Why Felipe Calderon hates Arizona’s anti-illegal immigration law

When Arizona’s tough new anti-immigration legislation was signed into law by Gov. Jan Brewer the Mexican government took grave exception. Mexican President Felipe Calderon called the law and affront to human rights and accused Arizona of opening “the door to unacceptable racial discrimination.” The Mexican congress wasn’t far behind, using words such as “fascist,” “racist,” as well as “a perverse...law that generates hate.”

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Having spent a fair bit of time in Mexico in the past, I am surprised that the Mexican government would show so much concern for the rights of its citizens abroad. Given that the Mexican government in general does not appear to be overly concerned about anyone’s rights, it’s curious that Mexican politicians would be crying crocodile tears about Mexicans living in the US. Or could it be that there is another reason? How about $50 billion per year in illegal drug smuggling? That’s what currently passes across the border between the US and Mexico every single year and of late evidence has come to light that this is being done with the express approval of the Mexican government. Currently Mexico is home to seven large and very violent drug cartels, among them the Sinaloa cartel, which is reputed to be the country’s most powerful criminal organization, the Juarez cartel, La Familia, as well as others. The internecine warfare between the various cartels and police have left thousands of people dead and have resulted in a reduction of tourists seeking fun in the Mexican sun. In the city of Juarez, which lies directly across the Rio Grande from El Paso, Texas, on average seven people are murdered every night. In fact, over 5,300 people have met violent deaths in that city over the past two years alone.

Mexican army as well as the Mexican police were actually assisting the Sinaloa cartel in its efforts to defeat the Juarez cartel

The recent trial in El Paso of one of the Sinaloa cartel’s top capos revealed that both the Mexican army as well as the Mexican police were actually assisting the Sinaloa cartel in its efforts to defeat the Juarez cartel. In testimony given by Jesus Manuel Fierro-Mendez, a former Mexican police captain sentenced to 27 years in prison in 2008, he told the court that he took control of a unit of the Mexican army in order to defeat the Juarez cartel so that the Sinaloa cartel could take complete control. Fierro-Mendez explained that by reducing the number of cartels in Mexico it would enable the Mexican government to eliminate them once and for all. But a recent joint investigation by American and Canadian journalists has determined that there are elements within the Mexican government that have absolutely no intention of stopping the cartels. And with $50 billion in annual revenue at stake it’s a small wonder. Anabel Hernandes, a Mexican reporter currently working on a book about the cartels says that the government of Mexico has in effect become the cartel’s muscle. She charges that the Sinaloa cartel has been under the protection of the Mexican government for over nine years. If the Sinaloa cartel and the Mexican government are successful in wiping out the other cartels, it will make Sinaloa the largest and most powerful criminal organization in the Americas. To this end she claims that many of Mexico’s top politicians get their campaign funding from the Sinaloa cartel, which could go a long way toward explaining why Felipe Calderon was so upset about a law that would tighten security between Arizona and Mexico. One wonders how he’ll react if other border states like Texas, California and New Mexico follow Arizona’s lead and pass their own anti-illegal immigration law.