Rejecting a renewed “war” against drug traffickers, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Tuesday unveiled her strategy to battle organized crime in a nation where each day brings word of new assassinations, gang wars, massacres and other bloodshed.
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Instead, she outlined a four-point strategy that emphasized intelligence-gathering, troop deployment, improved federal-state coordination and providing opportunities to dissuade impoverished young people from joining organized crime — which is among Mexico’s major employers.
A centerpiece of the plan is doubling down on the often-criticized “hugs not bullets” strategy of Sheinbaum’s predecessor and mentor, former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
How does a country get this under control? If you assemble a crack team of professional Intel/gunfighters/breaching team, all the gang leaders will do is target their families or other things around them. In a firefight, they outnumber your team thousands to one. You can’t assemble a large fighting force (standing army) without them knowing and stopping you/ infiltrating ranks. You can’t ask another nation to help - you run into basically us/Soviet’s in Afghanistan where they’re seen as occupiers, and generate resentment among even your supporters.
I understand the change probably has to come from within, but how does a government convince the lowest common person to not fall under the organized crime’s strong influence to keep people in line?
Build the economy and fund education and social programs. Fight corruption hard.
Its not glamorous or exciting but its what works in the long run.
Why do people turn to crime? Maybe a few idolize Pablo Escobar and the like, but the vast majority are trying to get by, feed their families and bring their kids through school. If legal work has you slaving away for a pittance that won’t even feed your family and corrupt governments take away money meant for the betterment of the community you start to see why some people stop caring or see illicit means as their only way out of poverty.
Education. An educated populace means a skilled workforce, which leads to better paying jobs and a chance out of poverty. I don’t think the choice between a good paying job in an international pharmaceutical company and a dangerous drug lab is a difficult one when you have legitimate options on the table.