Here is an essay I posted months ago that either got accidentally deleted by me or censored and removed by Google for key words or labeled as something Google din't agree with. It is an essay I wrote for a college class while I was working on a border security mission along the US-Mexico border. It is based on a true story but edited by my boss who is now the border security director for the great State of Texas.
Only specific locations, agencies and names have been edited but the plot and story line remains true. It also ties in nicely with my previous post titled "Mexican Cartel Business Models and Operations".
Here we go.
The War on Drugs is slowly starting rear its ugly head in
American neighborhoods that have in the past been known as quaint and quiet
settlements of peace and tranquility. Why now? What has changed that has caused
the dread of drugs, violence, and gangs to invade the sanctity of our neighborhoods?
In more ways than one, we have opened the door and in some cases, invited the
beast in with our justification of our addiction to the very drugs that has
already torn Mexico apart.
It’s easy to condemn the violence in Mexico and blame it on
various factors such as greed, addiction, corruption, and poverty. While these
are important factors in the violence in Mexico, there must be a catalyst. Without
oxygen, a fire cannot burn. While Mexico may be the fire, the US’s insatiable
hunger for drugs is the oxygen providing the fuel for that fire. To add to the
explosive equation, Americans’ sale of weapons to Mexicans for profit is the
kindling we throw in the fire to keep it going. American gun runners justify gun sales to
Mexicans by telling themselves they are only conducting business and it’s not
their business what the customer does with the guns. Even when, the seller
knows that those guns are going into the hands of cartel members and will most
likely kill many people. He has convinced himself that as long as he doesn’t hurt anyone, his hands are
clean of the innocent blood that runs in the streets of Mexico.
As Americans that live a pretty sheltered life compared to
people in other countries, we tend to turn a blind eye to anything that we find
offensive or may otherwise hurt us. Even the occasional recreation marijuana
smoker who has convinced himself that marijuana is a harmless narcotic, has
also convinced himself that it’s not his responsibility what happens before the
marijuana get to him. To put things in to perspective, I find it moronic that
Americans will protest, start movements, and boycott companies that sell jeans
because the manufacturer they buy the jeans from exploit child slavery. They
will gladly give up their name brand jeans so a child in Bangladesh doesn’t
have to work for $5.00 a month in a sweatshop. Americans will boycott stores
that sell products that harm an endangered lizard in some remote part of the
world. They will gladly give up products that contribute to “global warming” in
favor of a more expensive “green” item for the sake of environmentalism but
will not give up their recreational drug because they have their rights and they’re
“not hurting anyone”.
The
fact is Americans don’t want to know what happens once the marijuana plant is
harvested. They’d rather believe that what happens in Mexico may not be morally
right but they still have the right to smoke a “joint” when they feel like it.
Besides, it’s easier to get stoned without knowing the death and destruction that has occurred in Mexico
so they can numb their minds for a while.
It has been determined that 90% of marijuana bought in the US
is grown in Mexico which translates to about 60% of the profits that goes to
only a few individuals within several cartels in Mexico. I also find it
pathetic that Americans are on Wall Street protesting big business and
government because of fiscal greed causing lower standards and conditions for
lower class Americans but we have absolutely no problem stuffing our cash into
cartel pockets and fueling the drug war in Mexico lowering the standards and
conditions of Mexicans. If that seems pretty harsh, consider that the US
accounts for 85% of the cartels’ overall business of narcotics in 2010. That
overall “business” literally translates to virtual slavery, forced labor,
threatened lives, families separated, risking life and limb to transport the
narcotics, torture, extortion, kidnapping, getting shot, decapitated, burned
alive, or killed. Being caught and jailed in the US is actually the preferred
option. That means that we sent millions of dollars to Mexico each year to
raise the standard of living for a few ruthless people and lower it for
everyone else.
In the Sierra Madre, The Tarahumara Indians who
retreated from the Spaniards to the area have been especially hit hard by the
cartel enforcers who have forced them into growing marijuana for the cartels
instead of their traditional corn and other crops. Since the Tarahumara use no
formal currency, they are only compensated with trinkets and allowed to live.
Once the marijuana is harvested, it is processed by poor villagers who are
often made to work under the watchful eyes of armed guards to prevent the theft
of any marijuana. Stolen marijuana can earn them more if sold on the street than
what they get paid, which is often in only food for the day. Workers who steal
are killed or subject to torture in front of the other workers to discourage
any more thefts. They are only paid in a day’s worth of food so they won’t
leave for risk of starving. Once the marijuana is processed, it is ready for
packing and transportation. This is probably the least dangerous task of the
process depending on the cartel since this process is usually done by better
paid members of the cartels but often tortured and killed for stealing any
amount of marijuana.
