Post by redjamescash on Jan 16, 2014 16:58:42 GMT -5
Obama-backed Mexican Troops Disarm and Massacre More Civilians
Wednesday, 15 January 2014 18:45
Written by
Alex Newman
Obama administration-backed Mexican troops thenewamerican.com/usnews/crime/item/13118-stratfor-sources-us-troops-in-mexico-as-feds-aid-cartels opened fire this week on a group of civilians
seeking to keep their weapons and rein in ruthless government-linked
drug cartels, which have terrorized their communities in the state of
Michoacán. The attack sparked an international outcry on behalf of the
citizens, who have suffered non-stop brutality at the hands of both
government officials and criminal syndicates. News reports, some of
which conflict with each other, suggest that around a dozen people were
shot and at least four were killed in the massacre, including an
11-year-old girl. A Mexican paper reported that a dozen civilians died in the clash.
Multiple reports and local witnesses said that Mexican forces opened
fire on an unarmed crowd, though officials would not confirm that to
foreign reporters. Community leaders quoted in press reports said the
government was trying to protect cartels. Authorities also claimed not
to know exactly how many people had been killed in the clashes, which
reportedly began Monday, January 13, when a group of unarmed citizens
tried to stop a convoy of heavily armed government functionaries from
entering the town of Antunez and disarming residents.
However, journalists and news reports confirmed that there were
multiple bodies in the area, and at least several locals reported that
their family members had been slain in attacks by government troops. The
federal assault came days after local self-defense groups managed to
drive out criminal syndicates from more and more towns in the region
over the weekend. Spokesmen for local communities said the biggest
confrontation involved around 60 to 80 government troops, although
hundreds were in the area.
Officials claim they were trying to bring “security” to the region by
disarming the civilians, whom they refer to as “vigilantes” for seeking
to drive cartels out of their beleaguered communities. Also part of the
scheme was enforcing Mexico’s draconian gun-control regime, which
critics say violates the human rights of law-abiding Mexicans while
contributing heavily to the ongoing reign of terror and murder across
much of the nation. “There will be no tolerance for anyone caught with
firearms,” decreed Government Secretary Miguel Angel Osorio Chong.
Other top Mexican officials made similar statements, demanding that
citizens surrender their weapons and essentially submit to whatever
group or cartel happens to be terrorizing the public at that moment. “We
can't combat illegality with illegality,” claimed
Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam in a statement to Televisa
television. He claimed the purpose of the latest deployment, which led
to the massacre, “is simply to restore legal order in a place that did
not have it.”
Authorities apparently expect citizens to rely on the deeply corrupt
government for security, even though estimates suggest that between
50,000 and 100,000 innocent people have been slaughtered in less than a
decade as drug war-fueled violence continues to escalate. Many Mexicans,
however, have had enough of the terror and are organizing self-defense groups to protect their communities and families from lawless cartels and the corrupt officials controlled by criminal syndicates.
The latest confrontations happened near the village of Apatzingan in
the southwestern Mexican state of Michoacán. Following years of abuse,
dirt-poor townspeople — farmers, laborers, local officials, merchants,
and more — decided to exercise their God-given right to self-defense
against the cultish and brutal so-called “Knights Templar” cartel. The
community defense organizations have now liberated and wrested control
of more than a dozen cities and towns in the region from criminals,
according to news reports.
The locals first decided to arm and organize themselves into
self-defense units, known as “fuerzas autodefensas” in Spanish, early
last year. By then, it had become clear to citizens that authorities
were either working with the criminal syndicates, or were powerless to
stop them. Indeed, entire police departments in the state have been
arrested for working with cartels, and evidence confirming U.S. government partnerships with certain crime bosses continues to emerge.
In one case, though, a mayor in Michoacan, Ygnacio Lopez Mendoza, decided to speak out
against the cartels and their extortion rackets. He was promptly
kidnapped, tortured, mutilated, and murdered — part of a nationwide
trend. The cartels even have a saying, “plomo o plata,” which translates
to lead (bullets) or silver (money). In other words, officials who are
not already working with cartels are offered a choice: Either take the
bribes, or die.
