Mexico drug cartel’s grip on politicians and police revealed in Texas court files

Agren, David. “Mexico drug cartel’s grip on politicians and police revealed in Texas court files” The Guardian, 10 November, 2017.

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Organized crime in the form of cartels has been found to have deep rooted influence on local politics in the border sate of Coahuila. A recent report released by the Human Rights Clinic at the University of Texas school of law has released testimony from many Texan courts showing the extent to which cartels like Los Zetas (logo pictured above) have infiltrated border state politics. In addition to bribing local politicians, cartels have paid off local policemen who turn a blind eye to mass murders and disappearances in the state.  Experts were not surprised at the lack of government response to this new study however some said they were disheartened by the apathy of Mexican citizens. It seems like Mexican citizens are becoming accustomed to this type of violence and are ignoring it more and more.

The article went on to describe recent violence by the Zetas cartel. It mentioned that the cartel has carried out hundreds of killings between 2014 and 2016 and that there are probably many more killings that went unreported. The Zetas cartel has also bribed or “purchased” many government leaders, even at the executive level. There are strong allegations that the Zetas have bribed two governors to work for them.

This article portrays the Coahuila region in a negative light. This negative portrayal may be appropriate because of the high levels of cartel violence in this region. As a whole, this article portrays Mexico as violent and cartel ridden however it also covers an under covered area of Mexico and an issue that many people are afraid to write about because of potential retaliation. Also this article portrays the citizens of Mexico as apathetic toward cartel violence. This portrayal is negative and harmful. When the article talks about how Mexican citizens are apathetic toward cartel violence it is also dangerously close to the stereotype of the “lazy Mexican”. Overall, this article does a good job of covering an under covered area of Mexican society however it also could be harmful to the identity of Mexican citizens, especially Mexican activists.