Greens

2011 in Mexico saw increasing confrontations between two different criminal gangs, the Pacific Cartel which is headed by Joaquin Guzman, and Los Zetas, which originated as the “armed wing” of the Gulf Cartel. The Mexican federal government have proved extremely successful in breaking up other drug gangs, thus just the Pacific Cartel and Los Zetas are the only two remaining which still export large amounts of drugs to the USA. The two cartels have rather different profiles. The Pacific Cartel focuses on drug smuggling, whilst The Zetas have a military appearance and are involved in extortion rackets within the communities in which they operate.

President Calderon’s strategy to tackle the organised drug-gangs is the arrests of their leaders. Calderon’s administration does not end until December 2012 and so this policy is likely to stay in place until then. Resources in 2011 were concentrated on tackling Los Zetas as they are the most violent of the cartels. Where violence surges, there has been a rapid and very effective deployment of troops and police. The government has it’s uhren strapped on!