Mexican Malevolence

The lead article in today’s New York Times, “U.S. Infiltrating Criminal Groups Across Mexico,” describes, in effect, our special ops forces across the border. Because that, in fact, is what they are, undercover informants working for the Drug Enforcement Administration. Except, in this case, the informants are usually criminals who have been caught and are trying to mitigate the legal consequences of their actions.

It was one such informant who recently uncovered a plot by Iran to use the Mexican drug cartel, Los Zetas, to hire a hit man to kill the Saudi ambassador to the United States. And almost all enforcement organizations will tell you that human intel is far superior to electronic surveillance. So, that is always the first job of the D.E.A., to get a man inside any organization they are investigating.

One element of this story surprised me, though. That is the fact that we are operating drones in Mexican skies just like we do in Pakistan. That signals a lack of respect for the sovereignty of other nations. In Pakistan, we’ve been pushed to the brink by 9/11; in Mexico, there’s been no similar provocation.

Can we fly drones and assassinate people in whatever nation we choose? That is the attitude of an empire and will eventually rebound to our disadvantage.