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| Caribbean-Latin America |
| Small Wars Journal: Mexican Cartel Tactical Note 12 |
| 2012-06-01 |
| Two California based security academics analyze seizures in the aftermath of a March, 2012 gunfight between a los Zetas crimnal cell in Piedras Negras, Coahuila and Mexican security forces. An excerpt: [Police] Commander Heal's concerns are being echoed by many law enforcement officers along the U.S. Border. Increasingly, we are witnessing the emergence of zones of "dual-sovereignty" being established by the cartels on U.S. soil. The potential for the loss of de facto political control in rural areas of Southern Texas across from Piedras Negras and other borderland towns controlled by the Mexican cartels is becoming a U.S. national security concern. |
| Posted by:badanov |
| #7 The more times you enter, the more chances you have to win! |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2012-06-01 02:16 |
| #6 Does the fact that I just posted three times in the same thread mean I am turning into JoeM of the North? DANG IT! This is serious stuff. And would someone pass me a coconut fritter? |
| Posted by: SteveS 2012-06-01 02:07 |
| #5 Drug-runner corpses is just a cost of doing business. Dual sovereignty means there is a de-facto local government, kitted out like an infantry platoon, with a demonstrated will to engage in wholesale violence. It is going to take more than a few drug-runner corpses to uproot them in Mexico and/or keep them from spreading across the border. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2012-06-01 02:06 |
| #4 Yuuupp - there will be no OWG NAU unless these border troubles on the Mexican side are ended. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2012-06-01 01:57 |
| #3 Solution to the zones of dual sovereignty: Bounties for the corpses of drug-runners. |
| Posted by: gorb 2012-06-01 01:41 |
| #2 An hours-long firefight with military-grade weapons (RPGs, grenade launchers, etc) is not your basic cops & robbers affair. Given the closeness to the US border, having an on-call blocking force available on the US side could be handy. At some point, cross-border military cooperation is going to be necessary. It is a good thing none of this is on NPR (National People's Radio) because otherwise, I would be concerned. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2012-06-01 01:36 |
| #1 Some tidbits from the article: Elements of GATE (special weapons and tactics group) and the narco group engaged in battle on Highway 75 and various parts of Piedras Negras. Using combat weapons and granadazos (grenades) the attacks lasted for hours. One thing that occurred to me in retrospect is the long understood principle that the weaker adversary always seeks refuge. The nearest and safest refuge is a short distance to the north. According to Commander Heal “Clearly, the confrontations between the authorities and criminals have escalated to war in all but name only.” |
| Posted by: SteveS 2012-06-01 01:27 |