More on Morelia

José Luis Sierra has some thoughts on what the Morelia attacks say about the cartels' changing strategy:

The decision to attack defenseless civilians also shows organized crime groups' capacity to adapt and learn before a government offensive that is trying to limit their spaces with the detention of leaders and the present of more federal and state police and military personnel. The learning process includes taking advantage of the same military mobilization as part of the criminal strategy. In a complex battle, with various adversaries involved, drug traffickers try to provoke the military saturation of the territory of a rival band and, in turn, divert the government forces from other zones that presently are important to the operation of [their own] criminal enterprises.