This is an evocative, mesmerizing piece of video-reporting on the drug war in Ciudad Juarez, the murder capital of the world (and inspiration for what may wind up being the best novel of the decade). It’s beautifully told and beautifully shot, even though its subject matter—innocents killed, frightened police who wear face-masks to work while killers walk around with impunity—is extremely depressing. Still, if you’re looking for something to watch while you eat a sandwich at your desk, check it out. One of the (many) money quotes:
It’s better to have some money in your teens and get killed in your twenties than be a slave your whole life.
And:
Juarez is the biggest mental institution in the world.
Then watch today’s Lunchtime Quickie as a palate cleanser. It’s… confusing. Is that supposed to be some kind of light-industrial porn? It seems lewd, even though it’s just a long demonstration of a powerful machine.
See, I can’t even describe it without sounding like I’m writing a letter to Penthouse.
Kelly O? Where did you find this?
Thanks to Karen for the video.
I think you have to embed it for people to watch it. And maybe it’s too long. Just watch the last three minutes if you don’t have time, folks.
Check this out. They shred anything.
http://www.ssiworld.com/watch/
That was good. But while the US war on drugs has certainly exacerbated Mexico’s problems, top to bottom corruption existed long before any drug wars. It is a lawless state.
Thank you Qatar-based media outlet for giving an honest portrayal of the horrifying violence in our own fucking backyard that our media chooses to ignore in favor of weiner pics and observations about Casey Anthony.
@3 The Drug War has been exacerbated by OUR DEMAND, not THEIR corruption, if we had a sensible drug policy you really think Mexico would have these problems?
A lot of the cops in Juarez work for kidnaping rings or for the Zetas. As far as the army, they are basically their own cartel . Chapo Guzman stopped being relevant a looooong time ago. In Juarez even the dogs on the streets know the cops have taken sides. They cover the faces so the Sinaloa cartel or The Aztecs cap their corrupt assess.
Don’t cap their corrupt ass
People involved in drug trade/use tend to be scuzzy human garbage and if you legalize drugs the same people will be involved in production and distribution. How would it possibly get rid of violence or the criminal element? If legal it would still be lucrative. Do you think all the violent sociopaths will just go away?
Brendan. A friend emailed to me… a friend and known consumer of Penthouse
@3, lawless state my ass. Yes, they have corruption problems and inequality problems and violence problems. But their economy is also growing as fast as any in the world — the most recent GDP report was considered “disappointing” at only +4.7%. Poverty is being reduced at a rate that every other country in the world including ours would be extremely envious of. And if you stay out of a handful of dangerous areas like parts of Ciudad Juarez it’s generally a safer place to be than the US. People who only report on the drug war and illegal immigrants are missing 9/10 of the story.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424…
Also, the biggest drug problem in this area (and the most OD’s) is from legal prescription drugs manufactured under government supervision. How would ending the drug war have any effect on that?
@5 Sorry I was not clear. Yes, our demand coupled with our war on drugs has clearly made things much worse. But take that all away and Mexico is still the same old super corrupt place it has always been. And while the murder rate would surely decrease, the poor, which is obviously the overwhelming majority, would continue to get screwed. EVERYONE is on the take.
#8, yeah like we still have bootleggers mowing down the populace with machine guns.
Not.
You really shouldn’t crib your catch phrases from Rush or Fox, where they’ve never been vetted for sense.
@13 we never did have bootleggers mowing down the populace, ever. They mowed down eachother. The drug trade in Mexico is different in every way. Try and answer any of those above questions if you’re so smart. Go ahead…
@10 Having just returned from a formerly “safe” part of Mexico, I can assure you that the vast majority of the country is, indeed, lawless. The local and state cops are all controlled by various cartels, so much of the crime goes unreported. Three weeks ago I visited with a lovely couple, an American and a Brit, living in Zihuatanejo who had recently been robbed. Raped, beaten and every possession stolen, including passports. No media, no local cops. The only recourse is your own country’s embassy and the Americans are next to worthless and the British can do little more. The point is, the cartels are in charge and if you are in the wrong place at the wrong time, you are fucked and nobody can/will do anything. And unfortunately, the wrong place keeps growing.
Lawless.
@8:
Have you ever actually pulled your head out of your ass long enough to look at data? Like, for instance, the number of people in this country who have used illicit drugs (and in this context that includes diverted prescription meds)?
Have you looked at the number of people arrested every single year for drugs and the number we lock up?
You enter seemingly every drug-related thread spouting off nonsense and I’ve yet to see you actually cite a fact to back up your crap.
@15, hey, nice anecdote! How long do you think it would take me to find a nice couple somewhere in America who has been robbed, raped and beaten? My god, that horrific Theresa Butz story in the courtroom right now proves that daily life in Seattle is violently out of control.
@14,
The same is true of Mexico.
The most terrifying thing the average Mexican faces in a typical day is his fellow drivers.
@16 This backs up my post about legal drugs.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/lo…
I don’t have any scientific data regarding hard drug users being human garbage, only you as an example. Can you answer any challenge I made previously.
