Narco Mexico: Cabelleros Templarios

Wednesday, 7 May 2014

Mexico's vigilante state: An Al Jazeera English report

Mexico's Vigilante State

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCdqWNn6bsA

Correspondent Teresa Bo takes viewers to the troubled state of Michoacán for an immersive examination of the autodefensa movement. With tension between the vigilantes and the government increasing this week, a tenuous disarmament deadline looming, and new allegations of cartel affiliations...I think the story will shed some light on how things have been unfolding on the ground.

If you are unable to watch the video at the above link, try accessing it at http://youtu.be/7DyRCFpXumo

Narco Jargon and other Terms

Ajuste de cuentas (m): Settling a score. Getting even. Revenge. alt. ajusticimiento
ATF: Agency of Department of Justice— the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Aztecas (las): narcomenudistas working for Juarez cartel. Controlled by La Linea.
Año de Hidalgo: es el último año en el mandato de un Gobierno, el cual se caracteriza tradicionalmente por un aumento en la corrupción (se hipotiza que la palabra Hidalgo se usa porque rima con "chin... a su m... el que deje algo"). A este fenómeno se atribuye el desfalco a las arcas de la Tesorería del Gobierno y sus bienes.
Beltran Leyvas: brothers and childhood friends of Joaquin Guzman. Broke with him after the arrest of El Mochomo Beltran Leyva and engaged in a bloody dispute for territory. Relocated to Nuevo Leon in aftermath
Cartel: 8 organizations in Mexico are the Golfo, Sinaloa, Tijuana, Juarez, Beltran-Leyva, Amezcua-Contreras, Los Zetas, Diaz-Parada, & La Familia Michoacana
CECJUDE: Centro de Ejecución de las Consecuencias Jurídicas del Delito
CIPF: Centro de Inteligencia de la Policía Federal
CNDH: Comisión Nacional de los Derechos Humanos
Coddehum: la Comisión de Defensa de los Derechos Humanos (Chihuahua)
cortar cartuchos: armatillar. Ready to fire. to cock a weapon
Cuerno de chivo: AK-47, the preferred weapon of drug cartels. Some (e.g. Roberto Saviano) have claimed that the AK-47 has been used to kill more people than any other weapon. 90% of arms used in Mexico originate from the United States and arms dealers in Arizona and Texas.
DTO: Drug trafficking organization
El Señor de los Cielos: Amado Carrillo Fuentes, the Lord of the Skies who helped consolidate the Juárez cartel. He died in 1997 undergoing plastic surgery in Mexico City (Polanco).
encobijado: a common way that sicarios dispose of bodies — wrapped in a blanket, rug, or tarpaulin and taped.
Familia (la): 'de Michoacan'. DTO that specializes in synthetic drugs (crystal) and with a religious code. Extremely violent and unpredictable.
FFL: US legal term for federal firearms licensees. Approximately 6700 operate in American Southwest
foco- crystal meth
fuero (el): (jurisdicción) jurisdiction (privilegio, derecho) privilege;
gente nueva (la): Chapo Guzman sicarios (Chihuahua)
grapa: hit of cocaine, 1 hit envelope
guachicol: oil product stolen from PEMEX and then sold back to business under duress. A practice common in Tamaulipas
halcon (los): There are two meanings here. In the border area, "halcones" are lookouts and street level informants (falcons) who warn the drug cartels about intrusions from other DTO's, police or army manoeuvers. Halcones are also an elite squad of commandos that have a notorious reputation for violation of civil rights and abuse.
hormiga (el correo de..): an ant run. Big result of lots of little additions and purchases.
ICESI: Instituto ciudadano de estudios sobre la inseguridad.
IOI: US DOJ-ATF agents investigating gun movement. Industry Operations Investigators.
Jefe de Jefes: Capo de Capos. The name applied to the most prominent drug chief in Mexico. Most frequently is associated with Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo. Popular corrido of Los Tigres del Norte, although Miguel Felix Gallardo denies that the song is about him.
La Ley Malova: Senador Mario López Valdez presentó la propuesta que incluía la creación del Registro Nacional de Usuarios de Telefonía
Levantón (m): Abduction. Term used in northwest Mexico to describe forced seizure of a person. Most of the time, the "levantado" is never seen alive again. Secuestro is the term used more often to describe kidnapping
