American Citizens Dead in Mexico: The Drug War Continues
By Ian Vasquez
The apparent drug gang killings of U.S. consular employees this weekend in Juarez, Mexico are a bloody reminder that President Obama is getting the United States involved in yet another war it cannot win. Drug gang killings also occurred in Acapulco, with a total of 50 such fatalities nationwide over the weekend.
Unfortunately, Obama has responded to the latest incident by following the same failed strategy as his predecessors when confronted with drug war losses: a stronger fight against drugs.
Though the deaths are the first in which Mexican drug cartels appear to have so brazenly targeted and killed individuals linked to the U.S. government, illicit drug trade violence has killed some 18,000 people in Mexico since President Calderon came to power in December 2006—more than three times the number of American military personnel deaths in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars combined.
The carnage only shot up after Calderon declared an all-out war on drug trafficking upon taking office. After more than three years, the policy has failed to reduce drug trafficking or production, but it is weakening the institutions of Mexican democracy and civil society through corruption and bloodshed, which are the predictable products of prohibition.
The 29 people killed in drug-related violence this weekend in a 24 hour period in the state of Guerrero sets a dubious record for a Mexican state. And an increasing number of Mexicans, including former Mexican Foreign Minister Jorge Castañeda, are calling for a thorough rethinking of anti-drug policy in Mexico and the United States that includes legalization. Legalization would significantly reduce drug cartel revenue and put an end to an enormous black market and the social pathologies that it creates.
Sign up for the OV Daily Newsletter
OV Social
Everything before that was Bush's fault, so please, get off the high horse. Now, back to the article.
Exactly what should we do, oh great Cato? Legalize all drugs ? Start growing pot and manufacturing heroin and crack? Maybe we could put some of the current prison population to work and manufacture some meth. Think of the social rehabilitation for all those unjustly prosecuted boys who were just turning their lives around when they were caught with 100 kilos of coke, 50 keys of heroin and 200 lbs of pot.
You mean to say that it is better to kill innocent people and imprison non-violent,victimless criminals to save the people that might be killed by the drugs ,if legalized?
Our drug war results in staggeringly tragic losses. Drugs, when abused, can be dangerous, but they are not nearly as lethal as the drug war itself.
In addition to the blights of an imprisoned population, lost rights, broken families, and economic waste, people are dying in this war . No, these are not deaths from drugs , but from prohibition .
It is important to realize that the vast majority of deaths on the drug war simply would not happen without prohibition. When drug dealers fight it out over territory and they or their neighbors are killed in the process, it is a sympton of prohibition, much as when we suffered the scourge of alcohol prohibition many years ago. Prohibition makes violence profitable.
When drug users overdose from tainted drugs, it is the result of prohibition. When they die from overdoses because they were afraid to seek help, it is the result of prohibition.
Increasingly, people are dying because of the tactics of the drug war. Military operations are being conducted on our soil, and collateral damage is inevitable.
When drug task forces dressed in black batter in doors without knocking or announcing themselves, the danger to citizens and police alike is enormous. Sometimes the greatest danger is to (or from) the innocent citizen that understandably believes that they are experiencing a home invasion, and rushes to defend their family and property.
Every now and then, a death happens that is particularly grotesque — that points out the horrific folly of our actions. This page presents some of those deaths.
Many are purely innocent victims of the war — bystanders who have been mowed down by military drug war tactics gone berserk, and by government agencies’ greedy pursuit of the glory and financial gain of drug busts. In other cases, the victim is guilty of something, but their punishment does not fit the crime .
All the victims have two things in common:
* Their death was a result of drug prohibition, and the dangerous tactics used in the drug war, and
* They didn’t deserve to die.
As you look at those who have died in the war on drugs , remember one thing: There has never been a single recorded case of anyone dying from an overdose of marijuana .
Thanks to Human Rights and the Drug War, Drug Policy Forum of Florida, Veils of Justice, Larry Seguin, Larry Stevens, Thomas Hillgardner, Steve Young, the folks at Media Awareness Project (MAP) and all the others who have sent in tips and articles.
The date of each victim is a link to one of the sources I used for the information. In some cases, multiples sources were used, but I picked one link.
I consider this to be a page in process. As I researched this information, I was amazed at the number of additional victims I found that have been documented, and I intend to add more. Unfortunately, I also expect that new victims will crowd the page. If you have additions or corrections, please let me know: tips@DrugWarRant.com
I say that you cannot administer a wicked law impartially. You can only destroy. You can only punish. I warn you that a wicked law, like cholera, destroys everyone it touches — its upholders as well as its defiers.
- Jerome Lawrence & Robert E. Lee (Inherit the Wind)
Go to drugwarrant .com and scroll down too the burning candle to seethe list of innocent people killed by the war on drugs.
1st What war is Obama getting us into? The war on drugs is nothing new.
2nd Since the author points out that it is the same strategy as before, how on earth could it be wrong . King Bush made no mistakes.
3rd If this just happened this last weekend and it is Monday, what exactly was Obama to do in that period of time?
I swear, it seems that everything that has happened in the last year has been Obama's fault. He must be an amazing man to have accomplished that much in just a year.
If one was a king, they would not need to be elected.
It is basic supply and demand that has caused the this terrible situation.
it is because I always felt like he considered his position as king.
What was that statement he made about what mistakes he had made in the WH and his response was something to the effect that he couldnt remember any mistakes.
I sometimes criticize others for complaining about someone's actions but not having a better solution for the problem themselves. I am also that person.
In this situation it seemed that this was really harsh criticizm of Obama and he had not had time to do anything and also slammed because he was following the same path as Bush. So dont blame Obama for what Bush set in place.
And you are right it is a very bad situation and speaks poorly of our country's demand for drugs .