What else do we need to say enough is enough?

The attack yesterday against the Casino Royale in Monterrey, where 61 people died and many others were injured, is the worst tragedy Mexicans have faced during the drug war.

 “These terrorists have surpassed all limits,” said Mexican President Felipe Calderón in a message to the nation today. He also offered a substantial reward for information that could help track those responsible for the attack.

This is the first time that the Mexican government uses the word “terrorists” to refer to organized crime. It is the first acceptance that terrorism has hit Mexico. The government refused to use that word even after a car bomb exploded in Ciudad Juárez last year.

 The big question now is what kind of implication this recognition will have in the drug war strategy.

 In countries that have dealt with organized crime and terrorism, such as Colombia or Peru, similar attacks marked a watershed for society and authorities in the way that they look at the problem.

 In a conversation with a group of Peruvian friends yesterday, they remembered the Tarata incident in Lima, Peru, in July 1992.  The attack, perpetrated by the Shining Path guerrilla group, killed more than 24 people and injured more than 200. It was a blast of more than 1,000 kilograms of explosives in Tarata Street, the busy business area of Miraflores, an upscale district of the city.

 The attack shocked the entire Peruvian society and generated a public response that forced the government to intensify its fight against the Shining Path.

 In Colombia, a country more used to bombings and terrorist attacks, it was not just one incident that prompted a reaction from the civil society and the intensification of the drug war strategy. Some of the triggers were the bombing of an Avianca plane in 1989, where 107 passengers died, and the DAS’s building bomb in 1989, which killed 52 people and injured more than 1,000.

 Yesterday’s attack in Monterrey is significant, not just because it shook the financial heart of the country and killed a large number of innocent civilians, but also because it has shown that the war has escalated to previously unknown levels.

 The days coming up are not looking bright.

 

 

 

Comments

[Robnelp]

Its always been up to the Mexican Citizens, they choose to look the other way, to tolerate this tragedy that continues to degrade with every day that passes.
The police/military/govt are not going to end this, they will simply deal with the results and move on to the next one.
It will only be ended when the people choose to no longer allow it to go on.

[Robnelp]

And then you have the Mexican President...

"Mexico president blasts US after casino massacre"

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44282514/ns/world_news-americas/#.TlgymF2dyj0

Point all the fingers you want, not going to do a single thing to solve the issue.

Fact is NOBODY can wave a magic wand and stop the demand...that horse has left the barn decades ago, people will have vices and be addicted to all kinds of things. Even if you could stop demand..it would be a decades long solution that has no effect on the current situation in Mexico.

In the end the violence is about $$ and power.

I don't think there is a 12 step program for that.

There is however a very effective 3 step program
point...aim....shoot

[miguel rodriguez]

Robnelp, of course they are doing something to try and combat nacrcotraficers. I agree with your first post completely, it is up to the Mexican people. The goverment will never solve this if Mexican citizens blame the goverment for crimes commited by criminals. When Mexicans are fed up and stop associating with criminals, when they start to see criminals for what they really are, then we will be on our way to solving this. Sorry, this is not a very well put together response, I am really tired at the moment and I am not at my most articulate.

[miguel rodriguez]

Lourdes Cardenas, please blame the goverment less and allow Mexican citizens to take responsibility for what they accept and even admire. Change starts from the bottom up. If Mexicans keep blaming the president, that's a cop out. Not to say Mexican politicians are not corrupt etc, but it begins with the people. Once they are willing to sacrifice and change then we may improove as a country. But as long we just point fingers, then we are in this maybe forever.