The head of a Mexican cartel has instructed associates to use deadly force on this side of the border if necessary, which could lead to violence aimed at American law-enforcement agents, the Los Angeles Times is reporting.
The order that smugglers should “use their weapons to defend their loads at all costs” came from Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who heads the Sinaloa Cartel and who the Times identifies as Mexico’s most-wanted fugitive. It’s a shift from the previous position of avoiding confrontations in the United States with law enforcement officers or rival drug traffickers.
And that’s what has me confused.
The Mexican Army is currently trying to take down the cartels. Why risk dragging the United States into what has, thus far, remained an internal security issue for the Mexican government because, for the most part, the cartel violence hasn’t spilled into America?
The article implies that desperation is the reason.
“… Some U.S. intelligence officials suggested Guzman was on the defensive because of enforcement efforts on both sides of the border and because he can no longer afford to ditch valuable cargoes when challenged by rivals or authorities,” the article states.
Which, if true, could dramatically change what has been the reality along the border. So far, according to the article, “the contrast has been stark — near-daily violence in Mexican border towns with relative tranquility on the U.S. side, according to data and interviews with law enforcement officials in the region.”
“For example, Ciudad Juarez had 100 times as many homicides in the 14 months ending in February as neighboring El Paso, which is roughly half its size,” the article states. “In 2008, Nogales in Mexico’s Sonora state had 40 times as many homicides as Nogales, Ariz., which is roughly one-ninth as populous.”
Keep an eye on this situation.