So, Mexico. This is our fault exactly how?

[markw]

MEXICO CITY — President Mauricio Funes of El Salvador said Friday he doesn't blame Mexico's government for the massacre of 72 mainly Central American migrants, and called for a joint effort to fight drug cartels.
...
"We have come to have a conversation with the president of Mexico, not to condemn him or criticize him," Funes said. "Rather the opposite, to show him our support and offer our help in this fight."

Thirteen Salvadorans were among the dead identified so far in the massacre in late August, a killing blamed on one of Mexico's drug cartels, the Zetas.

'If we are talking about responsibility, at the root of this, in the case of immigration, is the lack of immigration legislation in the United States that would recognize this phenomenon,' Calderon said."

WTF???

So, lemme get this straight: 72 mexicans and central americans are killed by mexican citizens in mexico, and both countries say it's our fault?

You've gotta be kidding me. W

Now, I do recall some article a month or so ago where one mexican national was shot by our border patrol during a riot on the border, but even that happened under specious circumstances. They say they have film of someone dragging the victim back to mexico.

Full story here.

 

[JerryLove]

So, lemme get this straight: 72 mexicans and central americans are killed by mexican citizens in mexico, and both countries say it's our fault?

From your citation:

"the greatest responsibility lies with our governments, the Salvadoran government, for not having generated the employment conditions, the welfare conditions, that doesn't leave our migrants any choice but to look for other opportunities in the United States and Canada." - President Mauricio Funes of El Salvador

Reading the article: it's not clear to me if Mexican President Felipe Calderon's "blame the US" statement is related to the cartel-killed immigrants, or the general feelings on how the US treats migrants from Mexico. From a slightly earlier part of his speech: "U.S. agents are shooting Mexican migrants".

So yes, I agree that the US is not at fault for Mexican drug cartels killing Ecuadorian migrants (shy of building a causality chain that points out that the US drug market is why there are many, powerful drug cartels on the border in the first place). The fault lies first with the people who did the killing, and second with the government responsible for protecting those in that area (Mexican government). Had it happened on the US side, then we would have been (second to the actual criminals) responsible for poor security... but it did not.

I also agree that, if Calderon was trying to lay blame at US feet: it's fallacious.

 

[markw]

Partially right.

REad it again. BOTH countries are trying to blame the US, but Calderone was more direct in his speaking.

 

[Seth=L]

In before thread close.

 

[Chu Gai]

My ex-brother-in-law's surname was Calderon.

 

[highfigh]

MEXICO CITY — President Mauricio Funes of El Salvador said Friday he doesn't blame Mexico's government for the massacre of 72 mainly Central American migrants, and called for a joint effort to fight drug cartels.
...
"We have come to have a conversation with the president of Mexico, not to condemn him or criticize him," Funes said. "Rather the opposite, to show him our support and offer our help in this fight."

Thirteen Salvadorans were among the dead identified so far in the massacre in late August, a killing blamed on one of Mexico's drug cartels, the Zetas.

'If we are talking about responsibility, at the root of this, in the case of immigration, is the lack of immigration legislation in the United States that would recognize this phenomenon,' Calderon said."

WTF???

So, lemme get this straight: 72 mexicans and central americans are killed by mexican citizens in mexico, and both countries say it's our fault?

You've gotta be kidding me. W

Now, I do recall some article a month or so ago where one mexican national was shot by our border patrol during a riot on the border, but even that happened under specious circumstances. They say they have film of someone dragging the victim back to mexico.

Full story here.

Calderon keeps harping on about the fact that they bring guns from the US into Mexico, so in his mind, it is the fault of the US. The fact that Mexicans buy them with drug/gang money apparently has to do with the demand for illegal substances in the US, so I guess that makes it the fault of the US, too. Then, because human nature causes people to want what they can't have, the US telling illegals that they should leave and stay away makes them want to come here even more so, again, its the fault of the US.

What a bunch of fargin' turds!