Initially, Mexico City reluctantly tolerated
some of the self-defense groups despite the radical gun-control regime.
More recently, however, in response to locals’ efforts to restore order
and security in their villages, authorities sent in hundreds of
soldiers and federal police. Upon arrival, officials reportedly ordered
citizens to surrender their only means of self-defense — mostly crude
firearms. When villagers refused to let them pass, Mexican forces
reportedly opened fire, shooting about a dozen victims and killing at
least four, probably more.
“What we are doing is defending our family, our people,” said
Estanislao Beltran, a spokesman for the General Council and Community
Self-Defense Forces of Michoacán. “The government has not cared for 12
years for our safety. The army arrives and disarms us and our
partners.... Following this, the people took to the roads to stop the
army and asked for the return of the arms to the community because they
were defending their communities.”
Beltran also said that citizens would “never” give up their weapons
and that there would be no discussions with authorities until Knights
Templar bosses are arrested. “The problem is the Caballeros Templarios
of Michoacán, and the government is in collusion with organized crime,”
he added. “The army is made of people without values or ethics. The
military has no reason to shoot the people.” Other local residents and
community leaders echoed those remarks, with some grieving over the loss
of their loved ones at the hands of Mexican forces.
Of course, Beltran and his fellow residents are hardly alone in
accusing authorities of colluding with drug cartels. In Mexico, the
corruption of government officials at all levels is common knowledge.
Just this month, meanwhile, a year-long investigation by a leading
Mexican newspaper confirmed once again
that the U.S. government has also been partnering with some of Mexico’s
most ruthless cartels for over a decade — especially the Sinaloa
cartel.
Last year, as The New American reported, leaked documents quoting U.S. and Mexican officials also indicated that American troops were already operating in Mexico.
In addition to supporting certain cartels such as Sinaloa, U.S. troops
secretly operating in the nation were reportedly working with Mexican
forces to perpetrate “surgical strikes.” Leading analysts equated the
machinations to “death squads.”
Long before those revelations hit the headlines, Obama announced an expansion
of the Bush administration’s controversial program to support the
Mexican government in its blood-drenched “war.” Despite widespread
human-rights concerns, Washington, D.C., has continued to pour hundreds
of millions of taxpayer dollars into the drug-war coffers of Latin
American governments — especially the one ruling Mexico — for years. So
far, the schemes show no signs of slowing down or getting anywhere near
“victory.”
In response to the escalating drug-war death toll and soaring
violence across the region, Latin American leaders from Colombia and
Guatemala to Mexico and Uruguay have increasingly started searching for alternatives — including potentially an outright end to drug prohibition. However, the United Nations and the Obama administration have demanded that
the so-called “war” be stepped up, threatening non-cooperative
governments while showering more taxpayer funds on those that comply.
Caught in the crossfire, meanwhile, are the thousands of innocent
civilians murdered every year.
Photo of soldiers patrolling the main highway near Cuatro Caminos in the Mexican state of Michoacan: AP Images
Alex Newman, a foreign correspondent for The New American, is normally based in Europe after growing up in Latin America, including seven years in Mexico. He can be reached at
anewman@thenewamerican.com.
