Brazen terrorism heating up Mexico’s drug war

By Roger Noriega - American Enterprise Institute

On Wednesday, six persons were killed when their small plane was shot down by suspected narcotraffickers in Mexico’s northern state of Chihuahua—another brazen act of terrorism that suggests the drug war on our doorstep may be heating up. According to several eyewitnesses, the plane was hit by gunfire from numerous individuals on the ground. Sources say the attack was the result of a turf war between the Sinaloa Cartel and the Juarez Cartel, which has afflicted the area for years.

Just two weeks ago, the New Generation Cartel of Jalisco (CJNG) and the affiliated Los Cuinis syndicate mobilized more than 500 men in a coordinated attack in which seven soldiers died when their army helicopter was downed by narcotraffickers in an unprecedented use of force.

Although the Mexican government claims that its security strategy is working, levels of violence in the states of Tamaulipas, Guerrero, Michoacán, the eponymous state of Mexico, Chihuahua, Jalisco, and Sinaloa suggest otherwise. Furthermore, since 2014, 276 attacks against the military have been registered in Mexico, which have taken the lives of 62 members of the armed forces.

Mexico’s Defense Secretary, General Salvador Cienfuegos, vehemently condemned the attack on the helicopter. Speaking four days after the attack, General Cienfuegos declared,

Cowardly criminals must be stopped with civic unity and the full weight of the law…. We should not allow [these criminals] to mix with us; let’s denounce them and those who support them; let’s banish them along with the illegality, irresponsibility, corruption, and impunity that protects them, wherever they are.

General Cienfuegos surprised many observers in issuing a similar blunt warning. Last November, in an unconventional speech for a Mexican Defense Secretary, he said, “The development and progress of the nation are at stake; the times we live in give us an invaluable opportunity to make right decisions to ponder challenges and consolidate our course.”

Well into his six-year term, President Enrique Peña Nieto has failed to implement a clear strategy against organized crime. After pushing the security problem to the back-burner while he pursued economic and social reforms, Peña Nieto now reacts to outbreaks in violence but has never presented a comprehensive plan for imposing the rule of law on organized crime.

As Peña Nieto’s popularity slumps Mexicans rank the armed forces as the nation’s most trusted institution. Their sacrifices in the war on drugs and assisting the population during natural disasters have earned them the trust and respect of the great majority of Mexicans. Although the Mexican military would never openly criticize a president’s policy, the comments by General Cienfuegos implore the government to do more to confront narcotrafficking and respond energetically to violence.

With violence surging in Mexico and brazen attacks against the armed forces becoming more common, it is clear that civilian leaders must reevaluate their approach to fighting narcoterrorism and convince their people that they have a plan.