Our Drug Habit Causing War on Both Sides of the U.S and Mexican Border

2
20

U.S. State Department Employee Murdered by Drug Mafia

Mexican hitmen blamed for killing U.S. couple

The vehicle in which a U.S. consular employee and her husband were shot dead sits Sunday next to the bridge that connects Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, and El Paso, Texas.

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico – Suspected drug gang hitmen separately ambushed two cars carrying families with ties to the U.S. consulate in this violent border city, killing an American couple and a Mexican man. Three children survived, although two suffered wounds.

The slayings came amid a surge in bloodshed along Mexico’s border with Texas and drew condemnation from the White House. Mexico’s president expressed outrage and promised a fast investigation to find those responsible.

Authorities put suspicion on members of a gang of hitmen allied with the Juarez drug cartel. That theory is based on “information exchanged with U.S. federal agencies” helping in the investigation, according to a statement Sunday from the joint mission of soldiers and federal police overseeing security in Ciudad Juarez.

Violence has exploded in recent months in Ciudad Juarez as the head of the Juarez cartel, Vicente Carrillo Fuentes, fights off a bloody offensive by Mexico’s No. 1 fugitive drug lord, Joaquin “Shorty” Guzman, at the worst hotspot of Mexico’s three-year-old drug war.

While putting the blame on the drug gang, police offered no information on a possible motive in the slayings. U.S. State Department spokesman Fred Lash said only that the three dead people were at the same party before the attacks that occurred minutes apart Saturday afternoon.

The Americans were identified as consular employee Lesley A. Enriquez, 35, and her husband, Arthur H. Redelfs, 34, by Robert Cason, Redelfs’ stepfather. Redelfs was a detention officer at the El Paso County Jail, he said.

The woman was shot in the head, while her husband suffered wounds in his neck and arm. Their baby was found unharmed in the back seat.

Cason declined to discuss the welfare of his grandchild. “I don’t want to give any more information to the psychotics out there,” he said.

This latest incidents highlights the urgent need for us to stop ignoring our neighborhood.

A police officer holds the infant whose American parents were shot dead Saturday in Cuidad Juarez.

We either need to contribute hundreds of thousands of troops to this drug war and secure U.S. interests while contributing to Mexico’s success or we need to legalize drugs, regulate, and get our childrens off the streets.

The latter would be the more effective and less costly as it requires the stroke a lawmakers pen and not trillions of drug war fighting warriors and equipment.

In one day, we can put all Mexican drug dealers out of business. This would help Mexico immediatley by putting the black market out into the open.

Because the drug trade in Mexico is important to the underground economy, at first, it would be job loss endeavor in Mexico but I very am sure it would be job loss that Mexico and it’s people would gladly accept as these target mafia killings would end because there would be no markets to fight over.  Besides, talented businessmen like these underground drug dealers would do so much better working above ground and joining the greater community.

As for the U.S., their drug habit is a medical addiction problem that must be taken off the covert streets and out into the light. We can’t ignore that we have addicts among us and it’s causing harm to us and our neighbors.

Legalize it, regulate it, control it, educate, and give empathy to addicts not jail sentances.

2 COMMENTS

  1. I have been following the story of the American victims death in the Mexican drug war, came cross your blog, and just read your post “Our Drug Habit Causing War on Both Sides of the U.S. and Mexican Border.” Why is it that the mainstream media does not cover this story, with its tens of thousands of victims right at our border, unless Americans die? I thought you might enjoy this short video:

    http://www.newsy.com/videos/u-s-caught-in-mexico-drug-war/

    The video contain the “news” elements of the story, but also compares media coverage from MSNBC, CNN, CBS, Latin American Herald Tribune and others. I’ve seen that the total number of victims in the Mexican drug war is around 18,000, maybe higher. It’s interesting that most Americans (and the mainstream media) don’t pay much attention to what’s going on at the border, except for when there are American victims. I have found many other people that share your opinions about the war on drugs, and our responsibility to help end the violence. I wonder what you think “success” in the war on drugs looks like? How many deaths on our doorstep will it take until Washington gets serious about our drug policies?

    Newsy.com videos combine and analyze news coverage from multiple sources across media to give users comprehensive updates about global events. Our videos highlight bias, and explore new perspectives to make users smarter, faster. Please let me know what you think

  2. What is success as it related to this issue?

    Hum? For me, it’s when we place drug abuse as a medical problem and not a criminal problem. So that we can treat those who are badly addicted and not throw away the key on these people into jails where real criminals belong.

    Moreover, since legalization and regulation is the only way out, success would mean that there would no longer be a drug mafia to hunt down on either side of the border. Thus the trillions of dollars spent can go towards massive education campaigns for all kids in Mexico and USA so that we further the new generation of young forward with knowledge and awareness.