 

[Chu Gai]

WTF is El Salvador going to do to help Mexico in its efforts to combat the drug cartels?

 

[just listening]

WTF is El Salvador going to do to help Mexico in its efforts to combat the drug cartels?

Coordination in fighting the Zetas drug cartel which is now operating in El Salvador I'm guessing.

Whether as Americans we care to admit it or not, our appetite for illegal drugs has assisted in bringing power to the Mexican gangs. Though not nearly as important as decades of corruption in the Mexican gov't officials at all levels.

 

[highfigh]

Coordination in fighting the Zetas drug cartel which is now operating in El Salvador I'm guessing.

Whether as Americans we care to admit it or not, our appetite for illegal drugs has assisted in bringing power to the Mexican gangs. Though not nearly as important as decades of corruption in the Mexican gov't officials at all levels.

If there was no demand, they'd have to try to force drugs on people and if people would stop medicating themselves so they could avoid life, we wouldn't have this problem. The loss of productivity due to drugs and alcohol is staggering and I can see how that could be a large part of why manufacturers have things made offshore. When people say they go to work so they can recover from the weekend, there's a problem and I have heard some say this.

 

[Rickster71]

We will never change the valuable link of supply and demand of drugs; it's too important of a link in the chain, that is "The War On Drugs."

Ever notice when the government declares war or fights something, it never ends? It just perpetuates countless federal funding.

Like funding for cancer, or AIDS, battling racism, etc. Finding a solution would put millions more people out of work and all the government money would go else where...or be saved.
The drug war is big business, and we will never let it end. It employs too many people and has garnered $ Billion$ in government funding per year.

 

[JerryLove]

Calderon keeps harping on about the fact that they bring guns from the US into Mexico, so in his mind, it is the fault of the US.

As rhetoric that seems effective. The population he's looking to have vote for him is unlikely to critically examine it and I assume Mexican news is no better than US news.

Realistically, though, he's painted himself into a corner. If the exporter (in this case the US and firearms) is to blame, not the consumer (Mexican gangs), then you can blame the US for the guns; but you can no longer blame the US for the gangs themselves.

To me, of equal significance, is that the gangs in question would likely have killed with other weapons lacking guns.

 

[penpitt]

The statistic that 90% of the guns used by the cartels originate from the U.S. is quite misleading. The ATF says that 90% of the guns sent back to the U.S. do come from here but Mexico does not check all the guns because they cannot be traced or do not obviously come from here. The ATF received 11,000 guns from the Mexican government for tracing out of the 29,000 guns recovered by the Mexican government.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/04/02/myth-percent-small-fraction-guns-mexico-come/

http://www.examiner.com/county-political-buzz-in-san-diego/guns-fuel-drug-cartels-mexico

And lastly from Wikipedia, although not a definitive source:

"Reportedly, 90% of confiscated guns that could be traced, originated in the United States.[49][55][56][57][58] The ATF has reportedly traced 22,848 guns smuggled into Mexico from the United States since 2005,[59][60] and it showed that between 2005 and 2008, Texas,[59][61] Arizona and California are the three most prolific source states, respectively, for firearms illegally trafficked to Mexico.[49][62][63][64][65] About 55% of guns smuggled from the U.S. are assault rifles.[66][67] Mexican officials only submitted 32% of the guns they seized to the ATF for tracing, and less than half of those weapons had serial numbers. Overall, 83% of the guns found at crime scenes in Mexico could not be traced.[68][69]"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_Drug_War

 

[lsiberian]

We will never change the valuable link of supply and demand of drugs; it's too important of a link in the chain, that is "The War On Drugs."

Ever notice when the government declares war or fights something, it never ends? It just perpetuates countless federal funding.

Like funding for cancer, or AIDS, battling racism, etc. Finding a solution would put millions more people out of work and all the government money would go else where...or be saved.
The drug war is big business, and we will never let it end. It employs too many people and has garnered $ Billion$ in government funding per year.

Reminds me of the Lord of War movie.