ii Mexico Acknowledgments iii iv Mexico Fourth printing 2011 Copyright © 2010 by Transaction Publishers, New Brunswick, New Jersey. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photo- copy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. All inquiries should be addressed to Transaction Publishers, Rutgers—The State University of New Jersey, 35 Berrue Circle, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854-8042. www.transactionpub.com This book is printed on acid-free paper that meets the American National Standard for Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials. Library of Congress Catalog Number: 2009029164 ISBN: 978-1-4128-1151-4 Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Grayson, George W., 1938- Mexico : narco-violence and a failed state? / George W. Grayson. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4128-1151-4 1. Drug traffic--Mexico. 2. Narco terrorism--Mexico. 3. Drug control--Mexico. 4. Mexico--Politics and government. 5. Mexico-- Economic conditions. I. Title. HV5840.M4G73 2009 363.450972--dc22 2009029164 Acknowledgments v Dedication To José Raúl Vera López, O.P., Bishop of Saltillo, Coahuila, and to Héctor González Martínez, Metropolitan Archbishop of Durango, for your courage in the face of personal danger, your readiness to condemn supposedly “untouchable” criminals and their enablers, and your inspirational commitment to uplifting the downtrodden. vi Mexico Acknowledgments vii Contents Acknowledgments ix Map of Mexico xv Map of Michoacán xvi Introduction 1 1. The Revolutionary Church 7 2. Wars, Prohibition, and the Antecedents of 19 Narco Churches 3. Two Narco Churches Emerge 27 4. The Weakening of the Revolutionary Church 39 5. Diaspora of the Narco Churches 55 6. Calderón’s Anti-Drug Strategy 97 7. Crusade against Evil Antagonists 119 8. Emerging and New Narco Sects—Los Zetas and La Familia 179 9. U.S.-Mexican Narcotics Policy: The Mérida 219 Initiative and Beyond 10. Prospect for Mexico’s Becoming a Failed State 251 viii Mexico Conclusion: A Failed State? 267 Appendix 1: Selected Figures in Narco-Traffi cking 279 Appendix 2: Ex-GAFES Involved in Drug Traffi cking 287 Appendix 3: Women and Narco-Traffi cking 293 Appendix 4: Mexican Police, Anti-Drug, and 299 Intelligence Services Appendix 5: Annual Causes of Death in the United States 303 Glossary of Terms 307 Selected Bibliography 317 Index 331 Acknowledgments ix Acknowledgments Upon embarking upon this project, I had no idea of the spider web-like complexity of the drug world. Time constraints and scanty information force television news programs to simplify coverage: “Sinaloa Cartel May Resort to Deadly Force in U.S.,” “Mexico Captures Powerful Gulf Cartel Hit Man,” and “Suspected Cop Killer May Be in Zeta Gang,”—“Details to Follow.” Take, for example, Los Zetas. Trained with U.S. assistance as mem- bers of the Mexican Army’s Special Forces Airmobile Groups (GAFES), several of these elite soldiers defected to protect the top dog in the Gulf Cartel, headquartered in the Matamoros area, south of Brownsville, Texas; after the incarceration of cartel leader Osiel Cárdenas Guillén. The paramilitaries gradually began acting on their own, eventually forging an independent, cellular structure. Yet it is unlikely that the separation is complete. The Gulf Cartel still controls 20 or 30 percent of Tamau- lipas—with Los Zetas commanding the rest. The relatively low death toll in this coastal state attests not only to the coziness between local politicians with the narco-barons, but to the probability that Los Zetas and the Gulf Cartel have hammered out a modus vivendi and cooperate occasionally when it serves the interests of both. In southern Guerrero, a Hobbesian state of violence and misery, Los Zetas have cast their lot with the Beltrán Leyva family (former allies of the Sinaloa Cartel) and appear to have done the same in various municipalities of Mexico State, the nation’s most populous jurisdiction. For a while, the ex-soldiers and their recruits made common cause with one of four segments of the shadowy, messianic La Familia. The syndicate is centered in bloodstained Michoacan state where the Milenio and Jalisco Cartels, comrades of the Sinaloans, long have operated. Middle East scholar par excellence and a valued colleague at the Col- lege of William and Mary, James Bill, analogizes Mexico’s drug world to Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq. Political parties and their armies may dominate the headlines. A closer look, however, fi nds religious, ix x Mexico ethnic, and linguistic factions suffusing these organizations. Then there are regional and sub-regional groupings within which exist tribes and warlords, who may or may not speak for extended families that have their own agendas. One is reminded of matryoshki, the Russian nesting dolls of decreasing sizes, one placed inside the other. The challenge of conducting research on Mexico’s