Allegedly good news… or not?

A troubling item by Naxiley Lopez appeared in Sunday’s McAllen Monitor.

REYNOSA, MEXICO — Twenty-three alleged cartel members were killed this past week, while 31 others were arrested, according to a news release from the Mexican military

Officials from the military’s 8th zone, which includes Reynosa, did not specify how or where the alleged criminals were killed. They simply noted the deaths and listed items collected during a seven-day span from Feb. 5 to Feb. 12. The names of the dead were not released.

Soldiers seized more than 11,000 pounds of marijuana, more than 2,24 pounds of cocaine and a small amount of crack cocaine, according to the release. They also recovered 76 “long guns,” 10 handguns, 11 grenades, three grenade launchers and one grenade launcher attachment.

More than $75,000 in both U.S. and Mexican currency was seized, along with 42 vehicles, two of which were armored, officials added.

Soldiers also obtained two tractors, two bullet-proof vests, four cell phones and nine radios.

No other information was provided.

First off, despite the cheers from the commentators on this story in the Monitor, I’m wondering if this is “good news” that there were 54 “cartel members” at large in the Reynosa area.  More worrisome is that the military is just killing people, who even if “alleged” cartel members should be standing trial.  Assuming, of course, the allegations were anything that would even make it into a courtroom.

What made me notice this item was that there was another post, in Raw Story this weekend (which was positioned as a major item) of a minor demonstration in Mexico City in favor of stricter narcotics controls.  The story itself was just a round-up of the mayhem unleashed by the gangster fights, coupled with news of “several hundred” demonstrators in the Capital.  Of course, “several hundred” is a small demonstration in Mexico City, and the little bit of coverage it received (in the local sections of the Mexico City papers) showed photos of the demonstration that featured commercially produced placards… suggesting this was a small, organized group, not a mass movement.

What seems to be going on is a push (probably not consciously designed, and certainly not a “conspiracy”) to legitimize state violence, or to suggest that it’s more accepted than it might actually be by the Mexicans.  Given the continued attempts by United States officials to paint the “drug war” as an “insurgency”, or as a U.S. national security issue… or, even more ominously, to justify U.S. hegemony over Mesoamerican law enforcement (seemingly making U.S. priorities the priorities of the other nations) it is worth noting these kinds of minor events, while also paying attention to the “big picture.”

There is plenty of background information to suggest the Obama Administration wants to escalate (or expand) the “drug war” throughout Mesoamerica, and is trying to build a case for doing so.

Descontento ante la lucha contra el narco (El País)

Duda cónsul de EU de eficasio del Ejército (Jornanda)

U.S. Report cites deficiencies in Mexican Anti-Drug Fight (Fox News Latino)

Mexican Drug War an Insurgency? (Christian Science Monitor)

Toward a Mesoamerican Security Corridor? (Hemispheric Briefs)

A New Regional Security Plan (Bloggings by Boz)

Plan Central America or Perhaps More? (Hemispheric Briefs)

Fuerza armadas no son responsable de la violencia: Calderón (Milenio)

Of course, there is much more to say on this, and on the reaction to Obama Administration — but it will have to wait.