Stendec said:
I think you've probably got it wrong - they are probably fighting about who is MORE corrupt, or which group is entitled to which shakedown territory, or who gets which percentage.
I'm sure that in a country of Mexico's size that there are honest, decent hardworking coppers out their doing their job upholding the law. There has to be 5 or 6 of them.
I shouldn't talk, I haven't been to Mexico for 10 years. My goal is to stretch that to forty.
Quien tiene
la plaza?
Historically, the military and police commanders (and their political masters) have controlled the smuggling corridors. The mid-level narco-trafficantes would pay los comandantes for '
la plaza'. The highest public offices would be corrupted by the Mexican Drug Trafficking Organization (MDTO) jefes (Beltran-Levyas, Chapo Guzman, etc). In turn, the national political leaders would move troops loyal to them into the area. The state and local officials would try to get their cut, but many of the mid level trafficantes are ruthless or refuse to pay. Hence the attacks on the policia by the cartels.
La mordida (the bite...aka bribe) is not culturally taboo in Mexico. It is the cost of doing business. Applying US standards to that behavior is seen by Mexicans (and many from central america) as foolish. Years ago talking with a local police officer I found out that they worked 12 hour shifts, 14 days on, one day off and made $50 per week. They had to buy their own uniforms and their own bullets. Looking at the video, the gun being held to the one officer's head is a Beretta. It would not surprise me if it was one of the former INS Beretta 96s. Apparently many of our weapons are given to Mexico as a part of our assistance in the 'war on drugs'.
Non-corrupt officers are typically killed by their counterparts or by the MDTOs within a short amount of time.