The Latin American Drug Cartels first hit the newspaper and TV news headlines in America in the 1970s. It was generally known that drugs were coming in from points south, mostly from Colombia. It wasn't until the late 1970s, around 1977 that names were given to Colombian Drug Cartels, the Medellin Cartel being the most notorious, led by Pablo Escobar. Cali Cartel also gained notoriety at the same time and Colombia became the center of cocaine production and export.
Just about all of the drugs coming out of Colombia flowed into the United States by way of Panama and Mexico. Both of these locations became important transit points for drug trafficking and slimy characters like Manuel Noriega in Panama, became not only rich, but politically powerful from their involvement in the drug trade. However, by 1990, Noriega was ousted when we launched the Operation Just Cause and captured and imprisoned the Panamanian strongman. It wasn't long after that Pablo Escobar died and the Medellin Cartel began to crumble. By mid 1990's, the Medellin Cartel was no more and Cali Cartel was falling apart as well. Yet, the drugs continued to flow into the United States unabated! Apparently someone else had taken over for the Colombians and that someone else were the Mexican Cartels.
The Mexican Cartels which were just intermediaries, handling the onward shipment of drugs before the fall of the Colombians, were now the ones who were paying the growers in Colombia and handling the whole process from start to finish. The Mexicans began with their cartel in Guadalajara and moved westward with Juarez Cartel on to the Michoacan and Tijuana Cartel. All Mexican Cartels were just as violent and ruthless as the Colombians, if not more so, if it was possible!
So, when I was assigned to Tijuana in 1997 out of Cairo, I spent a considerable amount of time getting briefed about drug activity in my area, i.e., Baja California Norte and Baja California Sur. Having served previously both in Ecuador and Paraguay in South America, I was already quite familiar with drug trafficking problem and all the key players in the business. So it was not a surprise for me to learn just how violent and ruthless the drug traffickers were in my area, run by the Arellano Felix Cartel. There were shootings and killings taking place almost daily, according to the reports that I read and the briefings I got from DEA, Tijuana and other larger cities in Baja were like the old wild west!
Upon arrival in Tijuana I started with my courtesy calls on various officials in the area, a standard Foreign Service practice. Because I was a "guest" in their country and city, I had to initiate the contact. I first paid a call on the Governor of Baja California, a gracious gentleman with old world courtly manners. He assured me that everything was under control and that the drug traffickers were not a problem and that common street gangs were responsible for violence. My visit with the Mayor of Tijuana also proved to be somewhat fruitless, a pleasant social chit chat. He also told me that all the talk about the violent drug cartel activities were greatly exaggerated. He said that being a native son of Tijuana, he was well aware that Tijuana always attracted undesirables who caused problems. He even hinted that most problems were caused by folks from across the border!
My final courtesy call was on the Commanding General of the Segunda Zona Militar (Second Military Zone) located in Tijuana. The Segunda Zona Militar covers the Mexican states of Baja California and Sonora and is commanded by a Major General. Mexico is divided into twelve military regions which in turn are split into military zones or zonas militares. Ostensibly, each region is commanded by a Lieutenant General, a three star, and each zone is commanded by a Major General, a two star, or a Brigadier General, a one star, depending on the size of the zone. Obviously, the second zone, the segunda zona was large enough to call for a two star.
The Major General in command of the segunda zona was a short stocky gentleman in his early fifties. According to his biography, he was a product of the Mexican Military Academy and was considered a rising star. He had served with the Mexican Airborne Brigade and later commanded a Special Forces battalion. The job as a Commanding General of the segunda zona was a plum assignment that many Mexican generals sought and rarely received! Although, according to Mexican law the military is subservient to the civilian officials, I knew that the military had much more power than, for instance, our military. The Commanding General of the segunda zona had more power than the Governor of Baja! That's just how things are in Latin America!
The Commanding General met me, wearing a field uniform, fatigues as U.S. Army used to call, almost a dead ringer for our Vietnam era fatigues! His name tape above the right pocket and the Mexican army tape above the left pocket were of "subdued" type, just like ours. The only things that were different were the parachute badge that he had above the left pocket and the Major General insignias on his collar.
After the initial handshaking and small talk, he called his adjutant who came into the room and placed a small item on his desk. The general at this point, with great pomp and ceremony, announced that he was presenting me with the Mexican parachute badge as a token of friendship and cooperation between us. He then told me (showing off, letting me know that he had his intel!) that he knew that I was a U.S. Army veteran and that I had served with the Special Forces. He said that he too was a former Special Forces and that we were brothers in arms. I thanked him for his gift (I could have bought a Mexican parachute badge at any Army/Navy store for $5 if I wanted!) and we made some more small talk. Then he suddenly announced that he had been approached by the drug cartel and offered a million dollars a year to be their man, but he had refused! He said that it was more important for him to be a good, honorable soldier, and serve his patria (country) loyally!
I had heard that he was in the pocket of the drug cartel. The DEA had suspected his involvement for some time but had no proof. Hearing his declaration about turning down the drug cartel offer, made me suspect that perhaps he was involved after all. When I returned to my office, I immediately launched into checking on the "honest" general. It took some time, for I had to get information from local sources. But eventually, within the next few months, I learned that he was indeed being paid by the cartel to leave them alone and in fact facilitate the flow of drugs across the border. He was not being paid a million dollars as he claimed he was offered, he was paid two million a year, a million every six months!
The problem in Mexico, as I learned in my three years there, is the endemic corruption within the official community. It is a given that minor police officials are paid off by drug cartels, but it was a real eye opener to learn how many of the officials in higher places were making a fortune getting paid by the drug cartels, and it is still going on and will continue! A Mexican friend told me that there was a popular saying in that country. It goes, "para ser millionario, primero tiene que ser el presidente del pais!" ("to become a millionaire, you have to first become the president of the country!"). How sad but true! Until the widespread corruption is eliminated in Mexico, the drugs and the illegal migrants will continue to flow into the United States!
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