In the first week of November, President Trump made an announcement. In response to the brutal slaying of a Mormon family, he was prepared to label Mexican Cartels as terrorist organizations. Donald Trump is all about leverage, so what happened?
At the time I noted that,
Trump would love to get a shot at the cartels inside Mexico with the full support of the Mexican government. But I’m not picturing Mexico inviting any sizeable force across the border to do battle with cartels.
The declaration never became official. But Mexico has announced some arrests.
Mexican authorities have arrested seven suspects in connection with last month’s massacre of nine Mormon women and children in the country’s north, the attorney general’s office said.
A local police chief suspected of links to organized crime was among those taken into custody, according to local media.
….will temporarily hold off this designation and step up our joint efforts to deal decisively with these vicious and ever-growing organizations!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 6, 2019
The arrest of a local police chief should raise a few eyebrows, or should it? The cartels use threats against locals to create space to operate. A police chief is useful for that, as are his officers.
It seems likely that whoever replaces him will already be on the “cartel payroll” (if there is even anyone who is not). And that is an issue moving up the chain of command (possibly) to the people who would embrace a deal with the US to do anything about the cartels inside Mexico.
The murder of a family, including six children, seems like a turning point for that sort of relationship. For now, that looks like seven arrests and not much more. But the tragedy need not be a total loss.
The Left is pushing for an open border with Mexico. The sort of thing that gave us the latest MS-13 invasion, the opioid crisis, human and sex trafficking, and violent cartels using force to create space to operate inside the US.
Just like Democrats.
