The conflict in the Middle East is winding down, US forces are withdrawing, and wars are being handed over to various proxy forces to fight in the context of the so-called Arab Spring from Egypt, to Libya, to Syria. Once Syria falls, more than likely after the US Presidential elections are complete, the Arab Spring with US covert assistance will almost certainly shift its focus to the gem of Eurasia, Iran. But that is another story.

Meanwhile, the policy makers and official white papers are talking about a strategic pivot, a realignment of US forces to confront a real or perceived growing of Chinese spheres of influence in the Pacific Rim. This has already begun in earnest, with China feuding with the Philippines and several South East Asian nations regarding territory disputes, mostly related to islands in the South China Sea. Another realignment of US military and intelligence assets is to the Southern Cone, Central and South America.

The third realignment is to turn the surveillance and intelligence gathering techniques and tactics developed for the War on Terror inward for domestic use, mostly under the banner of cyber-security. The defense establishment will not simply let contracts expire and shrink their margins; rather, they will seek out new venues to apply the same methods of operation.

5th Special Forces Group Commanders In-Extremis Force (CIF) Team training for maritime interdictions
SOF realignment? 5th Special Forces Group Commanders In-Extremis Force (CIF) Team training for maritime interdictions.

The second realignment involves various Unmanned Aerial Vehicles being reoriented into the Southern Hemisphere, but there are also a number of rumors that just don’t want to die. Has the Asymmetrical Warfare Group been south of the border to study cartel tactics, techniques, and procedures? Are Spanish-speaking SEAL Team Six operators working with FES, Mexico’s Maritime Commando equivalent?  Many attribute the Mexican Marines, and other military forces recent successes in capturing high value targets to close cooperation and assistance from American military and intelligence sources, much of which was hashed out as a part of the Mérida Initiative.

All of this happens in the background of the so-called Fast and Furious scandal, in which the ATF first ordered American gun shop owners to sell guns to straw buyers, and then intentionally allowed them to be smuggled across the border into the hands of cartel sicarios, or assassins. The excuse given by ATF and the Justice Department was that the weapons were allowed to “walk” across the border so that law enforcement officials could track them to the recipients and use the information to make arrests. This excuse is just that, a pathetic cover story for what actually happened. Why was no effort made to Tag, Track, and Locate the smuggled weapons?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKzy6vdO3Ok

The Sinaloa cartel is the oldest cartel in Mexico, with the deepest institution ties. This is a nice way of saying that the cartel cuts checks to government employees on both sides of the border. This cartel has been waging a war against their rivals and the idea that America is interested in managing the war on drugs rather than ending it is an old one. To that end, has the Sinaloa cartel been receiving covert assistance to help them wipe out their rivals and consolidate the drug trade under one organization?

Mexican President-Elect Nieto Pena with Sinaloa Cartel Honcho, Celaya Valenzuela who was busted in Spain this week with 337 Kilos of cocaine.
Mexican President-Elect Nieto Pena with Sinaloa Cartel Honcho, Celaya Valenzuela who was busted in Spain this week with 337 Kilos of cocaine.

Answers are not forthcoming, however, some leaked information shows that CISEN, the Mexican Intelligence service, along with American agencies may have their crosshairs on the Sinaloa cartel, whether or not they have actually been allied with them in the past. According to leaked StratFor e-mails stolen by the hacker group called Anonymous, and subsequently released by Wikileaks, we have an interesting account about a CISEN agent meeting with American officials at the El Paso intelligence center described by Wikipedia as, “a federal tactical operational intelligence center…hosted at Fort Bliss. Its DoD (United States Department of Defense) counterpart, Joint Task Force North, is at Biggs Army Airfield. Biggs Field, a military airport located at Fort Bliss, is designated a military power projection platform.”