Blackhawk crash Mexico 14 dead

[A681001]

https://www.dailywire.com/news/mexican-military-helicopter-crashes-killing-14-during-the-operation-to-capture-drug-cartel-kingpin-report

A Mexican military helicopter crashed during an operation to capture a notorious drug lord on Friday, killing 14 of the 15 people on board.

Mexican cartel kingpin Rafael Caro Quintero, who murdered a U.S. federal agent in 1985, was captured by an elite (https://www.wsj.com/articles/mexico-captures-drug-lord-rafael-caro-quintero-convicted-in-killing-of-dea-agent-11657919154) Mexican military unit in Sinaloa after a search dog found the him hiding in the brush.

The Associated Press reported (https://apnews.com/article/drug-lord-rafael-caro-quintero-captured-mexico-dea-7ff3005d4c848697458d73c669a72e6f) that a Blackhawk helicopter crashed “during the operation,” although Mexican officials appear to have suggested that the crash was an “accident.” A report from Reuters said (https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2022-07-15/mexican-navy-says-14-people-dead-after-black-hawk-helicopter-crash)that there was no information “indicating the incident was related to the arrest” of Quintero, which it claimed was in another part of the state of Sinaloa.

Quintero was sentenced (https://www.dailywire.com/news/doj-responds-after-most-wanted-mexican-drug-lord-who-murdered-dea-agent-captured-by-military) to 40 years in prison for the murder of DEA agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena but was let out in 2013 after 28 years behind bars because a judge in Mexico ruled that he should have been tried in a federal court, not a state court.

When Mexican officials went to retry the case, Quintero went into hiding and remained on the run for almost 10 years.

With a $20 million price tag on his head from the U.S. government, Quintero reportedly reassembled his drug cartel shortly after being let out of prison.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland praised the work of Mexican officials for capturing Quintero, who was on the FBI’s top 10 most wanted fugitive list.

“There is no hiding place for anyone who kidnaps, tortures, and murders American law enforcement,” Garland said. “We are deeply grateful to Mexican authorities for their capture and arrest of Rafael Caro-Quintero. Today’s arrest is the culmination of tireless work by DEA and their Mexican partners to bring Caro-Quintero to justice for his alleged crimes, including the torture and execution of DEA Special Agent Enrique ‘Kiki’ Camarena.”

“We will be seeking his immediate extradition to the United States so he can be tried for these crimes in the very justice system Special Agent Camarena died defending,” he added. “We join in mourning the 14 Mexican servicemembers who gave their lives in service to their country and extend our condolences to the loved ones they left behind.”

The FBI said that Quintero allegedly “holds an active key leadership position directing the activities of the Sinaloa Cartel and the Caro-Quintero Drug Trafficking Organization.”

Quintero was one of the most prolific traffickers of heroin, cocaine, and marijuana to the U.S. in the late 1970s.

[SASless]

The Agent was not merely murdered.....he was horribly tortured for 24. hours and brutalized before being killed along with his part time Pilot.

There is an audio tape made during that torture and is part of the evidence in the case.

A Mexican Doctor was arrested for having administered stimulants to the Agent so that he would remain awake during the torture.

A senior Mexican Police Officer was also reported to be involved in the torturing of the DEA Agent.

These are not nice people who are involved in the Drug Smuggling out of Mexico and who are fighting a violent war between themselves resulting in tens of thousands of murders.

One guess is 85,000 dead due to drug violence and wars for control by the Cartels.

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/world/news/2021-04/mexico-drug-war-85000-victims-governement-report.html

[peterperfect]

As a result of all the lives lost and $millions (probably billions) spent on trying to counter drugs entering the country, where can you not buy illegal drugs in USA ?

[JimEli]

As a result of all the lives lost and $millions (probably billions) spent on trying to counter drugs entering the country, where can you not buy illegal drugs in USA ?

Drug users in the U.S. spend on the order of $100 billion annually (in 2010 dollars) on just four drugs (https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB9770.html) (cocaine + crack, heroin, marijuana, meth). Man, think of the missing tax revenue and lost GDP. Homeland Security currently has ~$16B annual budget, very little of which is specifically eramarked for just anti-drug efforts. They’re out there anyway, so they might as well catch all criminal activity too. Otherwise, their only function would be championing diversity, equity and inclusion.