Linces (los): a unit of sicarios employed by "El Viceroy" Vicente Carrilo-Fuentes and the Juárez cartel. May have evolved from "La Linea". This group is apparently composed of military deserters (like the Zetas) who are well trained, use military ordnance, uniforms and vehicles. The Mexican military argues that this group is responsible for most human right violations in Chihuahua.
linea (la): sicarios in employ of Juarez DTO.
Matapolicia (f): bullets of heavy calibre that can penetrate vests. Police killers — ordnance used when attacking police or members of the military.
Matazetas (los): a name used by a group that has executed members of Los Zetas. It's most likely that the matazetas are members of a rival cartel, but it's possible that they are actually an independent group.
Maña: a local name for cartels in Tamaulipas, most often used to refer to Los Zetas or other sicarios working for Gulf cartel
Mota (f): marijuana.
Narcocorrido: a version of a corrido that deals with a drug theme. Some narcocorridos are commissioned by the drug dealers in order to "sing their praises", but others share much in common with morality plays because they sing about the negative consequences of drug dealing. See the excellent book by Elijah Wald describing narcocorridos.
Narcofosa: narco cemetery; body disposal place, usually clandestine and used for a period of time. Have been found in at least 8 Mexican states.
Narcomanta (f): a banner or a poster placed in a prominent location with a message. Most frequently, the messages seem to originate with the drug organizations, but the message may also be aimed at the drug trafficking organizations.
Ni-Ni (alt: ninis): ni estudia ni trabaja — not studying or working, approximately 7 million young Mexicans who also represent a pool of disposable labour for narcos. See http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2010/01/12/index.php
Operation Coronado: The code term for the DEA/FBI/ICE coordinated arrest of La Famila de Michoacana members on Oct. 24 2009
Pelones (los): sicarios that were originally assembled by the Beltran Leyva brothers for the Sinaloa Federation
Perico (m): cocaine. A parrot. Nickname based on the idea that it "goes up the nose".
pez gordo (m.): big fish, big boss
PGR: La Procuraduria General de la Republica. The institutional agency of the Mexican Attorney General (
pista (f): the 'game'. Literally, 'the track' as in racing. Refers to the business at hand.
Plaza (f): Territory, turf. Can also refer to the product being moved or in dispute.
PROCAMPO: Federal program to provide financial support for farmers and ejiditarios. Recent revelations indicate that it has been a cash-cow for agribusiness and PRI party members. Little of the original program (to provide irrigation etc.) has benefitted the poorest farmers.
Project Gunrunner: US DOJ and ATF plan to disrupt illegal flow of guns from US into Mexico.
rematar: literally "to re-kill". the prefix re is used to indicate "once again" when it precedes a verb. rematar is used when a means of execution is especially brutal, and also used to mean "slaughter", "finish off"
Sicario (m): the word used to describe an "assasin" or hitman for the cartels. The word has roots back to Roman times. Sicarios are sometimes young and "throw-away" bodies recruited by the cartels, but can also be well-trained military deserters or police (e.g. Los Zetas).
Sistema SNSP: Sistema Nacional de Seguridad Pública
SSP: Secretaria de Seguridad Publica
straw purchasers: surrogate purchasers of guns— someone who is licensed to purchase a gun but does so on behalf of someone who is not. Cartel sicarios have a system of straw purchasers.
SUIC:Sistema Único de Información Criminal
tacha: 1 "hit" of synthetic drug
UIFA: Unidad de Inspección Fiscal y Aduanera
WATCHIVATO: Mexican "narco artist" who has produced iconic images of Jesus Malverde. Artist images can be seen on BB
Wathivato (El): Mexican artist famous for narco images — especially iconic images of Jesus Malverde. Artist on BBC site Narco Mexico.
Zetas, (los): now la Compañía. Paramilitary force formed by Gulf Cartel and now independent. Deserters from Mexican army GAFE unit; highly trained anti-terrorist unit.

