RE: Mexican Self-defense Groups Blast Authorities for Lack of Support

Dear Editor,

In “Mexican Self-defense Groups Blast Authorities for Lack of Support,” (Fox News Latino, Jan. 22) the author describes actions that the federal government has taken to remove power from the Knights Templar cartel, the organized criminal organization that fundamentally threatens the stability of Mexico. While the author goes into relentless detail about the confrontations between the citizens’ militia and the cartel, he only briefly mentions the relative successes of the federal government and skips over the larger international issues at hand. He fails to mention that 27 of the 113 municipalities in Michoacán are now under federal control. [1] Additionally, there is no mention of the possible connection between the Knights Templar and international terrorism. While the connection between terrorism and Latin American cartels can be an uneasy subject, the impact on the international community is immense.  Organized crime and international terrorism have many objectives, many of which are not coinciding, but together they have what can be seen as a harmonizing goal. [2] One can be certain that, if this issue is not addressed, it is likely that cartels in Latin America will couple up and cooperate with international terrorist groups, to society’s harm.

 Sincerely,

Sarah Gentry, Research Associate at Council on Hemispheric Affairs

Originally, in response to Fox News Latino: Mexican Self-defense Groups Blast Authorities for Lack of Support. Now the article only can be found at the Latin American Herald Tribune.  

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