Rival gunmen blocked roads near the US border on 6 November after the marines killed one of Mexico’s top kingpins. Ezequiel Cardenas, also called ‘Tony Tormenta’, was shot dead by marines on 5 November. He was one the fourth top drug gang leaders (kingpins) killed or captured since December last year when President Calderon launched his army-led drug war. Quickly after Tony Tormenta’s death, gunmen used buses and trucks to block roads in Reynosa, a Mexico city near the US border where Tormenta was shot dead. Fightings also broke out between gunmen and soldiers in Reynosa, resulting in the death of two assailants and massive transportation chaos. More than 31,000 people have been killed across Mexico since the country launched his cartel crackdown in December 2006. At least 18 mayors have been killed since 2008.
Drug cartel violence is such a serious issue in Mexico that it is almost out of control by the law enforcement agencies. The violent response by gangsters to Tony Tormmenta’s death once again showed that military crackdown may not be an effective solution to the issue. Although killing the head of a drug cartel may bring a short-term impact on the cartel’s morale and leadership, it is not able to reduce the cartel’s power greatly or deter the cartel from continuing their violent acts. The fall of an evil leader of an evil group will not give rise to a good leader in the same group. Revenge will ensue, giving rise to a new evil leader and more attempt killings of the leaders of the good (police chiefs and mayors). That is why so many mayors have been killed or threatened away since 2008. Measures must be taken by the Mexican government to address the root causes of the drug cartel violence: high demand of drugs, high supply of firearms, economic and social problems. No wonder Mexico lawmakers have recently vetoed a bill of drug war reform to increase government expenses on combating drug cartel violence by force.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6A51JJ20101106
1 comment:
Maybe offering methods of rehabilitation or trying to decrease the demands for drugs would be more effective than killing a leader of a drug cartel. Clearly more chaos ensued after his death and even if he had just been jailed illegal drug trades would still occur. Hopefully Mexico is able to resolve the issue before violence takes over.
Post a Comment