Pubdate: Sun, 19 Jul 2015
Source: Salinas Californian, The (CA)
Contact: http://www.thecalifornian.com/section/CUSTOMERSERVICE03
Copyright: 2015 The Salinas Californian
Website: http://www.thecalifornian.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3900
Author: Ruben Navarette

OUR TRUST IN MEXICO SHOULD VANISH LIKE EL CHAPO

You mean to tell me that a notorious Mexican drug lord who was 
arrested in February of last year, and whose net worth has been 
estimated by Forbes to be about $1 billion, managed to escape from 
the Altiplano maximum-security prison west of Mexico City in a poor 
country where many people earn as little as $6 per day?

How did that happen? Take a guess. Money opens doors. But more 
importantly, in Mexico, it also builds tunnels.

As a Mexican-American who views my grandfather's homeland with a mix 
of angst and amusement, and who recognizes that a corrupt and divided 
Mexico is often its own worst enemy, I can't say I'm surprised.

Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman - who national security experts in Mexico 
say continued to run the powerful Sinaloa drug cartel from his prison 
cell - marshaled a substantial amount of resources to plan and 
execute his escape. He disappeared through an elaborate mile-long 
tunnel with electricity, ventilation and a system for removing dirt 
during the excavation process.

Authorities say that the digging began under a building, within sight 
of the prison, that was constructed just for the jailbreak. There had 
to have been a large crew of diggers, carpenters, electricians and 
construction workers - all toiling for as long as a year to build the tunnel.

And, this whole time, no one at the prison heard or saw anything? 
That's unbelievable. Literally, we shouldn't believe it.

In Mexico, when you bribe law enforcement officers, they don't have 
to outright help you commit a crime - i.e. arrange a prison break. 
They just cover their ears and look the other way.

The prison director and a few other officials have been relieved of 
command. No worries. Something tells me they might have a nice 
retirement package waiting for them on the outside.

Since 2008, under the Merida Initiative - which was intended not just 
to disrupt drug syndicates but also to create reforms in the courts 
and prisons that help sustain the rule of law in Mexico - Congress 
has appropriated about $2.3 billion in aid to our neighbor.

I've toured the headquarters of the Mexican federales in Mexico City. 
I've seen the computer equipment and helicopters that were either 
given to Mexican authorities or bought by them with U.S. tax dollars. 
Mexico wants to project an image of modernity. But Guzman's escape 
under suspicious circumstances shows that the old Mexico won't go quietly.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump- who doesn't know how to be quiet and may be 
the most hated gringo south of the border since President James Polk 
invaded Mexico in 1846 - has alerted the FBI that he was sent a 
threat from what appears to be Guzman's Twitter account. Trump 
carelessly implied that all illegal immigrants coming from Mexico to 
the United States are criminals, and now a real-life criminal might 
be coming to make the loudmouth, as the tweet said, eat his words.

Would you like salsa with that, Mr. Trump?

It is no wonder that U.S. law enforcement officials who have chased 
Guzman for years are furious. They wanted him extradited. And if that 
had happened, the drug kingpin would almost certainly still be in 
U.S. federal prison. Which is probably why the Mexican officials 
refused to hand him over. They were likely in no hurry to give up 
their leverage with the United States - or, perhaps, with the cartels.

With El Chapo on the loose, the Obama administration is offering 
Mexico drones, federal marshals and even a special task force to 
bring him back. Mexican officials have not responded to the offer of 
additional resources.

We never learn. What makes us think the Mexican government doesn't 
know exactly where to find Guzman - that is, if it had any interest 
in doing so?

El Chapo's "escape" should be the absolute last straw in the farcical 
partnership between the United States and Mexico in a drug war that 
has become a joke. You can't partner with someone who doesn't respect 
you, and the Mexicans are treating the Americans like chumps. They 
intend to take us for all they can get, and give us nothing in return 
but lies, frustration and disappointment.

If Americans accept those things, and demand nothing more, then we 
shouldn't be surprised when we're misled and mistreated. And, in the 
long term, we have much more to worry about than a runaway drug lord.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom