De War on Drugs in Mexico #3 - Weer kopstuk opgepakt

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Op woensdag 16 november 2011 02:36 schreef El_Matador het volgende:
War on Drugs:

CDA: Nederland moet qat verbieden
_{di 15 nov 2011, 22:04}

DEN HAAG - Nederland moet qat verbieden, vindt het CDA. Vooral de Somaliërs in ons land kauwen het de hele nacht en zijn dan de volgende dag uitgeteld. Zo integreren ze natuurlijk niet, gaat Mirjam Sterk betogen bij de begroting Integratie deze week.

In juni bleek dat de gemeente Uithoorn een doorvoerhaven is voor de drug naar Zweden, herinnert ze zich. „Alle reden dus om de drugs te verbieden. Nederland is op dit moment nog het enige land dat dit niet heeft gedaan”, aldus het Tweede Kamerlid.
_{Bron: Telegraaf}

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Leading international drug-war expert Sanho Tree, with whom I appeared on a panel a couple of years back at the C.U. Boulder Conference on World Affairs, argues that drug cartels are not in the business of killing people. It’s bad for business. Certainly a drug cartel or a random street gang may fight for control of trafficking corridors, but state-directed drug arrests remove players and thus open valuable real estate over which rival gangs then fight.

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Mexico: Journalists under attack in fresh wave of violence

Fresh attacks against media outlets in Mexico highlight the authorities’ failure to take measures to protect journalists from a wave of intimidation and violence by armed gangs, Amnesty International said today.

Gunmen set a car alight and fired bullets outside the offices of a newspaper in the northern city of Torreón, Coahuila state, yesterday, while a newsroom in the eastern state of Veracruz was ransacked by armed attackers on 6 November.

“As these latest incidents show, Mexico continues to be one of the most dangerous countries in the world to be a journalist,” said Javier Zuñiga, Special Adviser to Amnesty International.

“The Mexican authorities must demonstrate that threats and violence against the media will not be tolerated, by putting in place effective preventative measures and by carrying out a thorough, impartial investigation into the attacks and swiftly bringing those responsible to justice.”

At least three armed men reportedly took part in the attack on the newspaper El Siglo de Torreón in the northern state of Coahuila early on Tuesday morning.

In addition to setting a car alight outside the main entrance to the newspaper’s offices, the gunmen shot at least 20 live rounds at an adjacent building, which houses a sister publication. No one was hurt in the attack.

Shots were also fired at the newspaper’s offices in August 2009, while several other media outlets in and around Torreón have come under attack and journalists have been abducted in recent years by organized crime groups.

In the neighbouring state of Zacatecas, authorities are investigating the case of two delivery workers from the newspaper El Financiero, who have been missing since Monday afternoon after they reportedly informed colleagues they were being followed by police.

Meanwhile on 6 November El Buen Tono, a daily in the eastern port city of Veracruz was ransacked by gunmen who vandalized equipment and set fire to the newspaper’s offices.

UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression Frank La Rue has said Mexico is the most violent country in the Americas for journalists, and the fifth most dangerous worldwide.

According to figures published in September by the state-funded National Human Rights Commission (Comisión Nacional de Derechos Humanos, CNDH), 74 journalists have been killed in Mexico since 2000, including at least eight so far this year. Those behind the attacks and killings are virtually never identified or brought to justice.

Given the high risk to reporters, particularly at local level, regional Mexican media outlets often take precautions like toning down their coverage or completely ignoring issues surrounding crime and insecurity.

“The self-censorship brought on by Mexico’s violent war on organized crime is eroding freedom of expression in some parts of the country,” said Javier Zuñiga.

“The authorities must do more to ensure effective protection measures for journalists so they can carry on their work without facing intimidation or physical attacks. The most urgent measure needed is to end the impunity enjoyed by those responsible for attacks on journalists and media outlets.”

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Op woensdag 16 november 2011 11:25 schreef Viajero het volgende:

[..]

Mooi. Dus alle Somaliers in Nederland stoppen nu met qat kauwen. Want het is nu verboden. En als het verboden is, verdwijnt het vanzelf.

