Wow! This piece by Ricardo Ravelo in Proceso really underscores the waste of funds and likely harmful impacts of the proposed U.S. Merida Initiative (aka Plan Mexico). The second round of funds is currently being pushed for this failed drug war policy. Let’s hope President-elect Obama comes up with practical, non-ideological and human rights-respecting approaches to the huge drug markets in the United States. We know that the current approach throwing good money after bad; increasing the corruption, violence and human rights abuses; thereby destabilizing Mexico is not working. RJ

The agencies in charge of Mexico’s drug war have high-ranking officials who protect the cartels

By Ricardo Ravelo, Proceso
Translation from the original Spanish and notes by Kristin Bricker

The animosity between the heads of Federal Attorney General’s Office and the Public Security Ministry don’t just immobilize the federal government and make its crusade against drug traffickers and organized crime futile. It also shows that both institutions are so porous that the gangsters have already positioned themselves in them. The infiltration is of such magnitude that even Eduardo Medina Mora and Genaro Garcia Luna have become suspect. (more…)

By Jorge Carrasco Araizaga and Francisco Castellanos J., Proceso
Translated from the original Spanish by Kristin Bricker for NarcoNews

Through confessions obtained “under torture” and with multiple irregularities, the Federal Attorney General’s office (PGR in its Spanish initials) maintains the three alleged culprits under arrest in the September 15 terrorist attack in Morelia, Michoacan—which left eight people dead and 106 injured—even though many family members and neighbors assure that the accused were in Lazaro Cardenas [250 miles south of Morelia] the moment the attacks occurred.

Juan Carlos Castro Galeana, Julio Cesar Mondragon Mendoza, and Alfredo Rosas Elicea, the suspects in the grenade attack, were kidnapped and tortured by armed men in Lazaro Cardenas and later brought to a house in Apatzingan, where they were tormented again, before federal authorities took charge of them.

According to the criminal investigation PGR/SIEDO/UEITA/110/2008, the accused say they were kidnapped and psychologically and physically tortured for days so that they would confess to the attack and to being members of Los Zetas.

According to their statements, which Proceso had access to, the kidnappings happened between September 18-23 in Lazaro Cardenas, a port city in the zone controlled by the La Familia cartel, which is involved in a turf war with Los Zetas for control of drug trafficking in Michoacan. La Familia had offered to undertake its own investigation to find people responsible for the attack.

Despite the fact that the Assistant Attorney General for Specialized Investigation of Organized Crime (SIEDO), Marisela Morales Ibañez, credited an anonymous call that revealed the location of those who are now detained, a memo provided to this weekly by a member of an intelligence organization says that on September 18 “there was a meeting between the security authorites in Michoacan and La F. (La Familia), in some cabins in the vicinity of Cuitzeo (security barracks), agreeing that they would detain various people” in order to blame the Morelia attacks and the grenade attack against the Michoacan Assistant Attorney General’s Office in Lazaro Cardenas, which occurred this past August. (more…)

As U.S. voters go to the polls the issue of the ‘war on drugs’ looms large both domestically and internationally.

The best journalism on the international ‘front’ has come out of Rolling Stone magazine[the failed ‘war on drugs’ (Dec. 2007)and the ‘war next door’ (Nov. 2008). On the domestic ‘front’, Alternet (Nov. 2008) has written a compelling short piece about efforts to undo some of the damage in the U.S.

And as a corruption scandal hits the Mexican AG’s (Prosecutor General of the Republic’s) office, with more than 35 of its officials revealed to be working for narcotraffickers. today’s New York Times also has an important piece from which a key excerpt is included here.

Take note that it is this AG’s office - which Bush’s Plan Mexico/Merida Initiative is slated to provide $60 million to - which promoted the cover up story that Brad was shot at close range and that he was shot by the activists who in reality were helping him (as is clear in the video and photographic footage, forensic and witness evidence etc.).

