How many people have to die before some sort of drastic measure is taken to prevent further deaths? When it comes to Mexican cartels and the drug trade, more than 50,000 have died in the last five years at the hands of the cartels.
For many Americans, the conflict at the borders had faded from memory. The few friends of mine who had knowledge of what was happening were limited mostly to what they picked up from the National Geographic show “Border Wars.” What they told me was happening was that basically, “people were dying and drugs were getting smuggled.”
Things are obviously tough in Mexico. This isn’t new. But when the number one emerging market is private security, I think you can really start to paint a picture of how tough it really is.
Patrons of security firms such as Grupo Industrial Security Multisistemas are being implanted with GPS tracking chips, escorted everywhere by armed guards and driven in armor-plated trucks. You would too if you couldn’t go outside your house for fear of being kidnapped and ransomed. This is an everyday occurrence in parts of Mexico.
In 2010, Mexican police reported that there were 1,847 kidnappings, the highest in the world, and that number was believed to be far below the realistic figure. Anti-crime groups say that only 1 in every 10 kidnappings is reported because most fear what will happen if they turn to the police for help.
Being a police officer in Mexico, I think, to date, is probably the worst job in the world. Nothing beats having to work against these cartels. Anyone opposed to the cartels is killed and left as a message to others. Police chiefs, commissioners, political leaders — it doesn’t matter. If they speak up, they get silenced.
Even news media reporters are being targeted by these malicious gangs. Shoot, even I might become targeted for writing this. There is no limit to what these people will do, and they have no remorse. They are only fueled by greed.
So yes, cancel the trip to Cancun and forget Tijuana because if you’re hoping for a Mexican paradise, I suggest you look elsewhere. Mexico is a warzone and we’re not even fighting.
