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| Caribbean-Latin America |
| 100,000 foot soldiers in cartels |
| 2009-03-03 |
| CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico | The U.S. Defense Department thinks Mexico's two most deadly drug cartels together have fielded more than 100,000 foot soldiers - an army that rivals Mexico's armed forces and threatens to turn the country into a narco-state. "It's moving to crisis proportions," a senior U.S. defense official told The Washington Times. The official, who spoke on the condition that he not be named because of the sensitive nature of his work, said the cartels' "foot soldiers" are on a par with Mexico's army of about 130,000. The disclosure underlines the enormity of the challenge Mexico and the United States face as they struggle to contain what is increasingly looking like a civil war or an insurgency along the U.S.-Mexico border. In the past year, about 7,000 people have died - more than 1,000 in January alone. The conflict has become increasingly brutal, with victims beheaded and bodies dissolved in vats of acid. |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #8 Various Net sources indic the number could be as high as 150,000, mostly well-armed or possessing deadly weapons which the Mexi Govt-Army may NOT be able to contain or eradicate. IFF THESE NUMBERS ARE CORRECT, IT MAY MEAN THE MEXI GANGS MAY NOT BE INTIMIDATED OR FRIGHTENED OF THE MEXI ARMED FORCES OR LOCAL POLICE. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2009-03-03 23:09 |
| #7 Probably better trained & equiped than the regular army. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2009-03-03 21:33 |
| #6 Seafarious _ how does that differ from the regular kind? |
| Posted by: Bertie Hupineling5840 2009-03-03 18:00 |
| #5 Juarez could use a nice Arclight strike. |
| Posted by: mojo 2009-03-03 15:48 |
| #4 Stay out of the narcotics trade and you'll be just fine. I'm planning my second trip to Mex in the last 6 months. |
| Posted by: bigjim-CA 2009-03-03 15:29 |
| #3 Rename the Rio Grande, call it de Nile. :golf clap: |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2009-03-03 15:04 |
| #2 deploy Predators along the southern border |
| Posted by: Montezuma 2009-03-03 14:50 |
| #1 Rename the Rio Grande, call it de Nile. |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2009-03-03 12:05 |