November 2, 2008
In Mexico’s Drug War, Sorting Out Good Guys From Bad
By MARC LACEY

It has long been known that drug gangs have infiltrated local police forces. Now it is becoming ever more clear that the problem does not stop there. The alarming reality is that many public servants in Mexico are serving both the taxpayers and the traffickers.

The latest corruption scandal has prompted President Calderón’s attorney general to order a restructuring and purging of his office, and specifically of Siedo, which was formed from another agency that was shut down after being infiltrated by drug spies.

The men in suits, it turns out, were both bureaucrats and bad guys, officials say, corrupt employees high up in an elite unit of the federal attorney general’s office who were feeding secret information to the feared Beltrán Leyva cartel in exchange for suitcases full of cash.

Their arrest, and the firing of 35 other suspect law enforcement officials, represents the most extensive corruption case that this country, which knows corruption all too well, has ever seen. And it raises a question that is on the lips of many Mexicans: how does one know who is dirty and who is clean?

Blindman’s Buff #228 by JOHN ROSS
Contact: 011-5255-5518-1213 X102 and johnross@igc.org

Excerpt of this excellent piece: “Then five local cops in civilian dress appeared at the head of the street about 35 to 50 meters away and turned their weapons on the APPO supporters milling around outside the compound. When the plainclothes police began to fire, Brad turned towards them, still filming. A .38 caliber slug caught him square in the chest. The impact caused him to drop his video camera and swerve to the left where a second bullet smashed into his right side destroying vital organs. Mortally wounded, Brad Will slid down to the sidewalk as the bullets continued to explode around him.”

AS THE DAYS OF THE DEAD DAWN OVER MEXICO, BRAD WILL IS STILL DEAD - AND KICKING!

MEXICO CITY (Oct. 31st) - The Dias de los Muertos, (November 1st & 2nd ) when Mexicans celebrate those who have passed on to Mictlan, are upon us again and Brad Will, the U.S. photo-journalist murdered at the height of the Oaxaca rebellion two years ago, is still dead - although his spirit keeps kicking. (more…)

On Monday October 27th 2008, the 2nd anniversary of Brad’s murder, Friends of Brad Will in Mexico, New York, Houston, San Francisco, and Portland held press conferences and rallies to publicize our cause and our new demands.

In New York, Free Speech Radio News covered the hunger strike and protest. Photos are online at nyc.indymedia.org.

In Houston, activists met with press and representatives from the Consulate. Read: Houston Indymedia coverage, hear: KPFT radio news coverage.

In San Francisco, Friends of Brad Will gathered at the Mexican Consulate to remember Brad and the people of Oaxaca and issued a statement of demands to the Mexican Consulate. Coverage on indybay.

In Portland, The Friends of Brad Will, along with supporters of Oaxaca, gathered in front of the Mexican Consulate to call for justice in the case of Brad Will’s murder by Mexican paramilitaries, and justice for the people of Oaxaca. Coverage on Portland Indymedia.

In Mexico, actions were covered in El Universal (in Spanish), and the LA Times blog.

In Uruguay, activists issued a solidarity statement (in Spanish).

photos
Houston:
San Francisco:
New York:
Portland:

From article: “According to Robert Jereski from Friends of Brad Will, his organization chose to oppose Plan Mexico outright instead of pushing for human rights conditions because “we saw what happened with Plan Colombia and those human rights conditions. They didn’t stop that country from becoming the worst country in the world for rights for labor activists, where hundreds have been assassinated by the government or government-supported paramilitaries. We saw how ineffective the conditions were, that [Plan Colombia] resulted in 4 million displaced people driven off of resource-rich land by the same thugs the US government has been supporting through the Uribe government and military. We had serious doubts about (the) value of human rights conditions.

