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Guatemala Attributes Drug Prohibition Massacre to Zetas, Declares State of Emergency

The massacre due to drug prohibition in Guatemala that left 27 people dead at a cattle ranch – believed to be the work of Mexico's notorious drug trafficking organization, the Zetas – has forced a 30-day state of emergency. None of the victims had ties to drug trafficking organizations, authorities said. Rather they were innocent ranch workers and their families caught up in an increasingly bloody prohibition war.

US Cattle Inspectors Leave Mexico Amid Drug Prohibition War

For years, these inspections have been conducted before cattle cross the border, but the drug prohibition war has prompted the U.S. to move some of its operations north. The change, instituted over the past year at three of the 11 ports along the U.S.-Mexico border, is drawing concern from some cattle raisers, who fear infections long eradicated in the U.S. but still showing up in Mexico will spread before inspection. The change is supposed to be temporary, although there are no immediate plans for the American inspectors to return to Mexico.

Border Region Lives in Fear Amid Mexico's Drug Prohibition War

Since Mexican President Felipe Calderon militarized his country's battle to continue drug prohibition in December 2006, more than 34,600 have died in prohibition violence. Along with the violence has grown a pervasive culture of corruption and fear. After the discovery of the most recent mass graves, 16 police officers were detained under suspicion of involvement. Despite the government's promises of security and increased aid, many remain unconvinced, and say that governmental control in the region is visible little, if at all.

Cops Hold Vigil in DC and Say: Legalize Drugs to Stop Police Deaths

NEWS ADVISORY: May 11, 2011

CONTACT: Tom Angell - 202-557-4979 or [email protected]

Cops Attend Candlelight Vigil and Say "Legalize Drugs" to Honor Fallen Colleagues
Peace Officers Memorial Day Expected to Draw Tens of Thousands to Washington, DC

WASHINGTON, DC -- In conjunction with Peace Officers Memorial Day, some police are pointing out how too many law enforcers are killed in the line of duty enforcing a senseless and unwinnable "war on drugs."  The group, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), is calling for the legalization and regulation off all drugs, and they're telling stories about their fallen friends and colleagues to back up their case.

"When one of my best friends was killed doing an undercover drug purchase, it opened my eyes to the fact that not only are these drug laws ineffective, but they lead to brave and dedicated law enforcers losing their lives," said Neill Franklin, a 34-year veteran of the Maryland State Police and the Baltimore Police Department, now LEAP's executive director. "Ed Toatley was one of the best narcotics agents the state of Maryland ever had, but this failed drug war wasn't worth him losing his life over."

See http://copssaylegalize.blogspot.com/2011/05/remembering-our-fallen-comrades.html for more information about Ed Toatley's story.

WHO: Former police officers who support legalizing drugs

WHAT: Candlelight vigil in remembrance of fallen colleagues

WHEN: Friday, May 13 @ 7:30 PM EST

WHERE: National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial; on E St. between 4th and 5th Sts., NW, Washington, DC

The candlelight vigil, which officially begins at 8:00 PM, is sponsored by the National Law Enforcers Memorial Fund and is part of National Police Week. 25,000 to 40,000 police officers and family members are expected to attend official events over the course of the week. The group of pro-legalization police officers will be available for on-site press interviews around 7:30 PM, before the start of the vigil.

More information about Police Week can be found at http://www.policeweek.org/schedule.html.

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) represents police, prosecutors, judges, prison warders, federal agents and others who want to legalize and regulate drugs after fighting on the front lines of the "war on drugs" and learning firsthand that prohibition only serves to worsen addiction and violence. More info at http://www.CopsSayLegalizeDrugs.com.

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Mexico No Longer Has Free Press Thanks to Drug Prohibition

An annual report by an independent advocacy group said that Mexico can no longer be considered to have a free press due to drug prohibition violence. According to Freedom House, Mexico was listed aside countries from North Africa and the Middle East as "not free" due to attacks on journalists, self-censorship and a climate of fear that persists in the nation. Reporting on the drug prohibition war is a tough situation for Mexican journalists, with some media outlets setting coverage guidelines and others declaring a blackout on coverage.

1,400 Killed in Mexico Drug Prohibition War in April, New Record

Mexicans are paying a high cost for drug prohibition -- the death toll of its drug prohibition war in April was 1,400, the highest number of monthly killings since the campaign began in late 2006. The previous record of casualties was 1,322 killings in August 2010. Attorney General Arturo Chavez says more than 15,000 people died in 2010, making it the deadliest year ever.

Drugs Prohibition War Ignites Mexican Fury at U.S. Indifference

The United States has spent over $1 trillion promoting democracy in far-flung Iraq and Afghanistan while friendly neighbor Mexico gets a fraction of that in its prohibitionist fight against drug trafficking organizations. Mexico's frustration with Washington's priorities has plunged ties between the two allies to their lowest ebb in years. Last year alone, the U.S.-backed campaign claimed the lives of over 15,000 people in Mexico -- that is more than double the combined civilian deaths reported in Afghanistan and Iraq, where the United States has spent over $1.2 trillion in the past decade.

Mexico’s Congress Considers Changing Security Law In Attempt to Control Drug Prohibition Violence

With the current session of Mexico’s Congress scheduled to expire Friday, members of Mexico’s House of Deputies have less than a week to deliberate over extremely controversial changes to the country’s National Security Law that would give the President the power to deploy Mexico’s Armed Forces against broadly defined internal threats to Mexican national security. PT and Convergencia parties say that the 83-page initiative to change the law constitutes a threat to individual liberties and could create a state of exception in Mexico that would effectively put the country under military control. They remain deeply skeptical of proposed changes to the law, which advocate, among other things, the monitoring and recording of private communication for intelligence-gathering purposes. Organizations such as Human Rights Watch have drawn attention to frequent abuses by the Mexican military and contend that there is a widespread systemic failure to prosecute human rights violations in Mexican military courts.

Mexico's Narco Blog: Drug Prohibition Deaths in Real Time

While much of Mexico's mainstream media, especially television stations and local newspapers, has shied away from covering killings and naming the drug trafficking organizations involved, a blog and its anonymous curator publish graphic details of spiraling prohibition violence. At Mexico's "blog del Narco" the images are gruesome and unedited: a dead man in a sports jersey with his face covered in dried red blood and grey sand; a woman hanging from a rope above a busy urban over-pass and naked bodies lined up on the ground displaying clear, uncensored, signs of torture. Some recent headlines from the site include: "Entire town taken hostage by Gunmen in Chihuahua"; "Eleven year old arrested in Acapulco with AK 47"; "Sinaloa cartel welcomes new police chief with tortured body"; and "Mass narco grave, 60 bodies found, total 148 corpses".
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