I cant find anything that says the Zetas are out, on the contrary I find that the Leyva's have been kicked out and that the Zeta's have cells in 5 of the most succesful districts including Isla Mujeres. However, IF you have read local reports that claim that los Zetas are out of Isla Mujeres, I have a feeling that it was not the work of the "people". Several politicians have summer homes on Isla Mujeres and there is nothing more powerful than weathly business men and politicians! Not sure what happened to los Zetas in Isla Mujeres but I will google it right now.
To put an end to this topic, just be aware of your sorroundings and recognize that things are changing and the person you may say hi to may very well be somoene that is suffering from extortion... If I were a criminal, sent to run Isla Mujeres, I would sell them drugs, I would extort each ferry employee, the ferry itself, each Dolphin tour employee, each golf cart company, each restaurant and each crafts merchant just to start....$4,000 pesos per week adds up. Isla Mujeres is not a good target, nothing that directly affects the lives of politicians and wealthy business men is ever good criminal business....
I did not see that post of yours..... Again, Isla Mujeres must not be of high importance. #1 it has a naval base, #2 the mansions owned by ppl that can influence things. Cartels dont work as you have stated, where they will go business to business and ask for protection money and some pay and some dont. They break up the town into segments, usually by income brackets. low, mid, high...and setup tariffs...once the structure is in place there is no maybe you pay and fine if you dont...you dont pay but have influence in the region, maybe your shop gets bombed or burned down....you dont pay and dont have influence in the area they shoot you are you are opening up your shop or on your way home to make an example out of you. The point that you make in theory works, that's how govt's are overthrown but at the cost of countless human lives.... To band together as a town and attempt to keep crime out is signing a death warrant and most of us do not want to die.... When political motivation is a driver then ppl revolt, hence revolutions...when religion plays a role then ppl revolt, hence revolution, common street crime when opposed will kill you period. If Isla Mujeres were big business then the Cartels would find a way to influence or intimidate the the naval base into looking the other way. There is not enough money there to be able earn enough that would make the base look the other way....... Yes, revolution can change things but ppl will only be willing to give up their lives for political or religion reasons not to stop the cartels. In a revolution you can send your wife and kids to another town or Country while you stay behind and fight with your brothers. In Cartel matters they will kill your family before you even have a change to take up arms and they will do it brutally and again it does not motivate the masses like politics or religion. I hear your point but if it worked then Mexico, Central America and half of South America would be in revolution not to mention North America and Countries across the globe.... Would you strap a bomb to your waist and walk into a pub that you knew was mafia owned? prob not, but ppl do it for religion. Would you, a common citizen grab a gun and attend a bull fight which you knew was being attended by El Chapo and attempt to assasinate him? Prob not, but ppl do it for political reasons.
BTW, I dont think the Zetas made a move on Isla Mujeres.... The success if the Zetas is based on infiltrating law enforcement... #1 they would have gotten into the base first #2 Upon being snitched on, the months following that would have seen multiple deaths on the Island... I lean more towards the following---any local drug sales that take place on the island has to pay franchise fees to some sort of large criminal group and thats as far as it goes. The story you tell was probably common criminals seeking to exploit the name Zetas...hence once arrested they did not have the criminal structure to retaliate or was there numerous deaths following that event?
I am sticking this inside this thread. I see no need to fill the board with a litany of doom and gloom threads, but this incident is not insignificant. 1,000 km away isn't super close, but it isn't that far away, either. 35 bodies in Veracruz, in presumed drug cartel mass killing Gunmen dump bodies of 35 slaying victims on busy avenue in Gulf coast city in Mexico - Yahoo! News
It certainly wasn't for the 35 people who were killed, and their bodies dumped: the frenzy of self-destruction among the drug gangs, set off by the war against the cartels, goes on.... My prediction is a point will be reached where the violence will simply cease: it won't be obvious why, but every storm has a point at which its energy is finally spent. Organized crime will still exist, just as it does in the U.S., but daily killings of rivals will no longer be a feature of it- so my crystal ball says....
V: All in all, its a damn shame that so many Mexicans have to both give their lives and live in fear for their own Governments(several terms back in time...) lack of will/effort to curb corruption. Im very curious about the "deals" Calderon is about to push through with a couple of the cartels. Which ones will it be? What, except "make sure new ones do NOT grow", will be the agreements? After it all(depending on how many years), what happens? Will the Govt turn on their "ally"? Will they let them operate? Kind of reminds me about the US Army paying cash to the various groups of insurgents for "NOT targeting American troops". What happens when the cartels Calderon will "work with" want more? Ps. When does Calderons term run out? I know PRI and/or PRD had a "look away" tactic. What happens if one of these parties wins the next election? Will they once more let the cartels operate as long as they "dont kill civilians"? As sad as it all is - its very interesting to follow.
