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Follow me on TwitterVia the BBC: Mexico in record cocaine seizure
Mexican authorities have made what they say is one of their largest drug seizures after finding 23.5 tons of cocaine at the port of Manzanillo.
The drugs, with an estimated street value of more than $400m (£192m), were found in by the Mexican navy in cargo containers on a ship from Colombia.
The seizure dwarfed the 11.5 tons found last month at the port of Tampico.
The idea of “record seizures” of drugs is getting to be cliched. It certainly is, if anything else, a common occurrence.
From September: Drug Seizures at Record Levels on US-Mexican Border
From May: Record Cocaine Seizure by the Colombian Navy
From March: Major Cocaine Bust in Panama
(And that’s just from a quick search before the coffee has kicked in…).
Given that we are constantly having such records broken, and yet the basic trend for decades has been ample supply, high demand and low price, it is hard to do anything but yawn. Except, of course, for the fact that these seizures are used as evidence by drug warriors that we are finally having success, and the logical next step, therefore, is (you guessed it) more spending! Back to the BBC story:
The US ambassador said the seizures showed Congress should approve funding for a major new anti-drug initiative.
“This seizure highlights the need for US Congressional action on the proposed Merida Initiative, which will provide both countries with more and better tools to co-ordinate our high-stakes battle against the cartels and their narco-trafficking activities,” Antonio Garza Jr said in a statement.
We’ve heard this tune before (indeed, it is like a warped version of the movie Groundhog Day).
November 2nd, 2024 at 7:45 am
It would be really interesting to do an analysis about the use of the word “record” in terms of the drug war, and see how it was used to justify more funding over time.
November 2nd, 2024 at 8:07 am
Yes, it would.
I know that there have been such reports going back to the 1980s.