Just watch the last five minutes of the story, people. I still don’t see any comments that really address US culpability for the situation in Juarez. Or propose ideas, or deal with specific points in the video.
95% of murders associated with organized crime in Mexico are not even investigated. Of those only half are prosecuted.
Should the US extend refugee status to immigrants from the northern states of Mexico? What if the US developed a program to cultivate domestic marijuana and cocaine operations?
What changes could we make to NAFTA that could actually help limit the illegal importation of drugs?
@19: both the headline and some of the statements in that article are quite misleading. The headline and article state that the prescription opioids are not illegal, when in fact this is not true in many (if not most of the cases). The drugs may start out legal — prescribed legally for legitimate medical reasons — and are then diverted into the illicit market. That Oxycontin and methadone being sold at 3rd and Pike is most certainly not legal.
As far as this:
Ever hear of Prohibition? Really that’s all that needs to be said, but let’s go on.
Do you have any idea of how ridiculously cheap it is to make heroin or cocaine?
Five years ago cocaine was available in Bogota for $1.44 US per (relatively pure) gram. That same gram diluted by a factor of at least five was retailing in Seattle for $40 (or around $200 all told). That’s your illegality price differential right there…about $198.
Similarly, the last figures I saw showed that it cost about $1.00 US to produce a gram of heroin in Afghanistan. By the time that heroin hits European or US consumers (not so much anymore, due to, you know, Mexico and Colombia) it may be diluted to 10% and sell for $75/gram. So take one gram turn it into 10 and sell it for $75. Price differential? $749 per gram.
Regulating (and even taxing the living hell out of these substances) would overnight eliminate any profit for the cartels. They could not possibly compete. Just as the bootleggers could not (and do not) compete with the big boys.
I’m in favor of legalization. I just want one hipster in thrift store clothes to explain how it would work. Narcotics by their very nature attract criminals. They may become cheaper but the gangs and violence are not going away.
@20 – “What changes could we make to NAFTA that could actually help” I’ll cut it off there
If the US stopped subsidizing its agricultural products(as it was supposed to with NAFTA but didn’t) or allowed Mexico to resume subsidizing food and agriculture, that would be a huge help. The destruction of small farming and the rise in tortilla prices has been the major hardship on ordinary Mexicans for the past twenty years. Of course if they could feed their families and stay in their villages in Southern Mexico there wouldn’t be $50/week labor for the maquiladoras.
If I understand some of your arguments correctly, US prohibition policy is responsible for thousands of needless deaths across North, Central, and South America, but we shouldn’t talk about it (or discuss repeal and regulation) because the average person in Mexico City is more likely to die of a traffic accident and people in all countries are subject to violence sometimes?
I’m not sure I understand what y’all are driving at. We could make policy more sensible and spare lives across multiple continents… but we shouldn’t? Because why, exactly?
@22: “Narcotics by their very nature attract criminals.”
Best example of tautology I’ve seen in long time. Let’s see, drug are illegal, therefore people who break the law use drugs.
Duh. No shit sherlock. If they weren’t illegal, you wouldn’t have to be a criminal to use. Seriously, this argument doesn’t even qualify as stupid because it’s not even an argument.
@17 sorry about the anecdote, but that was used to illustrate the larger point that there is no law to turn to in Mexico. Horrific crimes happen everywhere, but at least here we have local law enforcement agencies that are not merely arms of drug cartels to help us.
You’re right, that is tragic that your consumption of drugs fuels the drug war but that’s your choice to pump money into cartel pockets. The culpability ultimately lies with scuzzy faggy junkies like gnossos who want their shit and don’t care who gets hurt along the way.
@ 27. You’ve been kicking up dust on Slog’s drug posts for awhile and I was considering trying to answer your questions (some of which, like how are prescription drugs different from illegal drugs and how will the regulation of the former differ from the regulation of the latter, and why isn’t the regulation of the former more successful, etc. are worthwhile). But your “scuzzy faggy junkies” line took all the wind out of my sails.
I’ll still think about your questions and hopefully address them in writing someday. But I’ve given up on actually engaging with you, because you are clearly a thoughtless jerk.
@26 I get what you mean about Mexico being a lawless society. The corruption is truly constant and visible. But there are also many honest and hard working people in Mexico, aware of the corruption and combating it. This country and the people who live here are not garbage, nor just a farm/factory for American goods and drugs. We Americans need to examine and own our role in this horrible situation, not just as drug consumers but as material goods consumers and policy makers. I’m not going to shake my finger at coke users in the US and say you have blood on your hands for the death of these teenagers in Juarez, but it’s fair to say we’re all connected and have benefited from the causes of this tragedy.
@23 fucking A
@29 I couldn’t agree more. I travel often to Mexico due to a healthy love of the people and culture. My brother owns property down there and will be retiring there soon, and we both have many friends, both native and ex-pats. Every person I know in Mexico is honest, hard-working and trying to make their community better. Very well said.