U.S. Congressional hearing focuses on bitter cartel power struggle in Mexico; whether to declare narcos "terrorists"

Oct. 4 - The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) made a lot of news today. Most of it was bad (see my two posts immediately below). To top things off, DEA director Rodney Benson appeared on Capitol Hill and testified before a House of Representatives subcommittee which had convened to review the status of Mexican president Felipe Calderon's five year old war against the drug cartels. The committee is also looking at the U.S.-Mexico Mérida Initiative, a 2007 mutual security pact between the two nations which carries a $1.6 billion dollar price tag. Mexico is still awaiting most of the money promised under the initiative.

Director Benson told the legislators there are four main organized crimes groups in Mexico today: the Gulf cartel, the Sinaloa cartel, the Familia Michocana (Michocan Family) and Los Zetas (the Zs). The first three have entered into an informal alliance to take on Los Zetas, whose power and terror are rapidly spreading throughout Mexico. Until 2008, Los Zetas ("Z's") served as the "enforcer" of the Gulf cartel, but later branched out on its own in a bitter struggle for control of drug routes leading north to the United States. It's known for unbridled violence and extreme brutality. The government says that most of the Zetas are former elite special forces troops of the Mexican military

The House subcommittee is also considering legislation which would declare the cartels terrorist organizations under U.S. law, just as was Columbia's FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia) during president Bill Clinton's administration. Such a designation would be more than just symbolic. It would enable several federal agencies to directly participate in the war against the cartels, and would authorize the seizure of cartel assets anywhere within the United States and its territories.

For more details on the Mérida Initiative, read here: http://mexicogulfreporter-supplement.blogspot.com/2011/11/new-us-ambassador-to-mexico-stands.html.