[SASless]

I was around when this "War On Drugs" thing was kicked off in the 1970's as a Uniformed City Police Officer and in the 1980's participated again that "War" as a Federal Agent.....and I can assure you that despite the hype, expense, and lives lost.....it has been a bigger failure than the Afghanistan War.

There is too much money involved.

Money buys politicians, judges, police officers, real estate brokers, bankers, and so many others.

We should copy the Malaysia Law and deal harshly with Drug Dealers. particularly Fentanyl and combine our RICO Laws with the Malaysia Dangerous Drugs Act.

Then we would see a change in the amount of drugs being smuggled into the country.

[Bell_ringer]

Just legalise, regulate and tax it. Worked with weed, harder stuff is no different.
There will always be demand and thus supply, so futile to try stop it when the government and authorities are incapable of doing so.
The US approach of trying to shoot things into submission does not work. You can’t shoot terrorism with a tank, you definitely can’t end the cartels with a blackhawk.

[JimEli]

More adults died of fentanyl overdoses (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1S0szR2Ua9v0Sr91YhDD7gPrXsDkHxDvP/view) in 2020 than COVID-19, motor vehicle accidents, cancer and suicide. A record ~108,000 (https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/nchs_press_releases/2021/20211117.htm) people died of drug overdose in 2021, about 2/3rds of which involved fentanyl/synthetic opioid.

There were 2,448 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_military_casualties_in_the_War_in_Afghanistan) United States military deaths in the War in Afghanistan.

Most fentanyl originates in China and much of it enters the US illegally across the Mexico border. (https://www.digitaljournal.com/tech-science/fentanyl-what-is-it-and-where-does-it-come-from/article)

[Sir Korsky]

The British started it all by using Hong Kong as a springboard to ship tons of Indian opium into China back in the days of good old Queen Vic.
The business model hasn't changed much.

[RatherBeFlying]

War on Drugs = Price Support Program for Criminal Gangs

[Lonewolf_50]

Just legalise, regulate and tax it. Worked with weed, harder stuff is no different.
Dead wrong. You basically can't OD on pot. The others? Yes you can.

[SASless]

Bell Ringer....you seem to embrace a failed solution.

Portugal leads the way in Europe in dealing with illegal drug use, possession, and sale.

They wisely approached the problem of drug abuse but acknowledge decriminalization alone is doomed for failure....something the Netherlands encountered if I am not mistaken.

The Portuguese got concerned with 360 Overdoes Deaths in one year.....for a population of Ten Million.

We had 108,000 from Fentanyl alone for a population of 330 Million.

Drugs are still illegal in Portugal....how they deal with user quantities seems to be the key.


https://vancouversun.com/opinion/columnists/daphne-bramham-decriminalization-is-no-silver-bullet-says-portugals-drug-czar/

[Bell_ringer]

Don’t confuse opioid deaths with conventional drugs. This is a uniquely US issue, and all about money.
The US can productise anything, if there is enough money involved.

[finalchecksplease]

Watched a documentary about drugs in the USA recently: Life of Crime 1984-2020 (worth a watch) and at the end it said "1.3 million Americans died in all the wars ever fought by the United States. More than 5 million Americans have died from substance abuse since the start of this documentary in 1984" Scary numbers and I think that with the whole economic situation it isn't something that will improve in the near future. As always some people are making a fortune out of the misery of others and no easy solutions for these issues that I can see. Also I don't agree this is a uniquely US issue, it is happening in other places but not on the same scale, yet.

[[email protected]]

From Sasless's linkIt’s why Goulão is so quick to point out that Portugal’s success isn’t because of decriminalization. It’s because, in 2001, his country made a commitment to providing whatever its citizens need to be as healthy and as fully engaged in society as possible.

“Decriminalization is not a silver bullet,” he said. “If you decriminalize and do nothing else, things will get worse.

“The most important part was making treatment available to everybody who needed it for free. This was our first goal.”
Since the US struggles to deal with it's mental health crisis, what chance of providing sufficient care to make this scheme work?