5 ms·

The cartels at this point have diversified into avocado farming, iron mining, and forestry. Not to mention human trafficking, which makes them some $13 billion

The cartels at this point have diversified into avocado farming, iron mining, and forestry. Not to mention human trafficking, which makes them some $13 billion a year. The war on drugs has been a disaster and should be ended, but saying that legalising all drugs will solve the cartel problem is too simplistic. And while legalising heroin and prostitution and instituting open borders could overall be better policy, these are a bridge too far for most Americans.

makeitdouble 4y ago
As you point out, the cartel problem won’t be solved by any single isolated action, however big it is. Legalizing drugs is the obvious first step, but yes, there’s thousands of other steps and a whole whack-a-mole game starting from there to weaken the bigger players.
- bobthepanda 4y ago
  Also, it’s a very dangerous game of whack—a-mole. One previous strategy was to try and cut off the heads of the cartels, but it didn’t stop the drug smuggling, and increased violence due to the power vacuum. The cartels that would win out were often worse.
  - Red_Leaves_Flyy 4y ago
    How much worse can we get? There’s open warfare on Mexican streets. Mexican gangs are active across the U.S. human trafficking is a well established part of their business. Slavery and forced labor is not unheard of among cartel. Do the worse gangs have their eyes on nuclear weapons, chemical warfare?
    - bobthepanda 4y ago
      You are describing the worst. This policy already happened, and the cartels already transformed. > Since Calderón launched his military strategy against organized crime, there was an alarming increase in violent deaths related to organized crime: more than 15,000 people died in suspected drug cartel attacks since it was launched at the end of 2006.[62] More than 5,000 people were murdered in Mexico in 2008,[63] followed by 9,600 murders in 2009; 2010 saw more than 15,000 homicides across the country.[64] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_drug_war https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_drug_war
      - makeitdouble 4y ago
        > the Mexican theater of the global war on drugs, as led by the U.S. federal government Fuck no...the same useless war framing exported to neighbor countries, getting the military involved and bearing thousand of deaths from there. I'm mildly pissed at banks trying to track every single of my transactions and making it so difficult to move money between countries, or even open accounts without dozens of papers proving squeaky cleanness, but at least it looks like an effort in the right direction that could have an effect on the cost of illegal transactions. This war thing iin comparison is such a mess.

makeitdouble 4y ago

As you point out, the cartel problem won’t be solved by any single isolated action, however big it is. Legalizing drugs is the obvious first step, but yes, there’s thousands of other steps and a whole whack-a-mole game starting from there to weaken the bigger players.

bobthepanda 4y ago
Also, it’s a very dangerous game of whack—a-mole. One previous strategy was to try and cut off the heads of the cartels, but it didn’t stop the drug smuggling, and increased violence due to the power vacuum. The cartels that would win out were often worse.
- Red_Leaves_Flyy 4y ago
  How much worse can we get? There’s open warfare on Mexican streets. Mexican gangs are active across the U.S. human trafficking is a well established part of their business. Slavery and forced labor is not unheard of among cartel. Do the worse gangs have their eyes on nuclear weapons, chemical warfare?
  - bobthepanda 4y ago
    You are describing the worst. This policy already happened, and the cartels already transformed. > Since Calderón launched his military strategy against organized crime, there was an alarming increase in violent deaths related to organized crime: more than 15,000 people died in suspected drug cartel attacks since it was launched at the end of 2006.[62] More than 5,000 people were murdered in Mexico in 2008,[63] followed by 9,600 murders in 2009; 2010 saw more than 15,000 homicides across the country.[64] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_drug_war https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_drug_war
    - makeitdouble 4y ago
      > the Mexican theater of the global war on drugs, as led by the U.S. federal government Fuck no...the same useless war framing exported to neighbor countries, getting the military involved and bearing thousand of deaths from there. I'm mildly pissed at banks trying to track every single of my transactions and making it so difficult to move money between countries, or even open accounts without dozens of papers proving squeaky cleanness, but at least it looks like an effort in the right direction that could have an effect on the cost of illegal transactions. This war thing iin comparison is such a mess.