The big players in human rights, however, remained silent throughout much of the debate over Plan Mexico. Human Rights Watch did not take a stance on the initiative until after it was passed. Amnesty International only weighed in publicly after the measure had passed both houses of congress. Its Mexico office circulated a letter calling US collaboration with Mexico “appropriate and timely” and simply requested that human rights conditions be included in the final version that would be sent to the president. ”

Posted by Kristin Bricker - October 24, 2008

Official human rights ombudsman says the government believed Plan Mexico funds were conditioned on resolving Brad Will case

The Mexican government’s human rights watchdog, the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH in its Spanish initials) slammed the Federal Attorney General’s office (PGR) yesterday over the arrests of Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca (APPO) supporters in the Brad Will murder case.

The PGR arrested three APPO supporters and has issued warrants for eight more in the Will case. José Luis Soberanes Fernández, the head of the CNDH, said that with the arrests, the PGR made the decision “to ignore the body of evidence that we sent it” regarding the case.

One principal component of the CNDH report that the PGR explicitly rejected was that Will was shot from a distance of 35-55 meters, not the 2 meters that the PGR claims. Despite the fact that a forensic video specialist hired by the Will family has found bullet streaks in the last two frames of Will’s video, and that anyone who shot Will at close range would have appeared in his video since he was shot head-on, the PGR maintains that the APPO supporters standing around Will were the ones who murdered him. (more…)

Link to Albert Covelli’s Video

Arrest the Killers
When Brad was killed, the people photographed firing guns at the
protesters were police, police commanders, and operatives and
bodyguards for the PRI party, including Pedro Carmona, Abel Santiago
Zarate aka “El Chino,” Juan Carlo Soriano aka “El Chapulin,” Commander
Manuel Aguilar Coello, and Juan Sumano. They are directly linked to
the corrupt Governor Ulises Ruiz, and we demand their arrest.

Drop False Charges, Release Political Prisoners
Since Brad’s death, Ulises Ruiz’ government has been attempting to
bring charges for Brad’s killing against Brad’s friends, APPO people,
witnesses, and those who risked their lives trying to get Brad to a
hospital. We join the National Commission on Human Rights, and
Reporters Without Borders in finding these attempts to be an absurd
and outrageous attempt to divert attention from the real killers. We
demand an end to this smokescreen and the punishment of innocent
people including Juan Manuel Martínez Moreno, Hugo Colmenares Leyva,
and Octavio Perez Perez.

Justice for Brad, Freedom for Oaxaca
Brad is only one of dozens of activists, reporters, civilians, and
unarmed people killed by the State response to the Oaxacan movement
for justice and freedom. Friends of Brad Will not only demands
justice for them, but demands what they demand: the end of corrupt
brutal rule by Ulises Ruiz.

No to Femicide
We join in solidarity with the friends and family of Marcella Sali
Grace Eiler, an international solidarity activist working with CIPO,
Colectivo Mujer Nueva and witnesses of Brad’s death, who was found
brutally raped and murdered September 25th in San Jose del Pacifico
in the state of Oaxaca. Her death is part of continued widespread violence
against women in Mexico, and a symptom of the failure of the Mexican
government to address it. As the Calderon government disregards human
rights and attempts to impose military control of everyday life, we
demand justice for all the victims of the femicide and an immediate
end to impunity for the rapes and murders of women throughout Mexico

No to Plan Mexico
A year almost to the day after Brad was murdered, the Bush
Administration announced the Merida Initiative (aka Plan Mexico),
providing at least $1.6 billion in US armament, training, and
resources to the same police and military forces that killed Brad and
many other activists and journalists in Mexico and Central America
under the pretense of stopping narco-trafficking. Already the weapons
have been used in massacres and repression of activists in Morelos and
Chiapas. Along with the AFL-CIO, the United Steelworkers, Tikkun,
Wespac, Witness for Peace, Cispes, and Jews for Racial and Economic
Justice, The Friends of Brad Will demand and end to the Merida
Initiative.

