Tit for Tat, and a Turn for the Worse?: Car Bomb Kills and Maims in Ciudad Juarez

Could the Mexican drug war worsen? (Note the following graphic video from Ciudad Juarez TV outlet Canal 5.)

It seems so. On Thursday 15 July the Mexican drug trafficking organization (DTO) La Linea detonated a car bomb in Ciudad Juarez. La Linea are a rival organization to the Sinaloa "Cartel."


Mexican authorities believe the group used the car bomb--which killed four, three at the scene and one in hospital--as retaliation for the arrest of La Linea's Jesús Armando Acosta Guerrero, also known as "35".

It's the first bomb to have detonated in Ciudad Juarez in living memory. And it was also a trap for police and ambulance workers and one reporter -- all of whom had arrived to assist or document the body of a dead/or injured man dressed as a police officer in a vehicle. While they worked on the man's body, the bomb in the vehicle went off. The cameraman was injured in the blast.

Scenes of the aftermath appear in the following video, which comes by way of UK's ITN.

Making the police a target of narcoviolence should come as no surprise. Since President Calderon's strategy of using the Army to target the drug trafficking organizations has failed both in Juarez and across the country, the Mexican State has turned to using the Federal Police, directed by the Attorney General Arturo Chavez Chavez. This puts another institutional actor into an already heady mix to combat drug trafficking organizations. For what it's worth, Attorney General Chavez quickly discounted that the car bomb was a new tactic in the arsenal of narcoterrorism.


Also in the past week, Mexico's Interior Minister Fernando Gomez Mont resigned. This position takes responsibility for implementing President Calderon's national security strategy. No reasons were given for the resignation, but some analysts, including Andrew Selee of the Woodrow Wilson Center's Mexico Institute, believe he walked from his job for political reasons, not those of national security.

Yet news of the resignation came as Mexico's Attorney General released statistics demonstrating that the number of dead in the Mexican drug war had almost reached 25,000 people since 2006.

And now of course there's a new grim tactic of killing, the car bomb, which can be added to the repertoire of beheadings, torture, mass graves, and disappearances. The car bomb may yet prove to be a turning point, but it's an unwelcome addition to a macabre moment in Mexico's contemporary history.

School District Makes Good/Bad Choices on Random Student Drug Testing

When Edmond School District officials in 2008 and 2009 unveiled a proposed random drug testing policy similar to one recently introduced by the Deer Creek School District, more than a dozen parents and school patrons showed up at a public forum saying they opposed the policy. About half that number spoke in favor of the testing.

More proof that it takes community involvement to oppose wasteful and invasive random student drug testing programs. If your school district is thinking about implementing one of these programs, contact SSDP and we'll help you speak out.

Sadly, this same school district is likely to implement a policy that will randomly test students involved in extracurricular activities like sports. Grant Gower is the head football coach at Deer Creek High School. In the 1990's he helped implement student drug testing program at Tecumseh High School which led to the Supreme Court Case, Earls v. Board of Education. He had this interesting tid-bit to say:

"At the core of the issue, we're trying to provide a safe environment for our students," he said. "There's no question that drugs are a part of society. There's not any place in America that is immune from the drug issue. We're trying to protect and keep our students in a safe environment. We're not out to catch anyone."

Ironically, allowing students to participate in extracurricular activities is exactly what provides them with a safe environment. This drug testing program will do nothing more than stop students from participating in such activities by, contrary to Mr. Gower's statements, catching them.

For a nostalgic (and hilarious) look back at arguments against drug testing, check out this awesome video of former SSDP Executive Director Kris Krane destroying a drug testing profiteer on Fox News.

Marijuana Legalization Ballot Statements Offer Contrasting Realities

The ballot arguments for Prop. 19, California's initiative to legalize marijuana, seem to claim two different realities.

On one hand, U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein and Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) president Laura Dean-Mooney argue against Prop 19:

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) strongly opposes Prop. 19 because it will prevent bus and trucking companies from requiring their drivers to be drug-free. Companies won't be able to take action against a "stoned" driver until after he or she has a wreck, not before.

The California Chamber of Commerced found that "if passed, this initiative could result in employers losing public contracts and grants because they no longer effectively enforce the drug-free workplace requirements outlined by the federal government...

Proposition 19 is simply a jumbled legal nightmare that will make our highways, our workplaces and our communities less safe.

Interestingly, the "protect the children" claim was left out of the argument. Nobody can deny that marijuana prohibition has been an outright failure because marijuana is currently easier for kids to get than alcohol. It seems that the opposition is trying a new approach:

"Employers who permit employees to sell cosmetics or school candy bars to co-workers in the office, may now also be required to allow any employee with a "license" to sell marijuana in the office."

It is far too unrealistic that your co-worker would actually be permitted to sell marijuana on your coffee break. The opposition has attempted to create a wild scene where marijuana is carelessly regulated.

Retired San Jose Police Chief Joseph McNamara, former Orange County Superior Court Judge James Gray, and retired Los Angeles Police Department Deputy Chief Stephen Downing argue for Prop 19:

Prop 19. maintains strict criminal penalties for driving under the influence, increases penalties for providing marijuana to minor, and bans smoking it in public, on school grounds, and around minors.

Prop. 19 keeps workplaces safe by preserving the right of employers to maintain a drug-free workplace.

Outlawing marijuana hasn't stopped 100 million Americans from trying it. But we can control it, make it harder for kids to get, weaken cartels, focus police resources on violent crime, and generate billions in revenue and savings.

The pro legalization argument also highlights the negative effects of the "War on Drugs". It acknowledges that prohibition has created more crime and violence by establishing a black market. While there is $14 billion in marijuana sales every year in California, none of that goes to our debt-ridden state.

CA Prop. 19 is currently winning, 50% yes to 40% no, according to a new SurveyUSA poll of likely voters sponsored by CBS 5 KPIX-TV. There is some speculation of a slight reverse "Bradley effect," where some voters are embarrassed to openly support Prop. 19, and are claiming opposition to a live interviewer. This may explain why SurveyUSA's automatic poll, without a live interviewer, shows more support for Prop. 19.