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Op woensdag 16 november 2011 23:34 schreef El_Matador het volgende:

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Ik heb er geen ervaring mee, maar qat is zo ongeveer de meest onschuldige drug volgens mij. Misschien dat je er mondkanker van krijgt, maar dat krijg je van meezingen met Frans Bauer ook.

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Op woensdag 16 november 2011 23:40 schreef LXIV het volgende:

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Qat is fysiek misschien onschadelijk, maar als mannen het de hele nacht kauwen en overdag daardoor gewoon helemaal niks doen dan zijn de sociale gevolgen wel enorm.

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Op woensdag 16 november 2011 23:40 schreef LXIV het volgende:

[..]

Qat is fysiek misschien onschadelijk, maar als mannen het de hele nacht kauwen en overdag daardoor gewoon helemaal niks doen dan zijn de sociale gevolgen wel enorm.

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Op woensdag 16 november 2011 23:40 schreef LXIV het volgende:

[..]

Qat is fysiek misschien onschadelijk, maar als mannen het de hele nacht kauwen en overdag daardoor gewoon helemaal niks doen dan zijn de sociale gevolgen wel enorm.

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Authorities: Tons of drugs went through cross-border tunnel

(CNN) -- A nondescript white warehouse building in southern California hid a sophisticated drug smuggling tunnel that traffickers used to transport tons of marijuana from Mexico into the United States, authorities said.

Investigators on both sides of the border seized more than 14.5 tons of marijuana in connection with the tunnel's discovery this week, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a statement Wednesday.

Authorities said the drugs had a street value of more than $25 million, CNN affiliate KGTV reported.

"I'm confident that if these cartels want to continue to try to smuggle their drugs into the United States in this fashion, we're going to find them, and we're going to find them faster than they can build them," said William R. Sherman, acting special agent in charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration in San Diego.

From the floor of the San Diego warehouse, authorities found a 3-foot-wide tunnel that stretched the length of four football fields and was equipped with structural supports, electricity and ventilation, ICE's statement said.

Highway troopers found 3 tons of marijuana packed into boxes inside a cargo truck that they stopped after it left the San Diego warehouse. That discovery allowed agents to obtain a warrant to enter the warehouse, the statement said, where they recovered 6.5 additional tons of marijuana. Mexican authorities later seized at least 5 tons of marijuana from a warehouse in Tijuana, Mexico, on the other end of the tunnel.

Sherman said it was the third sophisticated cross-border tunnel found in the area within a year.

U.S. federal authorities have found more than 75 cross-border smuggling tunnels in the past four years, most of them in California and Arizona, according to ICE.

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Ex-head of MI5 calls on government to decriminalise and regulate cannabis

Change policy and look at alternative ways of combating UK's drugs culture, says Eliza Manningham-Buller

The former head of MI5 believes the "war on drugs" has proved fruitless and it is time to consider decriminalising the possession and use of small quantities of cannabis.

Eliza Manningham-Buller has backed calls for the government to set up a commission to examine how to tackle the UK's drug culture and consider the highly controversial move of relaxing the law.

She was speaking at a meeting held by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Drug Policy Reform on Thursday where senior government representatives met experts from across the world to consider ways of combating the issue.

The cross-bench peer said the current policy was failing and it was time to look at alternative ways of tackling the production and use of drugs by assessing how other countries are dealing with the problem. She believes serious consideration needs to be given to the idea of regulating cannabis so that its psychotic effects can be controlled more closely.

"For the next 50, years do we continue on the same well-worn policy track which has proved so successful so far?," she said. "Or will we acknowledge the truth, that we are unlikely to address the harm that is being caused to the world unless we accept, as the US Senate recently did, that much [not all] of the vast expenditure on the so called 'war on drugs' has been fruitless?

"Would harm be reduced if cannabis was regulated so that its more dangerous components, which can lead to psychosis, were eliminated? Should we follow Portugal's example and focus on drug use as a health issue rather than a crime issue?"

Manningham-Buller said there was too much of a knee-jerk opposition to changing drug policy but it is an issue that needs to be at the forefront of national debate.

She urged politicians to come up with a more successful way of tackling the issue by assessing evidence that looks at how to reduce the harmful effects of drugs in a cost-effective approach.

Christian Guy, policy director of the Centre for Social Justice, agreed that the war on drugs was failing but said it would be dangerous to "wave a white flag in surrender".

He added: "Giving up the fight to tackle illicit drug use now would be disastrous; it would further fuel the social breakdown and addiction poverty which destroys so many lives.

"It would send the wrong signal to those who are counting on our help."

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Rise in use of cocaine has peaked, says EU drug agency report

Britons remain biggest users of cocaine in Europe as experts warn of new threat from synthetic drugs

The relentless rise in the use of cocaine across Europe over the past decade has peaked as a result of the austere economic climate, according to the European Union's drug agency.

However, the UK remains at the top of the European league table for cocaine use – as it has for seven out of the last eight years – despite the bubble bursting.

The annual report from the Lisbon-based European monitoring centre for drugs and drug addiction, published on Tuesday, shows illicit drug use across the EU relatively stable, with positive signs that cocaine use has peaked and cannabis use among young people continuing to decline.

But the agency says this encouraging picture is being offset by new threats from 'legal highs' and other synthetic drugs. It says that 39 new substances have been identified so far this year via the European early warning system on top of the 41 notified for the whole of 2010.

There are no signs of decline in their use and more than 150 new substances are being monitored by the authorities.

The EU drugs agency said this rapid appearance of new substances is being driven by a record 600 online retailers willing to despatch an order for what purports to be 'psychoactive substances' to at least one other EU state. The total includes 80 online shops selling mephedrone based in the UK.

The July survey that found these retailers also discovered a much wider variety of products. Many also displayed prominent disclaimers such as 'not for human consumption' or 'for use only as plant food'. Others exercised caution by placing restrictions on delivery.

Ireland and Poland have both rapidly passed legislation limiting the open sale of 'legal highs'. Health inspectors in Poland closed down 1,200 stores last year.

The report says cocaine has established itself over the past decade as the most popular stimulant drug across Europe with more than 4 million people using it every year.

"But the new data presented today raises the question as to whether its popularity has now peaked," it adds. "The financial burden associated with regular cocaine use may make it a less attractive option in countries where austerity is now the order of the day."

Experts say the bubble has burst because the average retail price for cocaine has reached between 50 and 80 euros per gram. There is also a growing recognition of the problems linked to cocaine use that has tarnished its image as an affluent lifestyle drug.

The EU data shows cocaine use by young adults, aged 15 to 34, in the UK has dipped from 6.1% in 2009 to 4.8% in 2010, with similar declines in Spain, Italy and Denmark.

The fall in popularity also echoes recent trends in Canada and the US, which have cocaine popularity levels below those in Britain.

Cannabis remains Europe's most popular illicit drug with 78 million – or 20% of all Europeans – having tried it. Around 22.5 million Europeans used cannabis in the last year but its popularity is in sharp decline among schoolchildren.

A link with declining levels of cigarette smoking, changing fashions and the easy availability of other drugs may all lie behind the decline, said the experts. The proportion of schoolchildren in England who have ever tried cannabis has almost halved from 40% in 2000 to 22% last year.

Wolfgang Gotz, the EU drugs agency director, said the drugs market was quick to adapt to threats and opportunities: "This is reflected, not only in the sheer number of new substances appearing on the market, but also in their diversity and in how they are produced, distributed and marketed," he said.

"We need a proactive strategy that allows us to identify new drugs and emerging trends so that we can anticipate their potential implications."

He warned that individual national efforts were likely to prove ineffective without a co-ordinated response across Europe.

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In Mexico, widespread human rights abuse by gov’t in drug war

Mexico - Mexico’s war on drugs has led to widespread human rights violations committed by the country’s military and police, with a new report revealing evidence strongly suggesting these security forces are participating in torture, disappearances and murder.