The mayhem starts
once the marijuana is done being processed and the dope starts its journey to
various points in the U.S. Starting from the remotely located packing shed in
the Sierra Madre mountains, transport drivers are accompanied by armed guards
to defend against rival cartels and armed thugs trying to score a quick load to
sell on the street. In January of 2010, a truck load of marijuana that had left
a shed destined for the Mexico – Texas border was hijacked 200 miles from its
destination in Juarez. Armed gunmen supposedly from a rival cartel shot and killed
the driver and two escorts. They only managed to steal about 300 of the 1,125 pounds
of marijuana from the transport truck before the load escort truck caught up
and engaged the hijackers killing one of them.
The marijuana was loaded into
the escort truck and continued on its way. The bodies
were left hanging out of the vehicle and on the road to be picked apart by wild
animals until authorities arrived a day and half later. There was no
investigation and no one claimed the bodies.
The load later arrives at a small ranch
north of Chihuahua to be divided up in to smaller loads to be distributed to
the couriers whose job it is to take the smaller loads to the people along the
border who are going to cross the loads into the US. At this point some of the freelance
couriers tend to steal small amounts from their loads either for sale or
personal use. Since some of the crossers or “Cruzadores” often have exact
weights they are to receive, the courier must remain in the room while the load
is weighed to ensure the exact weight has been delivered as ordered. These
independent couriers are often inexperienced and sometimes carry loads a few
times for quick money and think they outsmart the cruzadores and don’t realize
they will be held accountable for every ounce of marijuana they transported
until it’s too late.
One week after the hijacking, an 18
year old boy and his 17 year old partner were found bound and gagged with packing
tape and single shots to the head. The shed they were found in also had a scale
and used packing tape rolls commonly found to wrap marijuana bundles. The two
boys were thought to be couriers as both had been previously caught by police with
marijuana. They had both dropped out of grade school in search of income and
recruited by local plaza henchmen to transport. The 18 year old’s mother
initially denied the body was her son out fear of retribution by the cartels
who had killed her husband a year before. The 17 year-old’s body was claimed a
month later by an uncle after he was buried in a grassless plot with a simple
wooden tombstone that reads Jaime G. 2010.
The marijuana load has now reached
the border and ready to be crossed. The cruzadores are usually young men with
intimate knowledge of the territory they work in. Their job is to cross the
loads into the US with the help of information from lookouts on both sides of the
border. They carry multiple cell phones, life preservers, and sometimes, a bag
of homemade road spikes to thwart law enforcement vehicle if chased. They know
what times the Border Patrol scouts come by, they watch for law enforcement
aircraft, and boats. A recovery team remains on the Mexican side to recover the
load if the cruzador has to splash his vehicle into the river.
In one incident, the
driver had returned to the river because a police officer was hot on his tail.
The driver headed back to the river and alerted his recovery crew that he was
coming in. His passenger, wearing a red Polo shirt stayed on the phone and
guided the recovery crew to the splashdown location as their route changed. As
they neared the river, the stolen truck they were driving blew a tire. The
driver accelerated to compensate for the flat tire but kept losing control. He
drove off the river bank at an angle faster than anticipated. The sudden stop
as the truck hit the water caused the driver to hit his head on the window or door
frame. He was disoriented and could not get out of the vehicle before it started
sinking. The recovery crew waiting on the Mexican side of the
river managed to recover most of the floating bundles but made no effort to
extract the driver before the vehicle sank. His body was found two days later
by US Border Patrol patrolling the river. He was carrying a fake Texas driver’s
license and $275.00 in cash. He was 21 years old.
It is possible that the
passenger had to pay some retribution to his cartel bosses for his loss of some
of the load. Since he was not identified, it could not be confirmed that the
body of a young man with a red Polo shirt found two weeks later in Mexico was
that of the passenger. Hog tied and blindfolded, he had signs of torture and a
gunshot to the back of the head and has yet to be identified.
A smaller load that was part of
the original load from the ranch in Chihuahua has successfully made it through
the law enforcement gauntlet and arrived at its destination in Austin, Texas.
There, the Ford minivan drives into a neighborhood and down an alley into the
back yard of well manicured house where kids play in the front yards. The Neighborhood Crimewatch signs on the
corners of the neighborhood help create the illusion of a safe neighborhood. The
marijuana bundles are cut out of the quarter panels and headliner and stashed
in the garage, shed and bedrooms. Over the course of a week, other vehicles
arrive and the process is repeated until the house is full and the load is
ready to be moved further north. In the middle of the night, a cloned insulation
truck backs into the driveway where the dope is loaded into the van. The next
stop is Atlanta, Georgia.
The home owner who rented the
house had his suspicions about the three Hispanic men who rented the house and
paid in cash. He wonders why these men with no kids would move into the area
claiming to work for a local company. He looks at the $ 2,800.00 in cash in his
hands and dismisses his suspicions. Besides, the last two families couldn’t afford
the rent and he has bills to pay. He tells himself that he’s only doing
business and he’s not hurting anyone and hands them the keys.
