Massacre leaves 27 dead in Northern Guatemala
Headlines such as “Massacre leaves 27 dead in Northern Guatemala,” (May 15th) have become all too commonplace as drug violence escalates south of the U.S. border. Your article stresses that the Mexican’s “4-year-old crackdown on drug gangs has sent them scrambling for other spots to package and transfer narcotics bound for the United States.” But alas, Mexican President Felipe Calderón’s cartel fighting policies, though persistent, have been ineffective in reducing the power of the drug cartels as violence alarmingly has escalated. Meanwhile, within the country, spilling inevitably across borders. In this case, Guatemala is feeling the alarming effects of Mexico’s long-running drug war. Although drug cartels are shifting locations to adapt to Mexico’s military response, such as moving to Guatemala, they certainly have not become less aggressive even in these new locations. The shootout between organized crime and Mexican officials has resulted in an explosive surge of civilian deaths, recently estimated at over 15,000. The brutality of the drug war has been especially harsh on journalists, as they have been killed in disproportionate numbers. This has woefully diminished their capabilities to be watchdogs for democracy—roles that Mexico desperately needs filled.
Mexico cannot continue with a reckless policy, which holds scant hope for a peaceful result that will eventually justify the hyper-violent combat that is likely to follow. Just as violence has spread to its southern neighbor Guatemala, it inevitably will move north with spillover effects already being felt in the last several years along much of the U.S.-Mexican border. Mexico can hardly afford the collateral damage that its anti-drug policies have wrought on the country’s economy and its people. As the tragedy in Guatemala already shows, neither can its neighbors.
Sincerely,
Amy Bratzel
Research Associate at Council on Hemispheric Affairs