Jeffrey Davidow:
An Honest Ambassador

Southern California University. February 24th, 2000
Jeffrey Davidow, Ambassador of the United States to Mexico, declared today "Mexico is one of the quarters of drug dealing in the world" after explaining the most powerful drug organizations are Russian, Colombian, Dominican and Mexican. His remark didn't like politicians both sides of the border. For decades, propaganda has made believe Mexicans any (negative) comment from foreign mouths is product of an international conspiracy against the Mexican Government, a menace to its sovereignity, and an effort to take over control of the country. And assuredly there are politicians who receive gratifications from drug dealers.
But Mr. Davidow is right: The power of the Cártel de Tijuana, led by the Arellano brothers has been growing in the last decade like a tidal wave. Someday it could cause political change in both the United States, Mexico, and the rest of America. Thanks to the protection they get from corrupt politicians and policemen, they have almost no charges made against them, and their empire grows everyday.
When Cardinal Posadas was murdered in May 1993, the Mexican Government claimed he was murdered because the Arellano thought he was a drug dealer (!!). Later, the Government changed its version to that of a "confusion", and used the murder to weaken the loyalty of members of rival criminal groups to their leaders: Today, Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán and Héctor "El Guero" Palma -the archirivals of the Arellano- are prisoners at a maximum security facility while the Arellano are free, happy, and enjoying a fortune of over U$ 100 billion. They are so powerful that they no longer buy the coca paste to Colombian cartels, but they buy the coca leaves to Peruvian, Bolivian and Vietnamese peasants instead; they process it; they transport it to California; and they sell it directly to customers. The Tijuana Cartel is actually the most powerful criminal organization in the world, and a direct menace to the United States political stability. Conscious of this, Davidow declares: "A country that does not control its criminals looses sovereignity day after day".