"Bold prison break? Just another day in Mexico's drug war."

Here is an excerpt from Sara Miller Llana's article in The Christian Science Monitor:

"A convoy of cars carrying more than two dozen suspected drug cartel members disguised as Mexican police officers arrives at the Zacatécas state prison before dawn. Their helicopter hovers overhead. Minutes later, the men help more than 50 inmates – many of them suspected drug traffickers – flee the prison. A countrywide manhunt ensues. No, this is not a script for a B movie. It's just another day in Mexico's high-stakes war on drug trafficking – Saturday, in fact. The story grabbed headlines worldwide. But for Mexicans – who have now grown accustomed to fugitives on the lam and traffickers taunting the state with death threats and even banners hung in public spaces to recruit new members – it was business as usual... Many of those who fled from the Cieneguillas prison in Zacatecas over the weekend are believed to be members of the Gulf cartel, one of the major organizations fighting the Mexican state and their rivals to preserve corridors to the illegal drug market in the US... Prison breaks are nothing new in Mexico. In 2001, Mexico's most wanted drug lord, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, escaped from a high-security prison – reportedly in the back of a laundry truck. And there have been at least three breaks in Zacatecas in recent years. Such attempts began in the late 90s..with the emergence of the Zetas, who are the security enforcers for the Gulf Cartel." Link to Full Article

Analysis: A few people have asked my opinion on this prison break, and at first I wasn't really sure how to comment on it until I saw this article. There are just a few things I want to mention, which the article highlights quite nicely. First, the expertise of Los Zetas. Prison breaks and hostage rescues are two things older members of Los Zetas (i.e. former GAFES soldiers who were trained at Fort Benning) were actually trained on during their Mexican army days. I'm sure many of them have passed on these skills to newer recruits, and this prison break is a good example of that training. Second, yes, of course there was inside help - how could you have a prison break without one shot fired if a good number of prison personnel aren't in on the plan? And finally, although this prison break received a lot of press, it's not exactly the first time something like this has happened, and certainly not a first for Zacatecas. As I've said before, the only thing that DTO members and leaders fear is extradition to the US. Why? Because if they get thrown into a Mexican prison, they either live like kings for just a few years, or get busted out in an operation like this one. If they go to prison in the US, they're staying put for a LONG time. So, not only is it hard enough for the Mexican government to put these thugs in jail; apparently, it's a real problem to keep them there.

Comments

[lee sachs]

Now, young lady, to get a better more objective and less opinionated view of what EXACTLY is unfolding down here in this whorehouse (i've lived in mexico for almost a generation), leave the crazyhouse of amerika and come on down to baja norte for a few months. that would certainly afford you a more spot-on perspective.

FELIZ FIN DE SEMANA...

lee wm sachs
leesachs@yahoo.com
011526461444778

[Sylvia Longmire]

Lee - Good afternoon! I appreciate all comments, so I was hoping you could be a little more specific. What posts or information do you feel I'm being too opinionated on? If you've noticed any factual errors, please let me know...I vet my sources as thoroughly as possible, but I always like to know the views of those who live in-country. Any details you can give me on your differences of opinion would (a) help me as a blogger of these issues, and (b) serve as good discussion points for certain posts. What's your perspective?