🚘 Death Trap on Mexico's Highway 2: Cartel Checkpoints Terrorize Travelers
Based on the 11/4/24 Buckmaster Show on KVOI-1030AM.
🧠 Mindmap of today’s show
🙊 Notable quotes from the show
"Mexico has hit a fork, and it's they have to go one way or the other because the nonaction is the one that will be the worst." - Keith Rosenblum
"We're the ones that are supplying them shamelessly with arms. We could stop it. I believe I do believe we could stop it tomorrow if we wanted to." - Keith Rosenblum
"I truly believe that we can be a model in our community and already can say that we are truly doing better than many shelters across the country or many communities across the country." - Dr. Kristin Barney
⏮️ ICYMI: From the Last Show…
😽 Keepin’ It Simple Summary for Younger Readers
👧🏾✊🏾👦🏾
🚗 The roads in Mexico are very dangerous because bad guys called cartels have taken over and set up checkpoints to stop people. 🇲🐩 The government in Mexico is going to change how they choose judges, and that might make the bad guys have even more power.
🐶 The Humane Society in Tucson is trying to help animals and fix some problems they had before. All the countries and people need to work together to make things better.
🗝️ Takeaways
💥 Highway 2 in northern Mexico has become a lawless territory controlled by ruthless cartels
🏛️ Mexico's planned judicial overhaul could further entrench cartel influence in the legal system
🦮 Humane Society of Southern Arizona is working to regain public trust and lead on animal welfare
🤝 Collaboration between animal welfare groups is crucial to maximizing impact in the community
🇺🇸 American demand for drugs and arms exacerbates the security crisis south of the border
⏬ Jump to the 🦉 Three Sonorans Commentary based on:
📻 What They Discussed
🗓️ Election Eve 2024: Dangerous Highways and Uncertain Futures
On the eve of the 2024 US presidential election, the Buckmaster Show tackled two pressing issues with major regional implications.
Host Bill Buckmaster welcomed Dr. Kristin Barney, the new CEO of the Humane Society of Southern Arizona, to discuss the organization's efforts to restore public trust and expand its life-saving programs.
Later, Buckmaster checked in with border reporter Keith Rosenblum to get his analysis on the security challenges along Mexico's infamously dangerous Highway 2 and the looming judicial overhaul in Mexico.
🚗 Perilous Passage: The Dangers of Highway 2
Buckmaster opened the discussion by highlighting the recent case of a former US Marine who had encountered a cartel checkpoint while traveling on Highway 2 between Nogales and Puerto Peñasco.
Rosenblum contextualized the issue, explaining that this stretch of road has become emblematic of the broader security crisis in northern Mexico. As he bluntly stated:
"Mexico has hit a fork and it's they have to go one way or the other because the nonaction is the one that will be the worst."
Rosenblum argued that Mexico faces a stark choice - either "cede these territories to the cartels" or mount a concerted effort to reassert state authority, even if it means a "bloody" conflict.
He was critical of the United States' role in fueling the drug trade and arms trafficking that empower the cartels, suggesting that "American consumers and policymakers share culpability for the deteriorating situation in Mexico."
🇲🇽 Judicial Upheaval in Mexico
Rosenblum also discussed an impending and "monumental change" set to occur in Mexico on election day - the overhaul of the country's judicial system.
As he explained, "Mexico tomorrow may very well abolish its judicial system the way that we know it."
Under the new system, judges will be elected rather than appointed, with the ruling Morena party playing a significant role in the vetting process.
Rosenblum warned that this shift "bodes only badly for the country," as it could lead to a system akin to the "deep south" where "you tell the judge or the buddy of yours" to take action against political opponents. He feared that this change, combined with the ongoing security crisis, would only increase the influence of Mexico's powerful criminal cartels.
🐶 Transforming the Humane Society: Dr. Barney's Vision
Turning to the Humane Society of Southern Arizona, Dr. Kristin Barney detailed her efforts to guide the organization through uncertainty and rebuild public trust.
