Cancún, Quintana Roo -
Drug seizures at this bustling gateway to the Yucatán peninsula have become an almost daily event, a local newspaper reported today. Por Esto said that in December alone some 40 kilos of cocaine were seized, with a street value of half a million dollars or more, depending on how many times the white powder is "cut" to prepare it for the waiting retail market.
But the seizures represent only a small fraction of the drugs which get through undetected every day.
Most of the cocaine is destined for the United States and western Europe (More dope comes ashore in Quintana Roo; Drugs float ashore on Playa del Carmen), although the sprawling airport has also been used as a layover spot for drugs headed to Mexican cities (Cancún Airport was key narcotics distribution hub for Beltrán Leyva, Mexico's SEIDO says).
Por Esto blamed the problem on corruption within the offices of the Aduana (Mexican customs), the INM (immigration control) and the Federal Police, all of which share responsibility for airport security. In the case of the latter agency, it's not the first such accusation. Last summer three Federal Police officers working undercover were shot to death by fellow agents in Mexico City's International Airport. A South America to Europe drug trafficking ring was behind the brutal AICM executions, according to officials in the PAN government which left office on Dec. 1 (stories below).
And the Yucatán-Quintana Roo tabloid pulled no punches in assessing ultimate responsibility for the airport problem. Por Esto claimed that corruption at Cancún International began 12 years ago during the administration of former PAN president Vicente Fox, and continued unabated during the recently concluded term of Felipe Calderón Hinojosa, the second of two National Action Party chief executives in the last 12 years.
The paper alleges the Beltrán Leyva drug cartel had a key contact within the former administration. According to Por Esto, it was Genaro García Luna, who was named Secretary of Public Security on Dec. 1, 2006 - the day Calderón was sworn in. It's not the first time that allegation has been made, and it's not altogether without supporting facts.
On Sept. 24, 2007, a civil air patrol commander in Cancún refused to give landing authorization to a Gulfstream jet which he suspected was involved in drug running. The plane crashed that day near the Yucatán village of Tixkokob, carrying 3.7 tons of cocaine. In November 2007 the same commander was assassinated in Playa del Carmen, purportedly in retaliation for the landing denial, and allegedly on orders of high ranking Mexican military or police officials. Por Esto claims García Luna "turned over" the airport to Beltrán Leyva after he took office, to use as it liked, in return for cash kickbacks. The Federal Police were charged with the day to day management and monitoring of illicit drug traffic.
Earlier this year a federally protected witness told Mexican special strike force prosecutors that five high ranking military officers, who were arrested last spring for drug trafficking links, intended to use the Cancún International Airport and remote landing strips in the Yucatán peninsula to receive large shipments of narcotics from South America. The story was widely carried in the Mexican press.
The four Mexican Army generals and one lieutenant colonel arrested last May were accused of having cooperated with the Beltrán Leyva cartel. Criminal investigators gathered evidence for two years and took testimony from 90 people in 18 of Mexico's 32 states, sources have reported. The case allegedly linked the Calderón government to the cartel, although continuing questions about the protected witness' credibility have surrounded the corruption investigation. But Por Esto insists that Secretary García Luna was the key contact between the administration and representatives of Beltrán Leyva.
Now no single group is in control in Cancún, and the airport is sin patrón - without a sponsor or boss, said the paper, since the PAN government and García Luna are gone. Por Esto even asserted that recent cocaine seizures weren't fortuitous events or the result of good police work. Rather, competing drug traffickers with an interest in exporting through the airport ordered some busts, to emphasize the urgency of arriving at an accord which will serve the interests of all "shippers" in the illicit market. Like other businessmen, narcotics traffickers want and need stability and predictability in daily commerce.
The paper offered no opinion on whether the month old PRI administration of Enrique Peña Nieto might be willing to serve as the new sponsor, although there are some who have suggested just that.
Source: El aeropuerto, zona "sin ley"
Dec. 30 - Sometimes drugs move in the other direction. Here's a fascinating account of a 24 year old Mexico City man arrested last week at the Cancún airport, where he had just landed on a flight from Brussels. Mexican soldiers intercepted 14,500 tabs of Ecstasy in his possession, and over a kilo of methamphetamine. He confessed to being a full time drug mule in recent years, hauling in products purchased in Belgium, Germany and Holland for ultimate distribution in Mexico City. He told them it was easy and highly profitable work. He also said that he had made many trips through the airport, always without any problem.
Apr. 11, 2013 - More than drugs are being trafficked through the Cancún airport, according to Por Esto, which frequently reports on the movement of undocumented persons who are trying to make their way to the U.S. border. According to this article they carry bogus passports and are actively assisted by Mexican immigration agents who work for the Instituto Nacional de Migración (INM), which has a long history of corruption. Many are Cubans and Central Americans.
Dec. 28 - Two cartels unite to declare war on Los Zetas in Cancún, foreshadowing a "bloodbath"
Oct. 27 - Cancún police department infiltrated by narcotics traffickers and organized crime
AICM, a portal for international narcotics distribution
Aug. 19 - Federal Police reassign hundreds of Mexico City airport officers to weed out corruption
July 15 - Mexican federal cop killer arrested
June 28 - Mexico offers $5 million pesos for "traitor agents" in slaying of three fellow officers
June 27 - "Narco Feds" operating out of Mexico City airport sent drugs to U.S., Europe
June 25 - Three dead in Mexico City International Airport shooting
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