Related articles:
Mexican Citizens Forming Self-defense Groups Against Drug Cartels
U.S. Government and Top Mexican Drug Cartel Exposed as Partners
Stratfor Sources: U.S. Troops in Mexico as Feds Aid Cartels
Obama Backs Mexico’s Failed ‘War on Drugs’
Latin America Debates Drug Legalization; Obama Demands More War on Drugs
Under Two Percent of Crimes Punished in Mexico
UN Claims Uruguay Not Allowed to End Marijuana Prohibition
U.S. Military Warns of Mexico's Collapse
Fast and Furious: FBI Now Linked to Murder of U.S. Border Agent
Reports: CIA Working with Mexican Drug Cartels
Wednesday, 15 January 2014 18:45
Written by
Alex Newman
Obama administration-backed Mexican troops thenewamerican.com/usnews/crime/item/13118-stratfor-sources-us-troops-in-mexico-as-feds-aid-cartels opened fire this week on a group of civilians
seeking to keep their weapons and rein in ruthless government-linked
drug cartels, which have terrorized their communities in the state of
Michoacán. The attack sparked an international outcry on behalf of the
citizens, who have suffered non-stop brutality at the hands of both
government officials and criminal syndicates. News reports, some of
which conflict with each other, suggest that around a dozen people were
shot and at least four were killed in the massacre, including an
11-year-old girl. A Mexican paper reported that a dozen civilians died in the clash.
Multiple reports and local witnesses said that Mexican forces opened
fire on an unarmed crowd, though officials would not confirm that to
foreign reporters. Community leaders quoted in press reports said the
government was trying to protect cartels. Authorities also claimed not
to know exactly how many people had been killed in the clashes, which
reportedly began Monday, January 13, when a group of unarmed citizens
tried to stop a convoy of heavily armed government functionaries from
entering the town of Antunez and disarming residents.
However, journalists and news reports confirmed that there were
multiple bodies in the area, and at least several locals reported that
their family members had been slain in attacks by government troops. The
federal assault came days after local self-defense groups managed to
drive out criminal syndicates from more and more towns in the region
over the weekend. Spokesmen for local communities said the biggest
confrontation involved around 60 to 80 government troops, although
hundreds were in the area.
Officials claim they were trying to bring “security” to the region by
disarming the civilians, whom they refer to as “vigilantes” for seeking
to drive cartels out of their beleaguered communities. Also part of the
scheme was enforcing Mexico’s draconian gun-control regime, which
critics say violates the human rights of law-abiding Mexicans while
contributing heavily to the ongoing reign of terror and murder across
much of the nation. “There will be no tolerance for anyone caught with
firearms,” decreed Government Secretary Miguel Angel Osorio Chong.
Other top Mexican officials made similar statements, demanding that
citizens surrender their weapons and essentially submit to whatever
group or cartel happens to be terrorizing the public at that moment. “We
can't combat illegality with illegality,” claimed
Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam in a statement to Televisa
television. He claimed the purpose of the latest deployment, which led
to the massacre, “is simply to restore legal order in a place that did
not have it.”
Authorities apparently expect citizens to rely on the deeply corrupt
government for security, even though estimates suggest that between
50,000 and 100,000 innocent people have been slaughtered in less than a
decade as drug war-fueled violence continues to escalate. Many Mexicans,
however, have had enough of the terror and are organizing self-defense groups to protect their communities and families from lawless cartels and the corrupt officials controlled by criminal syndicates.
The latest confrontations happened near the village of Apatzingan in
the southwestern Mexican state of Michoacán. Following years of abuse,
dirt-poor townspeople — farmers, laborers, local officials, merchants,
and more — decided to exercise their God-given right to self-defense
against the cultish and brutal so-called “Knights Templar” cartel. The
community defense organizations have now liberated and wrested control
of more than a dozen cities and towns in the region from criminals,
according to news reports.
The locals first decided to arm and organize themselves into
self-defense units, known as “fuerzas autodefensas” in Spanish, early
last year. By then, it had become clear to citizens that authorities
were either working with the criminal syndicates, or were powerless to
stop them. Indeed, entire police departments in the state have been
arrested for working with cartels, and evidence confirming U.S. government partnerships with certain crime bosses continues to emerge.
In one case, though, a mayor in Michoacan, Ygnacio Lopez Mendoza, decided to speak out
against the cartels and their extortion rackets. He was promptly
kidnapped, tortured, mutilated, and murdered — part of a nationwide
trend. The cartels even have a saying, “plomo o plata,” which translates
to lead (bullets) or silver (money). In other words, officials who are
not already working with cartels are offered a choice: Either take the
bribes, or die.
