Real Estate and now Drug Cartels

I intended to write a blog today on the jacaranda trees just blooming and the delay in the migration of the monarchs.

But, a blog by Steve over at www.steveinmexico.blogspot.com caused the name of Stratfor to come up for the second time this week. So I decided to jump in with both feet and write about real estate and drug cartels instead. I'll save the sweet blog about the aforementioned for another day.

In the booming years here in San Miguel from 2003 to 2006, you couldn't go anywhere that people weren't talking about the house they were building or the land they had bought or how much trouble accomplishing both of those activities had become. It was nauseous. I would just slip away to talk with someone about world events, travel or something of interest to me. It truly became such a breathtakingly boring subject.

Well you sure don't hear anyone talking now about building or how much they made flipping properties or how many houses they are buying. There is no boom here anymore and those looking for the quick buck have left. Thankfully.

NOW the topic of discussion is the danger of the drug cartels in San Miguel. It is absolutely ludicrous. Someone recently talked about the fact that La Familia was, and would, take over the town. OMG. These guys make billions a year - why would they come to some place, off the beaten track, where everyone knows everyone else?
Honestly, now THAT is the topic of discussion. It is nauseous. People are afraid to drive to the border. Someone actually asked me if they could follow me because I'm braver.......I'm not making that up!

So, in that vein, earlier this week someone sent me the Stratfor report. It angered me so much that they sent it to me that I didn't read it for a few days and then I was really irritated. I'm sure you could put Stratfor in your search engine and read their diatribe about how Mexico is a failed state. I'm not going to repeat it all and give it credence but to me it looks like the writings of the CIA. How do I know that? Well, here's the deal.

I came to Mexico 42 years ago to manage a State Dept contract. It was for drug interdiction. I had a crypto clearance. Suffice to say, and I"ve said it before, with the technology and intelligence that the USA had back then and has more of now, it could stop it all if they wanted to...........but instead, MORE AND MORE governmental US agencies appear and grow. Look at DEA, which was just starting back then and was in a holy war with Customs for dominance. Then add ICE and Border Patrol. Border Patrol is like a herd of red ants with their nest knocked over at the border. By that I mean, they are everywhere. They now have huge buildings and stop points along with more outfitted SUVs then Ford has sitting on their lots. It is truly astonishing. Add in Customs and then the ever popular TSA and you have a nation scared to death of drug cartels and terrorists.

It's truly sad that people live in such fear, animosity and anger. I feel it when I cross that border and everywhere I go in the USA. It saddens me greatly.

Yes Mexico does have drug cartels. But if the USA would work to clean up its own streets and reconnect with the citizens, it might and I say might help.

Now, this blog is not bashing the USA so don't get me wrong. But I know for a fact that the drug cartels could have been stopped forty years ago. It behooves the USA to keep sending money to Mexico. Think about it.

When there was the big dust up at the border last year and all the US governmental agencies were flapping about how dangerous the illegal immigrants were, I called an old time friend who is still with US Customs and said, "What the heck is going on?"
His answer was, "It's every agency positioning for bigger budgets and growth".

How tragic that Mexico's reputation has to be maligned by all of them jockeying for job security. The drugs of Mexico are big business for the USA - in more ways then one.

Whew - now I'm going to go out and sit under the jacaranda trees and watch the monarchs sipping nectar.