Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Black is White! Up is Down!

Could this be a sign of a changed reality in Mexican-American relations?

Typically, according to conspiracy-minded Mexicans, the government here rustles up a drug lord to arrest every time a big shot American comes to town, just to remind everyone that they are on top of things. Hence the arrest of Vicente Carillo just before Holder and Napolitano came to town, and the detention of Hector Heurta days before Clinton's visit. (A slight hole in the logic: rarely a week passes without at least one arrest that can't be passed off as a big deal.)

But now, just as President Obama makes his way to Mexico, it seems like the roles are reversed. First, the US extradited José Manuel Garza, a convicted weed smuggler with links to Gulf traffickers, to Mexico earlier this week. Yesterday, the Obama administration designated the the Michoacán Family, the Zetas, and the Sinaloa gang (Beltrán Leyvas or Chapo Guzmán? The article doesn't say.) as international drug traffickers, which gives the Treasury greater leeway in seizing their assets. (Why hadn't this been done already?) And today, ICE officials in El Paso arrested two Mexicans negotiating the purchase of $2 million in arms with undercover with undercover agents. Next thing we know, el Tri will be knocking off the US national team in Chicago. 

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