Mexico's Drug War

"Forbes: Mexican drug lord 41 on most powerful list."

Here is an excerpt from this Associated Press story:

"Forbes Magazine named drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman — a fugitive reputed to be hiding in the mountains of northern Mexico — to its list of the 67 "World's Most Powerful People" on  Wednesday. At No. 41 on the list, Guzman is ahead of presidents like Russia's Dmitry Medvedev, France's Nicolas Sarkozy and Venezuela's Hugo Chavez. Forbes noted Guzman's profession as 'drug trafficker' on the list published Wednesday on its Web site. 'This ranking is intended to be the beginning of a conversation, not the final word,' the magazine said in accompanying article. 'Do despicable criminals like billionaire Mexican drug lord Joaquin Guzman ... belong on this list at all?' Last March, Mexican officials decried Forbes' decision to include Guzman on its list of the world's billionaires, saying that wrongly compared him to legitimate businessmen. At the time, Forbes' estimated Guzman's fortune at $1 billion. The office of the presidency said it had no immediate reaction to his inclusion on Wednesday's list." Link to Full Article

Analysis: It looks like El Chapo is moving up in the world, and moving up quickly - he was #701 on the last last March, so that's quite a jump. I guess despite all the "good" news from the drug war's front about increased arrests and drug seizures, someone is still making money, and apparently more of it.

I was very critical last March of Forbes' decision to include El Chapo on its list, so I'll reiterate here what I said back then:

"First, I'd like to know who does his books and made his net worth (which Forbes lists as $1 billion) available to Forbes. I imagine this is just an estimate, and I'm not sure how Forbes or anyone else goes about gauging those numbers. Second, glamourizing a drug kingpin by adding him to a list that is normally reserved for people like Bill Gates or the Sultan of Brunei is probably not a good idea. Kids, gang members, and others who are potential recruits for the cartels might see this sort of thing and say, 'hey, I'd like to work for #701...there's gotta be some money in that for me!' I'm deeply disappointed that Forbes would add someone the likes of Guzman Loera to their 'elite' list."

My opinion hasn't changed, so enough said.

"How much is the U.S. to Blame for Mexico's Drug War?"

Here is an excerpt from my latest article on MexiData.info:

"There are two main issues for which the United States has recently taken at least partial responsibility in Mexico’s drug war—southbound weapons trafficking (the supply side), and drug trafficking (the demand side).

"In March 2009, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said, “We know very well that the drug traffickers are motivated by the demand for illegal drugs in the United States and that they are armed by the transport of weapons from the United States.” This acknowledgement was the beginning of a new level of cooperation between the U.S. and Mexico in fighting cartels.

But was it right for the U.S. to accept blame for these issues, and if so, will it lead to more U.S. involvement in solving other problems in Latin America for which it may be “responsible”?"

To read the rest of my article on MexiData.info, please CLICK HERE.