Brandon Darby is one smart cookie, especially when it comes to border security and Mexico. If you’re not following Darby (@brandondarby) shame on you, go fix that really quickly and then come back and read his thread about the reality of Mexico, cartels, and border security.
You’ll thank us.
Or you’ll shake your fist at us for complicating things but there is just so much more to border security with Mexico than building a wall.
Read on:
1. Nearly half of Mexico is under the control or influence of paramilitary transnational criminal groups using serious weaponry from Central America—including grenades and RPGs. How would they possibly handle that without their military?
— Brandon Darby (@brandondarby) November 24, 2018
2. These groups, we call Mexican cartels, openly attack military caravans, murder journalists, police, and political leaders.
— Brandon Darby (@brandondarby) November 24, 2018
3. Areas like the state of Coahuila, have restored much peace, but that only happened because militarized police crushed Los Zetas with brutality, deaths, and human rights abuses. They treated it like war because it is war.
— Brandon Darby (@brandondarby) November 24, 2018
4. I see so many journalists and activists denouncing Mexican military solutions or other war-like solutions to cartels, but what the hell else are they supposed to do under the circumstances? We don’t live in a land of unicorns and rainbows.
— Brandon Darby (@brandondarby) November 24, 2018
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Ain’t that the truth.
5. The US could help by identifying the most ruthless factions of certain Mexican cartels -CDN and the Reynosa faction of the Gulf cartel- as foreign terror orgs and going after them accordingly…
— Brandon Darby (@brandondarby) November 24, 2018
6. This would enable going after these factions, including anyone or group handling their funds or assets in a manner that Treasury Dept Kingpin listings don’t. Other cartels and factions would see the example and tone it down.
— Brandon Darby (@brandondarby) November 24, 2018
7. As it stands, the US and Mexico only go after some cartel heads, but they aren’t the biggest problem—it’s the others from organized crime circle who we refuse to go after: politicians, bankers, lawyers, etc. They largely get away with it and just replace token cartel boss.
— Brandon Darby (@brandondarby) November 24, 2018
Politicians, bankers, lawyers …
8. This is why the cartel problem can’t be resolved. These “others” US leaves alone are often the Mexican politicians and diplomats we engage in diplomacy with. So out State Dept ends up protecting many of the real problems to protect diplomatic relations with Mexico.
— Brandon Darby (@brandondarby) November 24, 2018
9. Make no mistake, we can build walls, hire agents, and change policies, but true border security won’t happen until Mexico is ok and that won’t happen until we change how we see and approach cartels.
— Brandon Darby (@brandondarby) November 24, 2018
Whoa, right?
Told ya’.
Look, the wall is a great first step but there is clearly far more to resolving our issues with Mexico and solving border security.
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