Let them chew coca
Beware talk of victory in Latin America’s drug wars
LOOKED at in one way, Mexico's drug warriors have cause for satisfaction. Over the past year or so its security forces have captured or killed 20 of the three dozen leaders of the cartels which dominate the business of supplying cocaine to the many Americans who like to consume it. The latest to fall was a founder of the Zetas, a particularly vicious mob, arrested this week. Until recently the drug barons could rely on tip-offs from corrupt police commanders, which is why they were able to turn parts of northern Mexico into private fiefs. Nowadays when the United States passes on real-time intelligence on the mobsters, the Mexicans—frequently marines, but sometimes even the federal police—tend to nab their man.
This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline "Let them chew coca"
From the January 22nd 2011 edition
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