A new 212-page Human Rights Watch (HRW) report, Neither Rights Nor Security: Killings, Torture, and Disappearances in Mexicos War on Drugs (pdf), takes a close look at President Felipe Calderóns efforts in battling the countrys violent drug cartels.

The report is based on in-depth research conducted in five of Mexicos most violent states: Baja California, Chihuahua, Guerrero, Nuevo León, and Tabasco. HRW found Mexicos security forces systematically use torture in obtaining forced confessions from detainees or in gathering information on the cartels.

Instead of reducing violence, Mexicos war on drugs has resulted in a dramatic increase in killings, torture, and other appalling abuses by security forces, which only make the climate of lawlessness and fear worse in many parts of the country, said José Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at HRW, in a news release.


Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/314664#ixzz1e8JDPydo

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'KLPD-rapport: Italiaanse maffia-organisatie hartstikke actief in Nederland'

De 'ndrangheta, de machtige maffia-organisatie uit de Italiaanse regio Calabrie, is in Nederland 'hartstikke actief' en zelfs bezig om te infiltreren in de bovenwereld. Dit hebben bronnen bij de politie verklaard tegenover het journalistieke onderzoeksprogramma Argos (Radio 1).

De politiebronnen baseren zich op een rapport van het Korps Landelijke Politiediensten (KLPD). Dit rapport, getiteld 'De 'ndrangheta in Nederland', werd afgelopen juni al voltooid, maar is ondanks herhaalde verzoeken van Argos nooit publiek gemaakt.

Antimaffia-eenheid
De PvdA wil naar aanleiding van de Argos-uitzending dat de politie een speciale antimaffia-eenheid opricht om de Italiaanse misdaadorganisaties in Nederland beter te kunnen aanpakken. PvdA-Kamerlid Jeroen Recourt gaat zijn voorstel voor een 'specifiek rechercheonderdeel' tegen de maffia morgen (dinsdag) voorleggen aan minister Opstelten van Veiligheid en Justitie.

Het KLPD-rapport beschrijft, volgens bronnen die inzage hebben gehad, niet alleen de vermenging tussen boven- en onderwereld, maar meldt tevens de aanwezigheid van 'ndrangheta-cellen die op instigatie van de maffiaorganisatie actief worden.

De studie doet geen aanbevelingen over de manier waarop de 'ndrangheta in Nederland moet worden aangepakt. 'Maar mij bekroop na lezing in elk geval wel het gevoel: hier moeten we meer aan doen', zegt een politiefunctionaris in Argos.

Het KLPD bevestigt het bestaan van het rapport, maar wil niet ingaan op de inhoud ervan. Het korps laat wel weten dat de vermenging van boven- en onderwereld 'voor de hand ligt'. 'Het kan worden beschouwd als een randvoorwaarde voor de bedrijfsvoering van elke misdaadondernemer.'

Noodklok
Vorig jaar luidden enkele vooraanstaande Italiaanse maffiabestrijders in Argos al de noodklok over de activiteiten van de Italiaanse misdaadorganisaties in Nederland. De maffia gebruikt Nederland volgens deze deskundigen niet alleen als een van de belangrijkste doorvoerhavens van drugs, maar is hier ook geworteld. Zo bleken twee daders van de bloedige maffia-afrekening in een Italiaans restaurant in Duisburg, in 2007, in Amsterdam te wonen. De maffiabestrijders riepen politie en justitie in Nederland op om hun pijlen actiever op de Italiaanse misdaadsyndicaten te richten.

Het rapport van het KLPD over de 'ndrangheta lijkt de analyse van de Italiaanse deskundigen te bevestigen. Het document is volgens het KLPD binnenskamers gebleven 'omdat het geen doel was om een openbaar rapport te maken'. Maar 'gezien de brede interesse van buiten de politie', wil het korps het rapport 'op korte termijn' toch openbaar maken.

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Nederland moet qat verbieden. De Tweede Kamer heeft de regering vandaag opgeroepen dat snel te regelen, zodat gebruik van het verdovende middel volgend jaar al kan worden teruggedrongen.