Initially, Mexico City reluctantly tolerated
some of the self-defense groups despite the radical gun-control regime.
More recently, however, in response to locals’ efforts to restore order
and security in their villages, authorities sent in hundreds of
soldiers and federal police. Upon arrival, officials reportedly ordered
citizens to surrender their only means of self-defense — mostly crude
firearms. When villagers refused to let them pass, Mexican forces
reportedly opened fire, shooting about a dozen victims and killing at
least four, probably more.
“What we are doing is defending our family, our people,” said
Estanislao Beltran, a spokesman for the General Council and Community
Self-Defense Forces of Michoacán. “The government has not cared for 12
years for our safety. The army arrives and disarms us and our
partners.... Following this, the people took to the roads to stop the
army and asked for the return of the arms to the community because they
were defending their communities.”
Beltran also said that citizens would “never” give up their weapons
and that there would be no discussions with authorities until Knights
Templar bosses are arrested. “The problem is the Caballeros Templarios
of Michoacán, and the government is in collusion with organized crime,”
he added. “The army is made of people without values or ethics. The
military has no reason to shoot the people.” Other local residents and
community leaders echoed those remarks, with some grieving over the loss
of their loved ones at the hands of Mexican forces.
Of course, Beltran and his fellow residents are hardly alone in
accusing authorities of colluding with drug cartels. In Mexico, the
corruption of government officials at all levels is common knowledge.
Just this month, meanwhile, a year-long investigation by a leading
Mexican newspaper confirmed once again
that the U.S. government has also been partnering with some of Mexico’s
most ruthless cartels for over a decade — especially the Sinaloa
cartel.
Last year, as The New American reported, leaked documents quoting U.S. and Mexican officials also indicated that American troops were already operating in Mexico.
In addition to supporting certain cartels such as Sinaloa, U.S. troops
secretly operating in the nation were reportedly working with Mexican
forces to perpetrate “surgical strikes.” Leading analysts equated the
machinations to “death squads.”
Long before those revelations hit the headlines, Obama announced an expansion
of the Bush administration’s controversial program to support the
Mexican government in its blood-drenched “war.” Despite widespread
human-rights concerns, Washington, D.C., has continued to pour hundreds
of millions of taxpayer dollars into the drug-war coffers of Latin
American governments — especially the one ruling Mexico — for years. So
far, the schemes show no signs of slowing down or getting anywhere near
“victory.”
In response to the escalating drug-war death toll and soaring
violence across the region, Latin American leaders from Colombia and
Guatemala to Mexico and Uruguay have increasingly started searching for alternatives — including potentially an outright end to drug prohibition. However, the United Nations and the Obama administration have demanded that
the so-called “war” be stepped up, threatening non-cooperative
governments while showering more taxpayer funds on those that comply.
Caught in the crossfire, meanwhile, are the thousands of innocent
civilians murdered every year.
Photo of soldiers patrolling the main highway near Cuatro Caminos in the Mexican state of Michoacan: AP Images
Alex Newman, a foreign correspondent for The New American, is normally based in Europe after growing up in Latin America, including seven years in Mexico. He can be reached at
anewman@thenewamerican.com.
Related articles:
Mexican Citizens Forming Self-defense Groups Against Drug Cartels
U.S. Government and Top Mexican Drug Cartel Exposed as Partners
Stratfor Sources: U.S. Troops in Mexico as Feds Aid Cartels
Obama Backs Mexico’s Failed ‘War on Drugs’
Latin America Debates Drug Legalization; Obama Demands More War on Drugs
Under Two Percent of Crimes Punished in Mexico
UN Claims Uruguay Not Allowed to End Marijuana Prohibition
U.S. Military Warns of Mexico's Collapse
Fast and Furious: FBI Now Linked to Murder of U.S. Border Agent
Reports: CIA Working with Mexican Drug Cartels
