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Mexican Drug Cartels Peace Negotiations, Zetas Out Of Control
Mexico's warring cartels are negotiating a truce that, if it holds, could end one of the bloodiest eras since the 1910-20 Mexican Revolution, according to a U.S. official and experts familiar with the talks.A peace agreement would be the second in two years and, like the last one, its chances of surviving are slim, the U.S. official said. "In the end, greed prevails over reason," the official said. Last year was one of the bloodiest ever, with more than 5,700 people killed nationwide, including 1,600 in Ciudad Juarez. Because of the mounting violence, some experts, including Howard Campbell, author of the upcoming book Drug War Zone, believe a truce is possible. Campbell, a border anthropologist at the University of Texas at El Paso, said violence will soon "peak out because all the attention is bad for business." "These guys are businessmen," Campbell said. "Violence hurts the bottom line, their profits." However, many experts and analysts on both sides of the border expect rising violence. Another concern for drug traffickers, the U.S. official said, is the growing influence of the paramilitary group known as Zetas, enforcers for the Gulf cartel who have expanded their services as hit men to become mercenaries for other cartels willing to pay the price. "They're not just mercenaries anymore," the U.S. official said. "They're now controlling drug distribution routes, and that's of concern to cartel leaders. They're out of control." It's too early to know whether a truce will work, experts say. The new year began much as the last one ended, with three New Year's Day killings in Juarez, city officials said. Posted by: Anonymoose 2009-01-04 |
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