U.S. Widens Role in Battle Against Mexican Drug Cartels

Source: The New York Times

WASHINGTON — The United States is expanding its role in Mexico’s bloody fight against drug trafficking organizations, sending new C.I.A. operatives and retired military personnel to the country and considering plans to deploy private security contractors in hopes of turning around a multibillion-dollar effort that so far has shown few results.

In recent weeks, small numbers of C.I.A. operatives and American civilian military employees have been posted at a Mexican military base, where, for the first time, security officials from both countries work side by side in collecting information about drug cartels and helping plan operations. Officials are also looking into embedding a team of American contractors inside a specially vetted Mexican counternarcotics police unit.

Officials on both sides of the border say the new efforts have been devised to get around Mexican laws that prohibit foreign military and police from operating on its soil, and to prevent advanced American surveillance technology from falling under the control of Mexican security agencies with long histories of corruption.

“A sea change has occurred over the past years in how effective Mexico and U.S. intelligence exchanges have become,” said Arturo Sarukhán, Mexico’s ambassador to the United States. “It is underpinned by the understanding that transnational organized crime can only be successfully confronted by working hand in hand, and that the outcome is as simple as it is compelling: we will together succeed or together fail.”

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/07/world/07drugs.html?pagewanted=all

Officially? Because last month we were.

Now, 'officially', government sales of US made weapons to the MX gov continue, under the aegis of the Sec of State.

How many of those guns get diverted by bribery, theft, or soldiers / police joining the narcotrafficantes?

That's an unknown-- and the GAO figures on US made weapons traced from MX do not specify weapons via this channel. (Though wikileaks, stratfor, etc claim they make up a large portion.)

Obama has turned into a very fierce drug warrior. What a waste of money!

The president and his fascist AG are utterly clueless. He's even ramped up the war on medicinal cannabis. That is unforgivable. :thumbsdown:

Yada yada yada

by facilitating transport to reduce prices. Very noble of them.

sounds like another profitable endeveor for daddy warbucks

fucking idiots, this has worked so well before:eyes: :banghead:

their wares in in return for "intelligence" - nah, never mind, WTF was I thinking? This is about politicians and money, so close they cannot be separated. Ever

drugs for information.

Oh, I've got a better idea. Legalize it all!

:shrug:

The U.S. spends more in one day fighting drugs than it spends in one year fighting human trafficking.