The former Mexican president who has been speaking out against Republican Presidential Candidate Donald Trump is the same former politician who ignored drug cartels while he was in office.
As previously reported by Breitbart News, Vicente Fox Quezada recently met with journalist-turned-activist Jorge Ramos where the politico used expletives to say Mexico would not pay for Trump’s wall.
Just days after making his now infamous statements before Jorge Ramos, Fox went on air in Mexican radio where he claimed that Trump would be dangerous for America if elected.
Fox claimed that Trump would take America over the edge and that Hillary Clinton would be the one person who could shut him up. Despite his tough talk against Trump, Fox seems to forget that he is at least partially responsible for the unending wave of violence that has taken over Mexico.
Fox, a member of the National Action Party- PAN, served as Mexico’s president from 2000 to 2006 when he made history for being the first president who was not part of the historically corrupt Institutional Revolutionary Party- PRI.
According various excerpts from “Mexico: Narco Violence and a Failed State?” by the late author and prestigious university professor George Grayson, the PRI had ruled over Mexico like a monarchy for more than 70 years turning a blind eye to smuggling activities unless they got out of line. The centralized power of the PRI came down like a hammer on any criminal group that drew attention to themselves or stepped out of line.
That way of doing business came to an end when Fox took office in 2000 since the PAN did not have the centralized power needed to quash any unruly drug trafficker.
During his term in office Fox focused more on establishing a democracy and in economic growth than in the security conditions.
It was in the early 2000’s that the Gulf Cartel also went through a dramatic change. Then-leader Osiel Cardenas Guillen recruited a team of highly trained military deserters as his personal bodyguards and enforcers, that team became known as Los Zetas.
The group of enforcers quickly built a name for themselves for their fighting skills and cruel tactics. Los Zetas were able to expand their ranks and operations without any resistance from Mexican authorities.
As previously reported by Breitbart Texas, Los Zetas were able to set roots in the border city of Nuevo Laredo and hold their ground despite a fierce takeover attempt by the Sinaloa Cartel in 2005.
During that time, police officers, commanders, and others lost their lives as Los Zetas and Sinaloa forces fought for control of the city. The large scale gun battles and cruel executions brought levels of brutality previously unseen in Mexico. Los Zetas also brought a reign of terror to Laredo, Texas, where even to this day U.S. law enforcement officials who have spoken with Breitbart Texas refuse to name the criminal organization by name.
As Breitbart Texas reported, Los Zetas went on to become an independent cartel responsible for mass exterminations and running clandestine crematoriums in the Mexican state of Coahuila. Hundreds of innocent victims were kidnapped, tortured, murdered and incinerated.
It wasn’t until 2006 when a new president, Felipe Calderon, took office that drug cartels became a priority. Because of the high levels of corruption in Mexican law enforcement, Calderon was forced to use the Mexican Navy to spearhead his campaign against drug cartels. Calderon’s efforts were not enough. By the time he took office, cartels like Los Zetas, the Sinaloa Cartel, the Gulf Cartel and the Juarez Cartel had already built up armies of their own who, even to this day, are able to go head-to-head with the Mexican military in massive gun battles. These battles have paralyzed cities all over Mexico. Breitbart Texas recently published a video that shows the kind of firefights that have become commonplace in Mexico.
It remains to be seen if, in any upcoming appearances by Fox, the former president will be asked about the Mexican drug cartels who are responsible for the majority of the crime along the U.S./Mexico border and are tearing that country apart. Will Fox explain how those drug cartels were able to expand their operations and build large armies of sicarios or gunmen under his watch?
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award winning journalist with Breitbart Texas you can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.