Het CDA was gekomen met het verbod omdat qatgebruik vooral de integratie van Somaliërs in Nederland in de weg zou staan. Kauwen van de bladeren en takjes zou schooluitval en langdurige werkloosheid in de hand werken.

Een adviescommissie beval al eens aan naar qat te kijken, dat nu als softdrug wordt gezien. Omringende landen treden veel strenger op tegen gebruik van dit middel. Daardoor dreigt Nederland een doorvoerhaven voor dit middel te worden.

Het kabinet besloot al eerder van de partydrug GHB en van sterke wiet en hasj harddrugs te maken.

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Twee vrachtwagens vol lijken gevonden in Mexico

De autoriteiten in de Mexicaanse stad Guadalajara hebben in twee vrachtwagens en een auto de lijken van zeker 20 mensen gevonden. Dat heeft het Openbaar Ministerie (OM) in de deelstaat Jalisco, waarvan Guadalajara de hoofdstad is, meegedeeld.

Guadalajara is met 4,4 miljoen inwoners de op een na grootste stad in Mexico.

De lichamen van de doden waren vastgebonden en gekneveld, aldus de woordvoerder van het OM. In een van de wagens heeft de politie een boodschap van een criminele bende gevonden, maar de woordvoerder wilde daarover verder niets zeggen.

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Wietsatelliet boven Limburg (Nederland)

De European Space Agency (ESA) gaat in samenwerking met het anti-wietproject Het Groene Goud ruimtevaarttechnieken toepassen om buitenhennep op te sporen. Het gaat om een pilot, die in het voorjaar van 2012 van start gaat in Noord-Limburg.

^{_{Venlo/Venray
Door Marco van Kampen}}

De organisatie van het Europese ruimtebureau heeft opdracht gekregen om ruimtetechnieken breder in te zetten, onder andere voor de politie. Hennepdetectie sluit daar bij aan. Bij de pilot in Noord-Limburg wordt het Korps Landelijke Politiediensten (KLPD) dan ook nauw betrokken.

De ESA gaat via satellieten experimenteren met een techniek waarmee hennep onderscheiden kan worden van andere gewassen. Dit gebeurt op basis van het meten van golflengten. Het ruimtebureau test verschillende observatiemethoden om te onderzoeken welke het meest effectief is. Daarvoor gebruikt de ESA onder meer high resolution multispectrale instrumenten, bedoeld om afwijkingen in velden waar te nemen. Daarnaast worden innovatieve sensoren getest. De ESA en de KLPD vinden het op dit moment nog te prematuur om nadere uitleg te geven over de onderzoekmethodes. "Het project zit nog in de onderzoeksfase”, aldus een woordvoerder van de KLPD. "Tegen de tijd dat de pilot van start gaat, kunnen we concretere informatie geven over de invulling.”

De basis van het onderzoek is Het Groene Goud, vanwege de historische gegevens van het project en de methodes die gebruikt worden bij de aanpak van wietteelt. Vooralsnog speurt Het Groene Goud met helikopters naar hennep in maïsvelden. Als de proef met ruimtevaarttechnieken een succes blijkt, zijn de helikopters in de toekomst niet meer nodig.

Volgens een woordvoerder van de gemeente Venlo wordt de pilot "internationaal op de voet gevolgd”. Hoeveel geld erin wordt gestoken, is nog niet duidelijk.

http://www.limburger.nl/a(...)elliet_boven_Limburg
^{_{Gepubliceerd op: 25.11.11 07:00}}

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De European Space Agency (ESA) gaat in samenwerking met het anti-wietproject Het Groene Goud ruimtevaarttechnieken toepassen om buitenhennep op te sporen. Het gaat om een pilot, die in het voorjaar van 2012 van start gaat in Noord-Limburg.

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Op vrijdag 25 november 2011 11:49 schreef Boris_Karloff het volgende:
Wie is er aan de winnende hand?

