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Immigration See other Immigration Articles Title: Drug cartels ‘threaten’ Mexican democracy Drug cartels ‘threaten’ Mexican democracy By Adam Thomson in Mexico City Published: July 13 2008 23:06 | Last updated: July 13 2008 23:06 The head of Mexico’s intelligence service has warned that the country’s democratic institutions, including the national Congress, are under threat from powerful drugs cartels. In one of the frankest admissions yet from a leading authority of the scale of the problem confronting Mexico, Guillermo Valdés, head of Cisen, the government’s intelligence organisation, told the Financial Times and a small group of foreign media recently: “Drug traffickers have become the principal threat because they are trying to take over the power of the state.” Mr Valdés said the gangs, which have grown wealthy from the multibillion-dollar drugs trade, had co-opted many members of local police forces, the judiciary and government entities in their efforts to create local structures to protect their business. Those efforts, he said, could now also be targeting federal institutions such as Congress itself. “Congress is not exempt41;.41;.41;.41;we do not rule out the possibility that drug money is involved in the campaigns [of some legislators],” said Mr Valdés. His comments come as George W.41;Bush, US president, this month signed into law the Merida Initiative, an aid package that will provide $400m of anti-narcotics assistance to Mexico this year. The aid, an open recognition by the US government that things south of the border appear to be deteriorating rapidly, will provide Mexican authorities with helicopters, training and surveillance equipment, among other things. It is believed that Cisen will receive only about $20m of the assistance. Violence resulting from Mexico’s drugs war has climbed to alarming levels. According to figures that the government’s public security cabinet is expected to release this week, there were 443 drug-related murders last month alone. That is by far the highest monthly tally since President Felipe Calderón declared war against organised crime when he took office in December 2006. It will bring the total number of drug-related murders to 4,699 in the past 19 months, according to government figures. In a gruesome reminder of how dangerous Mexico has become, a group of more than 60 heavily armed men, thought to work for one of the drugs cartels, went on a killing spree in the northern city of Culiacán on Friday. They murdered 12 people in three separate shoot-outs within eight minutes. Mr Valdés’ remarks on the threat to Congress came as some members expressed outrage at the discovery last month that Cisen had hired a private company to investigate their movements. Mr Valdés defended the decision, arguing the investigations were within Cisen’s legal remit. However, he said it was still far too early to tell whether the cartels had co-opted any Congress’ members. “Those types of investigations are only just beginning,” he said, but added: “It is a real risk.”
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