Deploying the military and SOCOM to combat Mexican drug cartels and other nonsense

Deploying the military and SOCOM to combat Mexican drug cartels and other nonsense

Should the United States deploy its military to assist Mexico to fight the increasingly violent and overpowering drug cartels? There are some in Congress who believe that this is still a viable option. The last time the United States provided its military in such a fight, specifically Plan Colombia, things didn’t go as planned, shocker… […]

News Roundup: Do walls work? New Army bonuses, nude man dances on top of burning car

News Roundup: Do walls work? New Army bonuses, nude man dances on top of burning car

This talking point needs to die:  German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday that putting up walls will not solve problems caused by immigration, challenging one of U.S. President Donald Trump’s core principles, during her visit to Mexico. Speaking in Mexico City, Merkel, who grew up in Communist East Germany behind the Iron Curtain, said […]

2018 budget proposal includes $1.6 billion request for border wall

2018 budget proposal includes $1.6 billion request for border wall

The 2018 budget proposal as presented by the Trump administration today calls for significant cuts to federal spending across the board, and features only a modest request to begin construction on the controversial “Trump border wall” along America’s southern border. The wall, which became a source of controversy during the campaign, has long been a […]

Renowned journalist murdered by gunmen in Mexico

Renowned journalist murdered by gunmen in Mexico

Javier Valdez, an award-winning journalist known for his investigatory reporting on cartels and drug trafficking inside Mexico, was gunned down yesterday in Sinaloa, near where he lived and worked. “Even though you may have bullet-proofing and bodyguards, [the gangs] will decide what day they are going to kill you.” Valdez had once said, referring to […]

Mexico appears to be turning up the heat on ‘El Chapo’ Guzman’s embattled empire

Mexico appears to be turning up the heat on ‘El Chapo’ Guzman’s embattled empire

In the months since former Sinaloa cartel chief Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman was turned over to US authorities, Mexico has seen spiraling violence in the territory controlled by his cartel, as rivals, underlings, and siblings compete to assume control — a battle that started in the months after Guzman’s January 2016 arrest. In response to […]

Guatemala prepares to declare state of emergency in communities wrought with drug violence

Guatemala prepares to declare state of emergency in communities wrought with drug violence

A state of emergency may soon be declared by the Guatemalan government in two municipalities bordering Mexico due to the proliferation of drug trafficking groups in the region.  Troops from the Guatemalan military have been dispatched to stabilize the area and stem the flow of heroin into their country. The Ixchiguan and Tajumulco municipalities of […]

Mexico second only to Syria as deadliest country in 2016

Mexico second only to Syria as deadliest country in 2016

Despite ongoing international crises in war zones like Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan, Mexico quietly climbed to the top of the world’s deadliest countries for 2016. In its annual report on armed conflict, the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) showed that 23,000 people were killed in Mexico in 2016, the highest number of any country in the […]

Mexican activist known for investigating cartels killed in her home

Mexican activist known for investigating cartels killed in her home

Miriam Rodríguez Martínez, an activist on behalf of the thousands of Mexican citizens who go missing every year in Mexico, was murdered in her home by gunmen this week. Martinez had been known for personally investigating the circumstances of her daughter’s death. Karen Alejandra was kidnapped and murdered by criminals from the Zetas cartel in […]

Mexico captures protégé, turned enemy, of drug lord Chapo Guzman

Mexico captures protégé, turned enemy, of drug lord Chapo Guzman

Mexican security forces on Tuesday arrested accused drug kingpin Damaso Lopez, believed to be locked in a bloody struggle for control of the Sinaloa Cartel against the sons of its captured leader Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. The attorney general’s office announced that its agents with the help of the army had captured Lopez, 51, one […]