US “War on Drugs” ruined Mexico even worse than it did Afghanistan

By contributors | Mar. 23, 2015 |  http://www.juancole.com/2015/03/ruined-mexico-afghanistan.html

By Rebecca Gordon | (Tomdispatch.com) –
They behead people by the hundreds. They heap headless, handless bodies along roadsides as warnings to those who would resist their power. They have penetrated the local, state, and national governments and control entire sections of the country. They provide employment and services to an impoverished public, which distrusts their actual government with its bitter record of corruption, repression, and torture. They seduce young people from several countries, including the United States, into their murderous activities.
Is this a description of the heinous practices of the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria? It could be, but as a matter of fact it’s not. These particular thugs exist a lot closer to home. They are part of the multi-billion-dollar industry known as the drug cartels of Mexico. Like the Islamic State, the cartels’ power has increased as the result of disastrous policies born in the U.S.A.http://www.juancole.com/2015/03/ruined-mexico-afghanistan.html