border's secure, the Marines can do it. Take them about three months to set up and get it done.
Where's the issue?
LawHawkSF, I love you.
I'm all about love. Just ask my liberal friends. On second thought, maybe you had better not ask them.
No argument about the Marines. The issue is getting someone with "proper authority" to authorize it and give the Marines free rein.
Nobody – nobody with the "proper authority", that is – has got the stones to do it.
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