The truck leaves the Austin stash
house early in the morning with a male driver and female passenger. Their cover
story is that he found a job in Georgia and they are moving to a new home
there. At the same time, a scout vehicle follows three or four car lengths
behind them. They will follow the van and never lose sight of it or the driver
for the entire journey. The scout’s job is to intercede for the van if law
enforcement gets involved. The scout car is usually clean of any contraband or
may even be rigged with empty hidden compartments or have an odor of marijuana
to occupy law enforcement to give the van time to get away while the scout car
is searched. If law enforcement gets behind the moving van on the road, the
scout car will commit some type of traffic violation, initiate a pursuit or
otherwise attract the officer’s attention in an attempt to stop the scout vehicle
instead of the van.
So far, it has been
an uneventful trip for the van and scout car. Once in Louisiana, the scout
notices a black Ford Mustang that has been following them for the past 250 miles
and is starting to get concerned. Could
it be a local gang trying to steal their load? Or maybe a cartel supervisor
making sure his load is where it’s supposed to be? Either way, the scout is not
only watching out for law enforcement, but an unknown threat. In Tallula, Louisiana,
the scout calls the van driver on his burner phone and has him make a detour
through town and take Highway 80 instead to be on the safe side. Once in
Mississippi everything seems calm and the black Mustang is gone. On the
Interstate 20-61 interchange, the scout notices a white pickup following them.
Again, the scout’s concern rises then panic sets in as he spots a state trooper
on the side of the road. He frantically tries to warn the van driver but it’s
too late. The scout sighs in relief as they both pass the trooper and the
trooper remains parked. The white pickup is still following though. The scout
finally gets the van driver on the phone and tells him to slow down and keep an
eye on the white pickup and the green Expedition that been following them.
They decide to stop for fuel and a
quick meal then head out again. After loading up on energy drinks, burgers and
fuel at the gas station, a police officer pulls in to the gas station. The
scout looks at the van driver as he’s getting in the van and nods casually then
looks over in the direction of the officer. The officer notices the Texas
license plates and keeps looking. The officer gets out of his unit and walks
into the store as the scout places the fuel pump back in the pump holder.
The van is already a few miles
down the road and he has to catch up. Five minutes later the scout spots the
van and catches up. Another five minutes goes by and the scout is relieved the
officer didn’t question him. As he’s bragging to himself about his getaway, he
looks up at his rear view mirror and sees flashing red and blue lights. His
heart drops and quickly makes a plan to lose him then, he sees a second patrol
car behind him. He quickly pulls over instead. The officer is a narcotics
officer familiar with the smuggling routes and concealment techniques used by smugglers.
His back up brings out the K9 to search the vehicle knowing the vehicle is a
scout and following the load vehicle. The officer has already put out an alert
for the van when he was at the store. The officer runs a background check and arrests
the scout for a warrant out of Texas and other minor charges.
The van driver can’t reach the
scout on the phone after 20 minutes and throws the phone out the window to
avoid any association with the scout if he sings to the police. He takes his van
off the highway and starts taking back roads to avoid capture. The next day,
the van arrives in Atlanta and pulls into another suburb neighborhood. He
doesn’t recognize the man at the house and feels uneasy about turning the dope
over to him. He notices what is probably a gun under his shirt and wonders if
the man is a rival planning to steal the load. The code word he gets from the
man checks out and the van keys are turned over to the man with the gun. The
man with the gun tells him he’s there because “Rudy” got shot and arrested by
police in a raid at the other house.
The van is unloaded and the dope
split up into three other vehicles where it will be driven to Memphis,
Philadelphia, and New York to be distributed to the dealers. In Memphis, five
of the 12 dealers are arrested and one is shot and killed by a competitor for
selling on his turf. One of the five arrested will serve 20 years in prison
because he is a felon in possession of a firearm and was implicated in a rival
gang hit.
The marijuana has finally made its
way from the Sierra Madre to the party at a neatly landscaped family house in a
quiet subdivision where a 20 year old Sam lights up the joint.
From harvest to lighting up, about
32 people were forced to work under deplorable conditions, eight people were
killed, six were arrested, and two were shot. In addition, six international
laws were broken, 24 US laws were broken, eight vehicles were stolen,
approximately 12 stolen weapons were in possession of criminals, six officials
were bribed, and several families were broken.
This is just one of the hundreds of
runs that happen 24-7, 365 all along the US-Mexico border and throughout the
US. Within weeks, the entire process will be reversed but the loads will be US
Dollars going to Mexico. The cartel leaders need that money to surround
themselves with outrageous luxury and clout. They also need it to bribe
officials and buy more guns to perpetuate their business. After all, the demand
is there for the taking.
But, Sam, Sam is an American with the right to smoke marijuana if he wants to.
What happens in Mexico is not his doing. As a matter of fact, he condemns the
violence in Mexico, but he tells everyone, he’s not hurting anyone, just having
a little fun with Mary Jane.
eModicus
