Thursday
Apr162009
The "Lightning War" and US-Mexico Relations
Thursday, April 16, 2009 at 8:50
Related Post: 10 Facts on Mexico's "Lightning War"
Violence in Mexico is drawing increased attention, as drug producers and sellers fight a running battle with Mexican security services. More than 800 policemen and soldiers have been killed since January 2008.
The violence is far from new --- and it's not just a "Mexican" situation, as even a cursory glance at the US will show --- but it is a challenge to the institutional stability of the country. And, inevitably, there will be a spill-over into American political culture, as the toll from drugs becomes entangled with the US discourse over the "border" and immigration.
As President Obama visits Mexico, Ioan Grillo writes for our partners Global Post:
Obama grapples with Mexico’s “lightning war”
TIJUANA, Mexico — The policemen had stopped their squad car for a few seconds on a major avenue in this burgeoning border city on Saturday evening when Kalashnikov bullets flew out of a passing Plymouth Voyager.
Enrique Monge, a 31-year-old beat cop, returned fire but his effort was in vain. A cap shot through his waist and scattered into several vital organs and he died hours later in hospital.
At the wheel, his 23-year-old partner Benjamin Hernandez was hit by a bullet directly in his thorax. By a miracle, he was still fighting for his life four days later as President Barack Obama readied to fly to Mexico City and discuss such violence with Mexican President Felipe Calderon.
Read the rest of the article...
Violence in Mexico is drawing increased attention, as drug producers and sellers fight a running battle with Mexican security services. More than 800 policemen and soldiers have been killed since January 2008.The violence is far from new --- and it's not just a "Mexican" situation, as even a cursory glance at the US will show --- but it is a challenge to the institutional stability of the country. And, inevitably, there will be a spill-over into American political culture, as the toll from drugs becomes entangled with the US discourse over the "border" and immigration.
As President Obama visits Mexico, Ioan Grillo writes for our partners Global Post:
Obama grapples with Mexico’s “lightning war”
TIJUANA, Mexico — The policemen had stopped their squad car for a few seconds on a major avenue in this burgeoning border city on Saturday evening when Kalashnikov bullets flew out of a passing Plymouth Voyager.
Enrique Monge, a 31-year-old beat cop, returned fire but his effort was in vain. A cap shot through his waist and scattered into several vital organs and he died hours later in hospital.
At the wheel, his 23-year-old partner Benjamin Hernandez was hit by a bullet directly in his thorax. By a miracle, he was still fighting for his life four days later as President Barack Obama readied to fly to Mexico City and discuss such violence with Mexican President Felipe Calderon.
Read the rest of the article...