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The Mexican Drug War
Central and South America
Unlike the United States and Canada, many of the countries of Central and South America found the 20th century to be a time of warfare and revolution. Poverty also reigns in most of these countries, driving men and women to acts of desperation… or simple nihilism. Kidnappings and gang violence abound in Brazil’s largest cities. Bolivia recently fought a small war over its natural gas resources. A threat of violence often lurks even in countries that have long been outwardly peaceful: where one finds hungry men with guns, war is never far away.
The United States’ Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 ushered in the modern “War on Drugs.” Mexico then found itself caught in the crossfire between the United States and Colombia. The US tried to prevent the entry of foreign drugs through its borders, while Colombia wanted to sell drugs to the large and wealthy US market. The situation in Mexico is beginning to resemble a civil war.
The amount of cash involved in the drug trade is staggering, with some cartels generating tens of billions of dollars every year on cocaine sales. And that much money draws rough men willing to do violence over it. After a lull in violence in the 1990s, the last few years have seen an enormous surge in drug-related violence in Mexico.
Hundreds die every month as rival gangs fight for control of the shipment lines and la plaza, the drug turf. Areas bordering on Texas and California are especially contested. In some towns, kidnappings and revenge killings are commonplace, and rival gangs openly fight with military-grade weapons. The conflict is still escalating.
Still, narcotics gangsters aren’t merely one-dimensional figures of death and destruction. They are also known for lavishly rewarding loyalists and for spontaneous acts of large-scale generosity. In 2005, one of Mexico’s most notorious drug lords led a group of 30 into an upscale restraint for a meal, and they confiscated the cellular phones from all present to prevent anyone from calling the police. But his party also ate their food in peace, and left without further incident-after he paid for the meals of every other diner in the restaurant.
Successful cartels leaders establish cults or personality, establishing themselves as startlingly generous to their allies and shockingly cruel to their enemies. In many places, the drug runners are more popular with the locals than the law enforcement authorities… and they’re almost always better armed and financed. Meanwhile, Mexico’s government in turning to increasingly heavy-handed methods to sniff out drug traffickers, sending thousands of troops to hotspots and sometimes cordoning off entire towns; this isn’t winning them any popular points with their people.
Characters in Mexico, whether visitors or residents, might draw the attention of law enforcement officials; they might be detained and interrogated about their unusual habits, or asked to assist the local authorities in some unique manner in exchange for certain amount of discretion. On the other hand, ruthless characters may be able to sell their services to local drug runners, particularly if they have a supernatural edge. But drug runners are not forgiving people, and the punish failure or betrayal swiftly and violently.
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 Posted by: Izan-Oen Tue Feb 18, 2014 @ 06:42am
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