——————–

Nuestras Demandas para el Segundo Aniversario

de la Muerte de Brad

Detenga los Asesinos

Cuando se mataron a Brad, las personas que aparecen en las fotos, disparando pistolas contra las manifestantes, fueron la policía, los comandantes de la policía, y los operativos y las guardaespaldas del partido PRI, como Pedro Carmona, Able Santiago Zarate “El Chino,” Juan Carlo Soriano “El Chapulin,” Commander Manuel Aguilar Coello, y Juan Sumano. Son ellos quien tienen relaciones directos con el corrupto gobernador Ulises Ruiz. Exigimos su detención!

Retire los Cargos Falsos, Libere a los Prisioneros Políticos

Desde la muerte de Brad, el gobierno de Ulises Ruiz ha sido intentando traer cargas para el asesinato de Brad contra los amigos de Brad, la gente de la APPO, los testigos, y aquellos que se arriesgaron su vida tratando de llevarle a Brad al hospital. Unimos con la Comisión Nacional para Derechos Humanos y Periodistas Sin Fronteras en nuestro encuentro de que este intento es una manera absolutamente absurda e intolerable de desviar la atención lejos de los asesinatos verdaderos. Demandamos que se acabe con esta curtina de humo y el castigo de gente inocente como Juan Manuel Martínez Moreno, Hugo Colmenares Leyva, y Octavio Perez Perez.

Justicia para Brad, Liberación para Oaxaca

Brad es sólo uno de docenas de activistas, periodistas, civiles, y personas desarmadas asesinado por la respuesta del Estado contra el movimiento Oaxacana para justicia y liberación. Los amigos de BradWill no sólo demandan justicia para ellos, sino también las mismas demandas que demandan ellos: el fin del gobierno corrupto y cruel de Ulises Ruiz.

No al Neo-Liberalismo y Femicidio

Unimos en solidaridad con los amigos y la familia de Marcella Sali Grace Eiler, una activista de solidaridad international trabajando con CIPO, Colectivo de Mujer Nueva, y con los testigos de la muerte de Brad quien se descubrió violada brutalmente y asesinado el dia 26 de septiembre 2008 en San Jose del Pacífico en el estado de Oaxaca. Su muerte es una parte de la escalación de la violencia contra las mujeres en una época de acuerdos comericales y guerras de drogas. Demandamos que se acabe con el Tratado de Libre Comercio de Norteamérica (TLCAN), el Tratado de Libre Comercio de Centroamérica-República Dominicana-EEUU, y el Plan Puebla Panama (alias el Proyecto Mesoamérica), y los sistemas culturales y políticas que han permitido las violaciones y los asesinatos contra las mujeres.

No al Plan México

Casi un año al día después de que se mataron a Brad, la administración de Bush anunció la Iniciativa Merida alias Plan México, porporcionando por lo menos 1.6 billiones de dólares para el armamento de EEUU, la formación, y los recursos para la misma policía y fuerza militar que se mataron a Brad y otros activistas y periodistas en México y Centroamérica debajo de la pretensión de parar narco-traficantes. Las armas ya han sido usado en matanzas y represiones contra activistas en Morelos y Chiapas. Junto con el AFL-CIO, los Trabajadores Siderúrgico de los EEUU, Tikkun, Wespac, Testigos para Paz, Cispes, Judios para Justicia Económica y Racial, Los Amigos de Brad Will demandan que se acabe con la Iniciativa Merida.

By David Gonzalez for NY Times

Harry Bubbins likes to plant things. When his friend Bradley Will was shot dead covering antigovernment protests in Mexico nearly two years ago, he planted a tree in the South Bronx to honor the slain journalist. This week, days after the Mexican government arrested two leftist protesters in connection with Mr. Will’s murder, Mr. Bubbins is again planting things.

Himself, on a Midtown sidewalk.

In an admittedly extreme move to draw attention to what he — and numerous human rights groups — say is a cover-up by Mexican authorities, Mr. Bubbins is on a four-day hunger strike outside the Third Avenue office of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.
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