AK-47 Law Rules as Cartels Fight Over US Drug Route [View All]

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AK-47 law rules as cartels fight over US drug route

A Mexican border town is brought to its knees as 117th murder recorded

Dan Glaister in Nuevo Laredo
Saturday August 27, 2005
The Guardian


Normal is a relative term. Nuevo Laredo has been assailed by the struggle between two drug cartels for control of the route across the border. As well as being the crossing for 38% of bilateral trade, the city of 400,000 is now the main entry point for narcotics into the US.

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Nobody blames the police for not coming sooner. For one thing, the shoot-out was between the gangs. And for another, the gangs' weaponry is far superior to that of the authorities. "The federal troops are scared," says Raymundo Ramos, president of the city's human rights committee and a journalist with La Tarde. "They only have AR-15s . The gangs have got AK-47s, grenade launchers, bazookas. That's why it took them 20 minutes to get to the house."

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The latest shoot-out also persuaded the US ambassador, Tony Garza, to shut the consulate in the city, noting the "unusually advanced weaponry" involved. That the arsenal most probably came from the US was not mentioned. On Monday three US citizens were arrested in Nuevo Laredo in possession of arms they claimed were for a hunting trip.

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Suneson argues that the US should be embarrassed. "The insatiable demand for drugs in the US is driving this," he points out. Fixing the problem of how to check every one of the 8,000 trucks that cross the border each day is a question of political will. But if the traffic in drugs is not stopped, he says, many people are looking for a simpler solution. "They hope that someone wins and things return to normal," he says. "If the government doesn't do anything, just let someone win."

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1557425,00.html