Sylvia Longmire's Blog: Mexico's Drug War

It’s very rare for a television show to come along that makes me think, This could really change everything. In a political time in our country when we are deeply divided over the best way to achieve immigration reform and how best to secure our borders, it’s more important than ever to more fully understand the underlying cause for mass illegal immigration into the United States. It’s also critical to realize that as we endlessly debate the issue, hundreds, if not thousands, of migrants wi...

On February 22nd, the details of the arrest of Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán were slow to emerge. The notorious leader of the Sinaloa Federation, the largest and most powerful drug cartel in Mexico, had been on the run from authorities for 13 years.
Word was that he was paying his bodyguards and corrupt police at last $1 million per month to keep his whereabouts secret, and for a long time it worked.

However over the weekend, his luck ran out. Guzmán grew tired of being hole...

The arrest on Saturday morning of the Sinaloa cartel’s front man, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán, was not just a victory for the Mexican government. It foretold the end of the mafia-esque era of “old school” drug cartels that characterized several decades in the history of Mexican drug trafficking. The future narco landscape is now littered with roughly 80 smaller gangs and mini cartels that are fighting to the death for their share of the multi-billion dollar illegal drug...

Our southwest border with Mexico is completely unlike any other part of the United States. It is also a place that needs to be personally experienced in order to fully understand the complexities and nuances of life next to another country. But Mexico is not just any country; it is our third largest trading partner, and our two nations share a cultural bond that goes back over a hundred years. This cross-border relationship hasn’t always been pretty, and at some points in history, it has been...

Here is an excerpt from this Associated Press article in The Guardian:

"Hundreds of vigilantes in Mexico were involved in a gun battle with a drug cartel over the weekend in a fight to control territory. Members of so-called self-defence groups entered Nueva Italia in Michoacán state in an effort to liberate towns from the control of the Knights Templar cartel. Opponents and critics say the vigilantes are backed by a rival cartel, something the groups deny. Hundreds...

I'm very excited to announce that I've expanded my consulting business to include very brief online courses about various issues stemming from Mexico's drug war! Three courses are live right now:

A History of Mexican Drug Cartels

An Overview of Drug Trafficking in Mexico

Mexican Marijuana Grows in the United States

 ...

I'm very proud to announce that both the official website and trailer for my forthcoming book, Border Insecurity: Why Big Money, Fences, and Drones Aren't Making Us Safer, are up! 

You can visit the wesbite here: Border Insecurity  Feel free to explore reviews as I accumulate them, images from the book, and events as they get scheduled!

And after many hours of hard work, I'm very excited to present the official trailer...

I bought this book a few months ago when it first came out, but since I've been working furiously on my own manuscript, I haven't had time for any recreational reading until a few days ago. Since it came out, I've been reading many glowing reviews, so my anticipation of
cracking the book - or Kindle, as it were - open was growing. I read the book over just two days, and to say the least, I wasn't disappointed. Here's the book description from Amazon.com:

"In the last...

I was very lucky to have been asked to do a peer review of this manuscript during the publishing process, as I got to read this admirable work before almost anyone else. I get
asked to do a lot of reviews of books dealing with Mexico's drug war, and while I love expanding my knowledge of the subject, sometimes the material gets a bit repetitive. That's just the nature of our business; there are certain facts and issues you have to hit in case your readers are wholly unfamiliar with th...

Here are the basics of the arrest from a CBS News report:

"A top drug cartel figure wanted by the U.S. government since 2008 was arrested Saturday in Mexico, CBS News reports. Two law enforcement sources told CBS News that Mario Ramirez-
Trevino, also known as Mario Pelon, was captured Saturday morning by Mexican authorities. Ramirez-Trevino is the head of Mexico's Gulf Cartel. The arrest took place at Ramirez-Trevino's house in northern Mexico between Rio Bravo...