Federico Reyes Heroles
The first warning signs appeared in the 1980s. Nancy Reagan’s famous “Just Say No” speech warned of the destructive power of drugs. The Colombian cartels celebrated. In Mexico, Enrique Kiki Camarena and Manuel BuendÃa were murdered. The fact is that drug trafficking grew stronger across the entire continent. Its coexistence with political power became evident. They could challenge it. Pablo Escobar giving away toys in a stadium. When the cancer reached Mexico, a serious mistake was made in politicizing the issue. The state dimension of the problem was lost. AMLO made Calderón and GarcÃa Luna his favorite scapegoats. Clinging to that demagogic script, in its most simplified form, he turned it into a caricature. Calderón had set the country on fire by pursuing the drug lords. And in GarcÃa Luna, one person explained the degree of penetration. The caricature damaged Mexico greatly.
There was some truth in both statements. Unlike what authors such as D. Gambetta suggest, in the sense of selecting the most socially dangerous groups and systematically going after them, thus sending a general political signal, Calderón took a different path. Against everyone, everywhere at the same time. No state can handle such a mission. The literature is abundant. But again, the simplistic approach: “hugs, not bullets” and visits to Badiraguato, to give a couple of examples, only served to highlight the complicity of AMLO’s administration: mayors, governors, members of his cabinet, family members, total penetration. With GarcÃa Luna behind bars, the penetration increased exponentially. Under Calderón, there were around 103,000 intentional homicides. Under AMLO, there were 189,000. These are facts.
Sheinbaum receives a poisoned inheritance, but the shift led by GarcÃa Harfuch prevails. It is a journey of no return, and they know it. The strange death of two Navy officers is a case in point. The revelation of the vice admiral’s weariness came from Aristegui Noticias—and is historic. Trump is openly applying pressure. Since December 15, he has proceeded to declare fentanyl a “weapon of mass destruction.”
The Mexican government—Sheinbaum and GarcÃa Harfuch—knows it is walking on a minefield. The many accomplices are inside, including the armed forces and politicians linked to the former president. Arrests, shipments, extraditions, but of course, a populist discourse on sovereignty. What a coincidence that the operations are becoming more successful and efficient every day. Cooperation is evident and… patriotic. Sixty-four percent of the population considers it unsafe to live in their city. It has already been accepted that there was an exchange of information, so what? Other possibilities are being speculated. The reaction to the blow shows the power of what some journalists have called the world’s most powerful criminal organization: 19,000 members, a clear presence in two-thirds of the territory, and fierce growth. It is claimed that they operate in up to 40 countries. Trump does not stop—to the delight of many Mexicans—and asserts: “…If this were a war, it would be one of the worst…” and speaks of between 200,000 and 300,000 deaths from fentanyl. The CDC estimates 250,000. In Vietnam, around 58,000 Americans died.
But the big blow of the weekend is a splendid opportunity—to move forward and regain true sovereignty —because of its momentum. Mexico is now in a position to convene an international meeting on drug use, production, and trafficking. Let’s talk about the accomplices on that side of the border. In every shipment, there are two parties: those on this side and those on the other. The biggest profit, by far, stays on the other side. As long as there is consumption, there will be supply. For the Mexican Armed Forces, this is a good time for a purge and a return to their essential missions.
Masks off. Nancy Reagan was right. Yes, we can, and we will all come out ahead.
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