Had to use Blackhawks to attack the cartel convoy. Over the top. Here is the story;

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The operation to detain Ovidio Guzman, the son of imprisoned drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, unleashed firefights that turned the northern city of Culiacan into a war zone, authorities said Friday.

In a blow-by-blow description of the battles that killed 10 military personnel and 19 suspected members of the Sinaloa drug cartel, Defense Secretary Luis Cresencio Sandoval said cartel gunmen opened fire on troops with .50-caliber machine guns.

The army responded by calling in Blackhawk helicopter gunships to attack a convoy of 25 cartel vehicles, including truck-mounted cartel gun platforms, on Thursday. The running shootouts killed one Culiacan policeman, and wounded 17 police officers and 35 military personnel.

The cartel then opened fire on the military aircraft, forcing two of them down with “a significant number of impacts” in each of the two aircraft, Sandoval said. The gang then sent hordes of gunmen to attack fixed-wing aircraft, both military and civilian, at the city’s international airport.

One civilian airliner was hit. The gunmen also shot up airport buildings in a bid to prevent authorities from flying the captured cartel boss out of the city. But, Sandoval said, authorities anticipating the resistance had loaded Ovidio Guzman onto a military helicopter to fly him back to Mexico City.



The Mexican administration bagged the high-profile cartel figure days before hosting U.S. President Joe Biden.

Samuel González, who founded Mexico’s special prosecutor’s office for organized crime in the 1990s, said Guzmán’s capture was a “gift” ahead of Biden’s visit. The Mexican government “is working to have a calm visit,” he said.

Juan Carlos Ayala, a Culiacan resident and Sinaloa University professor who studies the sociology of drug trafficking, said Ovidio Guzmán had been an obvious target for years.

“Ovidio’s fate had been decided. Moreover, he was identified as the biggest trafficker of fentanyl and the most visible Chapos leader.”

Ayala said the atmosphere was calmer Friday, “but there are still a lot of burned-out vehicles blocking the streets.”

The scope of Thursday’s violence was such that Sinaloa Gov. Ruben Rocha said cartel gunmen showed up at local hospitals, trying to abduct doctors and take them away to treat wounded fighters. Rocha said that gunmen would be treated if they showed up at hospitals, but that gunmen shouldn’t try to abduct medical personnel.

“It got to the point that at one moment the doctors were saying ‘we’re getting out of here’,” recalled Rocha, saying police had reinforced security and convinced the doctors to stay.

Culiacan residents posted video on social media showing convoys of gunmen in pickup trucks and SUVs rolling down boulevards in the city on Thursday. At least one convoy included a flatbed truck with a mounted gun in the back.

Despite the violence, Ayala said, many Culiacan residents may still support the cartel.

That may be because of the money the gang brings to the region, but also because locals know that even after federal troops withdraw, the cartel will still be there. As bad as it is, the cartel has ensured relative stability, if not peace.

Guzmán was indicted by the United States on drug trafficking charges in 2018. According to both governments, he had assumed a growing role among his brothers in carrying on their father’s business, along with long- time cartel boss Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Marcelo Ebrard confirmed that the government had received a request in 2019 from the United States for Guzmán’s arrest for purposes of extradition. He said that request would have to be updated and processed, but he added that first an open case in Mexico awaits Guzmán.

Ismael Bojorquez, director of the local news outlet Riodoce, which specializes in coverage of the area’s drug trafficking, said the violent reaction had to do with the president’s less aggressive stance toward organized crime.

“They (cartels) have taken advantage of these four years to organize themselves, arm themselves, strengthen their structures, their finances,” he said. “I believe there are more weapons than three years ago. All of organized crime’s armies have strengthened, not just the Chapitos, and this is the price that society is paying for this strategy of the federal government.”

At Culiacan’s airport, one commercial flight waited for its chance to take off as two large military planes landed with troops as did three or four military helicopters, and marines and soldiers began deploying along the perimeter of the runway.

When the airline flight was finally preparing to accelerate, passengers heard gunshots in the distance. Within 15 seconds the sound was suddenly more intense and much closer, and passengers threw themselves to the floor, some said.