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Op vrijdag 25 november 2011 11:49 schreef Boris_Karloff het volgende:
Wie is er aan de winnende hand?

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Activists accuse Mexican president of war crimes in drug crackdown

International criminal court asked to investigate Felipe Caldéron over killing, torture and kidnap of civilians by army and police

Mexican human rights activists have asked the international criminal court to investigate President Felipe Caldéron, as well as top officials and the country's most-wanted drug trafficker, accusing them of allowing subordinates to kill, torture and kidnap civilians.

Netzai Sandoval, a Mexican human rights lawyer, filed a complaint with the ICC in The Hague on Friday, requesting an investigation of the deaths of hundreds of civilians at the hands of the military and traffickers.

More than 45,000 people have died in drug-related violence in Mexico since 2006 as powerful cartels fight security forces and each other for control of smuggling routes into the neighbouring United States and other countries.

"The violence in Mexico is bigger than the violence in Afghanistan, the violence in Mexico is bigger than in Colombia," Sandoval said.

"We want the prosecutor to tell us if war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed in Mexico, and if the president and other top officials are responsible."

Signed by 23,000 Mexican citizens, the complaint names the Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman, who has a $5m bounty on his head, as well as the public security minister, Genaro Garcia Luna, and the commanders of the army and navy.

A decision by ICC prosecutors on whether to investigate could take months or years, legal experts said.

The Mexican government has denied it is "at war" and said the use of the military in its battle against drug gangs is a temporary measure taken at the request of state governments. "The established security policy in no way constitutes an international crime. On the contrary, all its actions are focused on stopping criminal organisations and protecting all citizens," said an interior ministry statement.

The office of the ICC prosecutor said in a statement it had the request, which it would study and "make a decision in due course".

Richard Dicker, an international justice expert with Human Rights Watch, said: "There are a large number of boxes that the prosecutor would need to check off before he could actually open an investigation.

"It's possible ... but I think you want to be clear on what the challenges and obstacles are."

In considering the case, ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo will have to decide if the crimes presented in the activists' complaint, such as the torture of criminal suspects, qualify as crimes against humanity. "The crimes would have to be widespread or systematic, carried out by a state or organisation in attacks on a civilian population," Dicker said.

"It's certainly very arguable," said William Schabas, professor of international law at Middlesex University. "The prosecutor has been very focused on Africa. The pattern is he stays within the comfort zone of the United States. Going after Mexicans for the war on drugs falls outside that comfort zone."

Activists say Caldéron has systematically allowed Mexican troops to commit abuses against civilians since the military was deployed to fight drug traffickers in 2006. More than 50,000 soldiers are battling cartels around the country, while the ranks of federal police have swelled from 6,000 to 35,000 under Caldéron's watch.

A Human Rights Watch report said there was evidence Mexican police and soldiers were involved in 170 cases of torture, 24 murders and 39 forced disappearances in five Mexican states. "We have known for five years that the Mexican army is committing sexual abuse, executing people, torturing people and kidnapping, and there have been no sanctions," Sandoval said.

Mexico's national human rights commission received more than 4,000 complaints of abuses by the army from 2006 to 2010. In the same period it issued detailed reports on 65 cases involving army abuse, according to Human Rights Watch.

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Op vrijdag 25 november 2011 12:09 schreef Basp1 het volgende:

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Altijd de onderwereld. De overheid blijft structureel achter de feiten aanlopen. Zolang je dingen verbied wordt het lucratief voor de onderwereld om er in te gaan handelen.

En deze wietstatteliet is weer het volgende propaganda verhaaltje van onze overheid om de bang gemaakte burgers maar te laten geloven dat ze van alles doen om de teelt te bestrijden.

2 jaar geleden hadden ze het toch over onbemande reuk vliegtuigjes die ook zo kwekerijen zouden moeten kunnen opsporen hoeveel horen we daar nu nog over? Niets meer, we kunnen wel raden waarom, omdat het niet werkt. . Het vervelende is alleen dat het onze als maatschappij veel geld kost om zo'n onzinnige strijd te moeten voeren.