This is your war on drugs.
8 policemen killed and the Chief of Police kidnapped. The victims were executed face down on the floor.
Guatemala reeling after mass cop shooting inside station
“This event is lamentable and I think it is a direct affront to the state as an institution,” said Adolfo Alarcon, a security analyst at the Center for National and Economic Inquiry.
He said the killing was a message from traffickers “to the state and society that they do not fear them, that they will use all means necessary to cause chaos and reduce the population to a state of terror and defenselessness.”
Yeah...8 police officers killed in their own station is 'lamentable'.
Drug trafficking is about money. It's not 'really' about drugs. It's about making LOTS of money because it can be done IF you have the wherewithal to make it happen.
In this case, as in Mexico and as is or at least was the case with Colombia, The iron Law of Prohibition plays out: The War on Drugs essentially burtures criminal elements and causes an "arms race" between trafficking organizations and between the organizations and the Police.
it has long been the case the the Cartels in Mexico, via outright narco-terrorism, challenged not just the police and criminal justice system, but to some extent even the Mexican Military, as the choice is always more enforcement, more aggression.
This increases risks for the traffickers and increased risks = increased profits because they can charge more. It also exacerbates cartels finding new ways to move product.
The point of this is to not quibble about "druuuuugs" but to make the point that enforcement of these laws exacerbates the problem and causes direct confrontations between criminal elements and the police. If the police don't buckle to pressure and become corrupt, they end up dead.
Guatemala is experiencing a wave of violence that claims 16 victims a day, one of the highest rates in Latin America.
Authorities estimate that around 50 percent of violent deaths in Guatemala are linked to the drug trade and gang violence.
This way ain't working. It is very predictably making things worse and spreading across borders. "Spreading" is not "being stamped out".
But, it never gets better because prohibition is the incorrect approach, if the goal is to "stamp out" drug use and trafficking.
If the goal is to enhance budgets and police powers without being able to document any improvements even after years and many billions of dollars, then mission accomplished.
This is your war on drugs.