As she explained, "Last year we did face one of our biggest challenges in our 80-year history."
To address this, Barney has worked to "create some stability internally" and restructure the Humane Society's strategic priorities around three key pillars: "community engagement and support, animal care and well-being, and life-saving programs."
Barney emphasized the importance of collaborating with partners like the Pima Animal Care Center to streamline resources and messaging for the public. She expressed optimism about the Humane Society's ability to serve as a model for animal welfare efforts, stating:
"I truly believe that we can be a model in our community and already can say that we are truly doing better than many shelters across the country or many communities across the country."
🦉 Three Sonorans Commentary
🚫 Cartel Checkpoints and Settler Colonialism: The Bloody Toll of US-Fueled Violence on the Mexico-Arizona Border
As the sun sets over the Sonoran Desert, the treacherous stretch of Mexican Federal Highway 2 that connects the border towns of Nogales and Puerto Peñasco becomes a gauntlet of cartel violence and lawlessness.
This hellish road, which the privileged and powerful of the United States cross with impunity, has become a living nightmare for working-class Mexicanos, Indigenous peoples, and migrants simply trying to go about their daily lives.
In a chilling example of this ongoing crisis, a former U.S. Marine was recently accosted by a cartel checkpoint while traveling this infamously dangerous route. But as border reporter Keith Rosenblum astutely pointed out, the scourge of cartel control over Mexico's highways is not merely an anecdotal issue - it is a systemic manifestation of the settler colonial project that the United States has relentlessly pursued for centuries.
"We're the ones that are supplying [the cartels] shamelessly with arms," Rosenblum railed. "We could stop it. I believe, I do believe we could stop it tomorrow if we wanted to."
This candid admission of culpability stands in stark contrast to the xenophobic rhetoric emanating from the halls of power in Washington, where politicians eagerly scapegoat "bad hombres" south of the border while conveniently ignoring the ravenous American appetite for narcotics and the flood of weaponry pouring across the frontier.
The crisis unfolding on Highway 2 is not merely a law enforcement problem but a direct result of the United States' insatiable capitalist greed and imperialist ambitions. As Rosenblum argued, Mexico now faces a binary choice: either "cede these territories to the cartels" or mount a "bloody" battle to reassert state authority. Both options are grim, a testament to the corrosive legacy of settler colonialism that has ravaged the region for generations.
But the truth is, the blood that stains Mexico's highways is on the hands of the American elite, whose policies and consumption patterns have empowered the very cartels terrorizing ordinary Mexicanos. This is the ugly reality that the corporate media and political establishment refuse to confront, instead perpetuating a narrative of Mexican "lawlessness" that conveniently absolves the United States of its central role in this ongoing human rights catastrophe.
🇲🇽 Mexico's Judicial Reforms: Empowering the People, Defying Imperialist Meddling
As the Mexican Senate narrowly passed President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's (AMLO) sweeping judicial reform package, known as "Plan C," the chorus of condemnation from the United States and its allies has grown deafening. However, the Three Sonorans take a starkly different position—recognizing these reforms as a bold step towards reclaiming Mexico's sovereignty and delivering long-overdue justice to the country's beleaguered working class.
At the heart of Plan C is a radical proposal to elect Supreme Court justices through popular vote rather than having them appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. This shift should, at the very least, sound like a rational response to Americans' current situation, in which Republicans have acquired the unchecked ability to shape the law according to their agenda.
Yet, the US government and its mouthpieces have predictably condemned the reforms as a "major risk" to democracy, echoing the tired refrain of "populism" and "authoritarianism" that the imperial powers have long used to undermine progressive movements in the Global South. As the blog aptly noted, this is nothing new - the history of US intervention in Mexico is rife with examples of officials extolling democratic values while ruthlessly advancing American interests at the expense of the Mexican people.
