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Column 020816 Brewer

Monday, February 8, 2016

Mexico's Incongruous National Security Aims and Strategies
By Jerry Brewer
Prioritizing the reduction of violence as a top security priority by
Mexican President Enrique Pea Nieto was an insightful entry into his
presidential term that began in December 2012.
Moving this bold strategy forward however, lacked the paradigm of
aligning Mexicos traditional policing into a proper enforcement posture,
with well-balanced military support, as opposed to policies and practices
that all too often bring into question police legitimacy.
Regional instabilities and deficit levels of public support and cooperation
exacerbated the justice component necessity for that legitimacy as well.
Pea Nietos reduction of violence plan lacked the conceptual and
organizational changes necessary to tackle and focus on lowering
kidnapping, extortion, and murder rates, which was in contrast to former
President Felipe Calderons [2006-2012] six year focus of direct
confrontations with drug cartels and intensification of drug enforcement
operations.
President Calderons options were seriously limited as competing drug
cartels fought viciously to take and control operational turf. From 2005
to 2006 the violence and carnage included a total lack of respect for
police, the military, and governing officials as the cartels ambushed and
fought them aggressively and with impunity. Not even journalists were

spared, as they were hunted down and ruthlessly killed as token

reminders to those who dared to continue to report.
Pea Nietos dilemma was, and remains, how to address the disparity
between the failures of crime deterrence by an aggressive and motivated
military that became quite successful at tracking down drug hierarchical
figures, and his new basic deterrence plan by police.
The incompatibility of these two key disparities are completely
manifested through a weak border with Guatemala and the heavily armed
criminality emanating from the northern tier nations of Central America
and routinely crossing into the Mexican homeland. These transnational
gangs and organized criminals are used to having their way in corrupting
or killing police and governing officials due to their own countries that
are too weak to resist them.
Further complicating Pea Nietos course of planned policing actions has
been his struggle with boosting Mexicos economy, which was his
signature plan; albeit, he has pushed through a dozen or so reform
packages for the energy, telecommunications, finance and education
sectors.
Mexicos economy obviously is reflected in its criminal justice failures,
especially through the profound impact and far reaching arm of
organized crime nationally and from the south. This due to criminal
organizations having adopted the practices and technologies of a
globalized economy to build transnational networks to penetrate lucrative
and necessary corridors to reach illicit markets.
The late leftist President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, must share a large
portion of the blame for Mexicos pain and suffering. Anti-US regimes
were financed by many in the corrupt Chavez regime, and inspired by his
end to cooperation with US antidrug efforts plus his zealous efforts and
influence on other pink tide leaders in the region to do the same. In some
instances, those governments have been shown to have now aided,
abetted, and/or engaged in narcotrafficking.
In 2005, Chavez called former Mexican President Vicente Fox [20002006] a "lap dog of US imperialism.

Transnational organized crime, with political facilitation by nations to

Mexicos south, requires a dual military and policing strategy due to the
criminal insurgency elements and the related asymmetric threats it poses.
Moreover, the Mexican intelligence sector must be strengthened and
enhanced with a strongly strategic and aggressive counterintelligence
capability. This strategy must be a priority of Pea Nietos plan to retard
and make it much more difficult for criminal groups to corrupt and
secure support of key regions of the Mexican homeland.
Enrique Pea Nieto cannot simply state as he has, that he can ease the
waves of violence in the Mexican drug war by just redirecting the focus
of the military approach, and instead focus primarily on taking down
leaders of the crime cartels and most wanted drug lords; and use
government resources to reduce homicides, kidnappings, and extortions
by saturating areas with troops and police into locations with the highest
rates of violence.
While in theory, saturation policing in key regions with problem-oriented
policing tactics and proactive strategies is a key component of successful
enforcement methods, the failure to have a coherent strategy of
containment only serves as a sweeping action to lesser areas of control.
Whether military components are utilized in this strategy or not, the
policing aspect of the effort must handle the technical and crime scene
responsibilities, and enforce the rule of law and prepare for the
prosecutions.
Pea Nieto has stated that his proposals do not mean that the government
will not enforce laws against other crimes nor prevent drug trafficking,
but that arresting drug bosses will no longer be the focus of his
administration. This statement could have devastating effects in the
overall criminal deterrence plan.
This out of control criminal insurgency and complete organized crimeterror nexus is a methodical and ruthless modus operandi of terror, fear
and intimidation that includes murder, kidnapping, extortion, political
tampering, torture, and human and sex trafficking. The killing and
kidnapping of government officials, politicians, police chiefs, mayors,
members of the military, and journalists graphically demonstrate this.

Mexico and the areas to the south have eight percent of the worlds
population, and 40 percent of the worlds homicides, with 66 percent of
the kidnappings. A myriad of innovative policing and carefully designed
enforcement plans of action must include policing centralization;
overlapping military power where necessary in support; and an acute
focus on all elements of crime from the highest levels of drug trafficking
to routine street crime.

Jerry Brewer is C.E.O. of

Criminal Justice
International Associates, a
global threat mitigation firm
headquartered in northern
Virginia. His website is
located at www.cjiausa.org.
TWITTER: CJIAUSA
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