This is a source for analysis, interviews, and commentary on security in Latin America. Herein you will find rumors, the results of off the record interviews, and information you'll not find in international or United States news media.

Monday, December 01, 2008

Mexicans in Australia

Three Mexican nationals, who arrived in Melbourne, Australia five weeks before a 16 million dollar shipment of cocaine arrived at port have been arrested in Australia.

What’s interesting is that the Australian Federal Police have said that the cocaine was smuggled from South America, through the United States, and on to Australia.

Does this suggest there is a glut of cocaine inside the United States? That would be an interesting development. I have noted here and there that some sources – mostly from the US government – say demand for cocaine is down. The fact that Mexicans are moving cocaine into new markets, beyond the US, seems to support these findings.

Yet more ephedrine activity in Argentina, this time in Rosario, suggests there might be a shift occurring from a focus of selling cocaine inside the US to a focus on methamphetamines. Similarly, the focus may have shifted from the US as a primary coke market to other places in the world…

Diosito - "My little God"

Diosito – “My little God” - was the last word of the co-pilot of the plane that crashed in Mexico, just before the black box recording ended. While some people in Mexico tell me that sabotage has not been ruled out, most of the Mexican public seems to be content with the results of the investigation.

While coming into land, the plane carrying two top Mexican officials got caught in the jet wake of a commercial airliner less than two miles ahead. The plane’s jet engines could not handle the intake of another jet’s wake and thus began to malfunction.

This sort of accident smacks of pilot error, which is unfortunate given the deadly results of what was perhaps a moment’s lack of concentration or a slight mistake in calculation.

Nevertheless, the official story is that the crash was an accident, and for now it seems to have satisfied most observers. If the crash was indeed sabotage, those that know the truth are keeping it from the rest of us, likely to maintain some sort of handle on the situation.

The possibility that a criminal outfit in Mexico targeted and downed an official flight, killing two very important officials in the fight against organized crime, is one none of us are willing to stomach. It would mean an escalation of Mexico’s security problems beyond what many will agree is already a very difficult situation.
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