Short Reading List: Cartels and Violence

Astorga Almanza, Luis Alejandro. 2005. El siglo de las drogas : el narcotráfico, del Porfiriato al nuevo milenio. México, D.F.: Plaza y Janés.

Astorga, Luis. 1999. "Drug Trafficking in Mexico: A First Assessment." in Management of Social Transformations: MOST Discussion Paper 36: UNESCO-MOST.

—. 2002. "The Field of Drug Trafficking in Mexico." Pp. 54—75 in Globalization, Drugs and Criminalization: Final Research Report on Brazil, China, India and Mexico, edited by UNESCO — MOST: UNESCO.

—. 2002. "The Social Construction of the Identify of the Trafficker." Pp. 52-72 in Globalization, Drugs and Criminalization: Final Research Report on Brazil, China, India and Mexico, edited by UNESCO — MOST: UNESCO.

—. 2005. "Mexico: Drug Trafficking, Security and Terrorism." Pp. 156-183 in Proceedings from the international seminar Drug Trafficking: the Relations between Europe, Latin America and the United States, Narcotráfico: las relaciones entre Europa, América Latina y Estados Unidos,, edited by Alvaro Camacho Guizado. Universidad de los Andes: Bogota, Colombia: Observatorio de las Relaciones entre Europa y América Latina—OBREAL and Centro de Estudios Socioculturales e Internacionales—CESO.

Astorga, L. T. 2000. "La cocaina en el corrido." Revista Mexicana de Sociología 62:151-173.

Borges, Tomás. 2008. Maquiavelo para narcos: el fin justifica los miedos. Mexico, D.F., Mexico: Editorial Planeta Mexicana, S.A. de C.V.

Bowden, Charles. 2009. "The Sicario: A Juárez hit man speaks." Pp. 44-53 in Harper's. New York: Harper's Magazine Foundation.

Campbell, Howard. 2009. Drug war zone : frontline dispatches from the streets of El Paso and Juárez. Austin: University of Texas Press.

Chabat, Jorge. 2002. "Mexico's War on Drugs: No Margin for Maneuver." Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 582:134-148.

Clawson, Patrick, and Rensselaer W. Lee. 1996. The Andean cocaine industry. New York: St. Martin's Press.

Committee on Foreign Relations. Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere Peace Corps Narcotics and Terrorism. 1997. "The drug cartels and narco-violence : the threat to the United States : hearing before the Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Peace Corps, Narcotics, and Terrorism of the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate,." Pp. iii, 77 p., edited by United States. Congress. Senate. Caucus on International Narcotics Control. Washington: U.S. G.P.O. : For sale by the U.S. G.P.O., Supt. of Docs., Congressional Sales Office.

Edberg, Mark Cameron. 2004. El narcotraficante : narcocorridos and the construction of a cultural persona on the U.S.-Mexico border. Austin: University of Texas Press.

Grayson, George W. 2008. Mexico's struggle with 'drugs and thugs'. New York City, NY: Foreign Policy Association.

Grayson, George W. 2009. Mexico: Narco-Violence and a Failed State: Transaction.

Quinones, Sam. 2001. True tales from another Mexico : the Lynch Mob, the Popsicle Kings, Chalino, and the Bronx. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.

Ravelo, Ricardo. 2005. Los Capos: Las narco-rutas de México. Mexico City: Plaza Janés.

Ribando Seelke, Clare. 2009. "Merida Initiative for Mexico and Central America: Funding and Policy Issues." Pp. 25. Washington, DC: United States Congress.

Stratfor, and I. Strategic Forecasting. 2006. "Drug Cartels: The Growing Violence in Mexico." Pp. 8.

Wald, Elijah. 2001. Narcocorrido : a journey into the music of drugs, guns, and guerrillas. New York, NY: Rayo.

Los Jardines de Humaya

There's a popular expression in Sinaloa — "Mejor vivir 10 años como un güey que vivir 40 años como un büey". It's better to live 10 years as a good old boy than 40 years as a donkey. Death comes early to those who enter the narcotraffic business, and they celebrate by building elaborate crypts for their remains. Architects and skilled artisans have been employed to build some of the most modern funereal designs seen anywhere in the world. How else will the world know you were a big shot? The link http://www.scribd.com/doc/15690361/Narco-Campo-Santo-Los-Jardines-del-Humaya-Culiacan opens a SCRIBD pdf file which is a slide show of images from the Cemetery of the Narcos in Culiacan. It is a large file with little comment. Also recommended is a view of Culiacan written by Magali Tercero and published in Letras Libres - "Culiacán, el lugar equivocado" por Magali Tercero
LETRASLIBRES.COM

Narco Mexico

Wednesday, 7 May 2014

Mexico's vigilante state: An Al Jazeera English report

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Narco Jargon and other Terms

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Narco Mexico

Wednesday, 7 May 2014

Mexico's vigilante state: An Al Jazeera English report

Recommended Reading (English)

Recommended sites

Narco Jargon and other Terms

About Me

Search Narco Mexico (This blog)

Recommended Books and Reports

Subscribe To Narco Mexico

Most Recent Posts: Narco Mexico

narcocartel.blogspot.com Archive

CIASP Diary

Short Reading List: Cartels and Violence

Images from Culiacan

Download?

Los Jardines de Humaya

Key Words

Updates: When are posts uploaded?

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