underground also springs from cartel members’ employing multiple names; their readiness either to take credit for operations they did not commit or to blame rivals for those that they did; and the obvious barrier to talking with culprits and suspects. Moreover, President Felipe Calderón Hinojosa’s local version of the war on drugs had produced the arrest of hundreds of narco-traf- fi ckers in 2009, often sparking changes in the leadership and structures of criminal syndicates. A moving picture would be more useful, but the author can present only his snapshot of the syndicates, cartelitos, gangs, and freelance thugs. For this reason, I admire authors of articles, reports, and books that have brought clarity, insights, and a framework to the subject at hand. Among these astute individuals are Sigrid Arzt Colunga, Luis Astorga, Bruce M. Bagley, Abel Barajas, John J. Bailey, Charles Bowden, William Booth, Edgardo Buscaglia, Mark Bowden, Hal Brands, Tracy Carl and her colleagues at the Associated Press in Mexico City, Jorge Chabat, James H. Cheechan, Ron Chepesiuk, Hugh Collins, A.J. Corchado, Sam Dillon, Ken Ellingwood, Jesús Esquivel, Samuel González Ruiz, José Gil Olmos, Tim Golden, Dan Gretch, Ion Grillo, Alejandro Gutiérrez, Enrique Krauze, Mark Lacey, and Sam Logan. Other experts include Peter A. and Kip Schegel Lupsha, Adela Navaro Bello and her colleagues at the Zeta news weekly, Terrence Popper, Julia Preston, Sam Quiñones, Ricardo Revalo, Luis Rubio, Julio Scherer Gar- cía, Diana Washington Valdez, Casey Wian, and scores of other careful observers. Although I have talked directly with more than half of these analysts, none of these individuals bears responsibility for the contents of this book. Only late in my work did I grasp the increasing importance of women in Mexico’s subterranean drug world. Although references to female players appear throughout the text, Appendix 3 offers preliminary and roughly-hewn generalizations about their role. Rather than leave out this admittedly cursory view, I inserted it in hopes that it may prove helpful to another researcher planning to prepare a comprehensive study of this neglected subject. Acknowledgments xi Another mea culpa is in order for Appendix 1. The list of drug lords, traffi ckers, and hit men is far from complete and it was impossible to fi nd complete information about all the individuals mentioned. Oh for a platoon of graduate students! I enthusiastically thank Karen Rohan, managing editor at the Foreign Policy Association for allowing me to incorporate in this text segments of Mexico’s Struggle with Drugs and Thugs, which the FPA published in early 2009. Ms. Rohan and Associate Editor Agnieshka—“St. Agnes”— Burke turned heaven and earth to ensure that the monograph saw the light of day. Debt is also due to Al Luxenburg (Foreign Policy Research Institute), Peter DeShazo (Center for Strategic and International Studies), and Mark Krikorian (Center for Immigration Studies) for allowing me to draw on material that I had originally prepared for their prestigious think tanks. Doug McVey, chief executive offi cer of Common Sense for Drug Policy, kindly approved my use of a meticulously documented analysis that his organization prepared on the causes of death in the United States. This table appears as Appendix 5. The Reference and Inter-Library Loan Department at William & Mary’s Swem Library performed miracles in locating “impossible-to- fi nd” data, books, and articles. Equally amazing was the College’s Information Technology De- partment—and in particular, its unfailingly accommodating Technical Support Center. Lance Richardson, Technology Support Engineer, and his colleague Kitty Smith saved the life of the manuscript when an intruder—no doubt a cartel thug—infected the text with a mysterious disease. For the maps (and I wish there were more), I am indebted to Joseph Gilley, graphic design manager, at William & Mary’s Publications Offi ce. Without the lead offered by Suzanne Seurattan, news market- ing director of University Relations, I would not have learned of Joe’s talents. E.J. and Larry Storrs made invaluable comments on portions of the manuscript, and Mark Sullivan and June Beitiel, current staff members at the Library of Congress’ Congressional Research Service, directed me to helpful CRS publications. James Creehan, a Toronto-based sociologist and criminologist at the University of Toronto and University of Guelph continuously sent me articles, reports, and analyses. At the same time, he spent countless hours meticulous, intelligently, and patiently answering questions, proof- reading the entire manuscript, and offering incredibly lucid advice on xii Mexico content and style. In addition, Professor Creechan assisted in compiling the glossary of terms related to the drug underworld. Jim, please excuse the cliché, but you are “a gentleman and a scholar.” I would be remiss if I failed to thank Michael C.