Don't Go There - Or Here

The state university system that I work for prohibits all travel on official business by students, staff, and faculty to certain countries that are designated "high-risk." Countries so designated include, among others, Afghanistan, Somalia, Yemen, and Pakistan.

And, as of today, another third world failed country - Mexico.

Which leads somewhat indirectly to today's post.

No gross photos or descriptions of Mexican drug cartel violence today. Instead, it's something more disturbing. The Justice Department is reporting that the cartels are increasingly establishing a presence in small and medium-sized U.S. communities.

Mexican Drug Cartels Spread to Small-Town USA

The Justice Department's National Drug Intelligence Center estimates Mexican cartels control distribution of most of the methamphetamine, heroin and marijuana coming into the country, and they're increasingly producing the drugs themselves.

In 2009 and 2010, the center reported, cartels operated in 1,286 U.S. cities, more than five times the number reported in 2008. The center named only 50 cities in 2006.

Target communities often have an existing Hispanic population and a nearby interstate for ferrying drugs and money to and fro, said author Charles Bowden, whose books on the Mexican drug war include "Murder City: Ciudad Juarez and the Global Economy's New Killing Fields."

The bit about an existing Hispanic population is a little misleading. It's not that a large percentage of Hispanics are criminals or members of drug cartels. Rather, it's that the cartel members are Hispanic, and thus look for cities and towns that have a sizable Hispanic population so they won't stand out.

In an ironic twist, a major reason for the infiltration of cartels into smaller communities is the growing demand for meth -- the poor man's cocaine -- by working class whites. This is exacerbated by the U.S. fight against domestic meth production. Remember when you could buy cold pills over the counter? Now you have to go through a registration process. I can by a firearm easier than I can get a package of Sudafed.

As a result, in yet another example of the law of unintended consequences, Mexican cartels have taken over methamphetamine production from U.S. biker gangs. Now the cartels make the meth in Mexico and smuggle it into the U.S.

In the Silver Lining department:

... despite the increasing cartel presence in America, acts of wanton violence like those occurring south of the border aren't so common stateside.

... the cartels realize it's not smart to exact a Mexican brand of violence in the United States.

"In El Paso, murder's bad for business," ... "In Juarez, it is business."

The reason is twofold: Cartels fear American law enforcement agencies because they respond to violence more swiftly and forcibly than do their Mexican counterparts, and "since the U.S. is the primary consumer, the cartels will try and avoid disturbing the hand that feeds them."

Still, there are exceptions ... there have been many kidnappings and a couple of beheadings on U.S. soil linked to the cartels.

But for now, at least in this country, the cartels prefer bribery to brutality. Gold trumps lead. And given the current state of the economy, drug smuggling and bribery appear to be recession-proof industries.

Helped out, of course, by a drug-using example-in-chief stimulating demand, and an Attorney General who helps arm the cartels.

What could go wrong?