They said they did not know the plane had been hit by gunfire until a flight attendant told them. No one was injured, but the plane hastily retreated to the terminal.

___

link: https://apnews.com/article/pol...067ca538c862e3f0a5b0

Attacking infrastructure like airports and (abducting doctors at) hospitals... that actually does sound like warfare, not just gang activity.

Mexican government should respond accordingly, and conduct an actual war on the cartels--not just police activity.

quote:

Originally posted by Aeteocles:
Mexican government should respond accordingly, and conduct an actual war on the cartels--not just police activity.

I would submit that deploying marines and soldiers into a running gun battle and calling in air support from multiple helicopter gunships falls well outside of "just police activity"...

^^^^^^^^
I thought all police departments had attack helicopters and truck mounted 50 cal machine guns.

The way some people bitch about some departments having an APC you would think so….

I was reading in depth about the Mexican cartels recently. It was pointed out that they have been raking in billions mostly due to bringing in illegals. With all the profit, they have been investing in .50 firearms, among other weapons. So, really, this is the result of the stolen election and the Dems/Biden.

I heard that the Sinaloa cartel has given the Mexican government 72 hours to deliver el Chapito back - or they’re gonna lay waste to all federalé buildings.

Isn’t it two scoops headed there shortly? Like next week? There’s a full on war down there!

Not quite like Sicario 2 apparently:

Things appear to have escalated. On Tucker this evening he interviewed a retired Army Colonel who basically said that the cartels were running Mexico. He was not optimistic about the conflict spilling over into the United States.

^^^ It's rumored, to put it lightly, that the vast majority of police as well as the vast majority of government officials and politicians in Mexico are basically on the Cartel's payroll, so to speak. <sarcasm filter off>

I've been in Mexico once, loved the people, but there's no way I'd set a toe back in there again. That's a crying shame for sure.
.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
He was not optimistic about the conflict spilling over into the United States.

It already has. The cartels operate near-freely in the border areas, and have major operations set up in various other places further inland throughout the Southwest.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
He was not optimistic about the conflict spilling over into the United States.

It already has. The cartels operate near-freely in the border areas, and have major operations set up in various other places further inland throughout the Southwest.

The cartels run Eastern Washington.

People that don’t understand this epidemic, just aren’t looking.

Agreed. To clarify, the retired Colonel was suggesting open armed conflict similar to what just happened this week in Sinoloa.

Mexico is a narco-terrorist country that has infiltrated the US. The importation of hard core drugs has killed more Americans than the Vietnam war. Time to use our intelligence to locate the cartel leaders and their infrastructure and use drones to destroy them. If Mexico's leaders object tell them they failed to do their job so shut up and enjoy the blood money that they received in the past.

Well if the cartels waged open war, it would be easier to spot and kill them. At least on the US side of the border it would. A full on war against them would be much more effective than what we have going on now.

^^^Seriously, the US Military ought to render every single location from which they operate a Smokin' Hole in the Ground! I'm sure the target list already exists...

quote:

Originally posted by abnmacv:
Time to use our intelligence to locate the cartel leaders and their infrastructure and use drones to destroy them.

I would bet there are people in our government that wouldn't want that to happen.
Too much corruption everywhere.

People don't want to hear this, but at some point we're going to have to take over and clean out Mexico (destroy the cartels by military, not law enforcement) techniques, or the cartels will take over the US like they have Mexico. I know a lot of people here think we can wall this off on the southern border, but it can never be made to work, no matter how much effort is put into it, as long as Mexico is out of control (or, more accurately, under the control of cartels.)

Alien smuggling is a nice little side business for the cartels. Their bread and butter, where they make their huge money, is drug smuggling.

quote:

Originally posted by c1steve:
I was reading in depth about the Mexican cartels recently. It was pointed out that they have been raking in billions mostly due to bringing in illegals. With all the profit, they have been investing in .50 firearms, among other weapons. So, really, this is the result of the stolen election and the Dems/Biden.

Mexico is a failed state. If I lived in the border states I'd be armed to the teeth because a war's coming.