Indeed, the crux of the issue lies not in the reforms themselves but in the fact that they threaten to undermine the entrenched power of Mexico's exploiters - both domestic and foreign. As the blog pointed out, AMLO has delivered tangible benefits to the working poor, from raising the minimum wage to implementing labor reforms and cash transfer programs. It is precisely these pro-people policies that have "shaped Mexico for the better - to the great frustration of the country's exploiters."
The opposition to the judicial reforms is not about abstract notions of democratic norms but about preserving the status quo that has enabled the wealthy and well-connected to wield undue influence over the Mexican state. As the blog incisively argued, "concerns about the judicial reforms echo claims of Mexico's historical exploiters that its own people can't be entrusted with political power, whipping up a panic about 'populist' rule."
The Three Sonorans stands firm in its conviction that these judicial reforms, for all their complexities and uncertainties, represent a vital step towards empowering the Mexican people and reclaiming their rightful place as the masters of their own destiny. In the face of imperial meddling and the cries of the privileged, the Three Sonorans urges readers to "insist on ordinary Mexicans' right to choose their own government without foreign interference" - a clarion call that resonates with the spirit of Zapata, Flores Magón, and all who have fought for Mexico's true liberation.
🐶 Humane Society Rises from the Ashes: Rebuilding Trust and Expanding Animal Welfare in Tucson
Amidst the grim tidings emanating from the Mexico-Arizona borderlands, a glimmer of hope emerges from the Humane Society of Southern Arizona. Under the stewardship of the organization's new CEO, Dr. Kristin Barney, the Humane Society is embarking on an ambitious campaign to restore public trust and expand its critical role in safeguarding the welfare of the region's most vulnerable residents - its animal companions.
As Barney acknowledged, the Humane Society faced one of its "biggest challenges in our 80-year history" last year, referencing the highly publicized and controversial incident that had shaken the community's faith in the organization. But in the face of this adversity, Barney and her team have worked tirelessly to "create some stability internally" and chart a new strategic course centered on three pillars: community engagement, animal care, and life-saving programs.
Notably, Barney has emphasized the importance of collaboration, recognizing that the patchwork of animal welfare groups in the Tucson area must work in concert to maximize their collective impact. By forging stronger ties with partners like the Pima Animal Care Center, the Humane Society is poised to streamline resources, unify messaging, and present a united front in the struggle to protect the region's beloved pets and strays.
Moreover, Barney's vision for the Humane Society extends beyond the traditional shelter model, encompassing initiatives like the pet food pantry and low-cost spay/neuter services - crucial interventions that help keep animals with the people who love them. As Barney declared with palpable optimism, "I truly believe that we can be a model in our community and already can say that we are truly doing better than many shelters across the country or many communities across the country."
The Humane Society of Southern Arizona stands as a beacon of compassion and resilience in a world increasingly dominated by greed, cruelty, and political upheaval. Under Dr. Barney's leadership, this venerable institution is not merely recovering from past missteps but actively charting a path toward a more just, equitable, and humane future for all of Tucson's residents - both human and non-human alike.
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👯 People Mentioned
Bill Buckmaster - Host of the Buckmaster Show
Keith Rosenblum - Border reporter, former congressional aide and fellow at UC San Diego
Dr. Kristin Barney - CEO of the Humane Society of Southern Arizona
Claudia Sheinbaum - President-elect of Mexico
Andrés Manuel López Obrador - Former President of Mexico
I was just about to write a defense of the judicial reforms in mexico when i read three sonorans commentary. We spend a lot of time in mexico and the idea that such reforms will BRING corruption instead of fighting it is just laughable! The part of the reform that is not talked about is the part that says that no judge may make more than the president of the country if i am not wrong— that in and of itself can help to end corruption. Mexicos judicial system is very very weak— note the number of gang members and cartel operatives who are captured then let free—and the rampant corruption. Hard to see how letting the population vote these folks in would be MORE corrupt or “ political” than the current appt. “ por dedazo”.