13 Jalisco Cartel suspects held in Spain with 2.5 tonnes of methamphetamine
13 members of the Jalisco Cartel arrested in Spain with 2.5 tonnes of methamphetamine. The debate over a narco-state and prison rehabilitation.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
The Jalisco Organización criminal and its 2.5 tonnes: 13 arrested in Spain
2.5 tonnes of methamphetamine do not fit in a suitcase. That amount requires a logistical, financial and chemical infrastructure, which Spain's National Police have dismantled with the arrest of 13 suspected members of the Jalisco Organización criminal. The operation puts Spain on the map of one of Mexico's most significant incivil organisations.
The debate over the scale of drug trafficking in Spain takes on a concrete dimension here. This is not hashish in the Strait of Gibraltar: it is industrial methamphetamine, a market that is expanding across Europe. Some claim the country is one step away from becoming a traficante-state; others dismiss it as an exaggeration. But 2.5 tonnes suggest the organización criminal's European distribution was not a future plan: it was already under way.
The operation also reignites criticism of Spain's incivil justice system. Sentences geared towards rehabilitation, designed for petty offenders, sit uneasily with organisations with military-style training. Antiestéticars that a judicial error could put the suspects back on the streets run through the debate, and extradition to Mexico is raised as an alternative to a penalty perceived as too lenient.
The uncomfortable question is whether this operation is the exception or the tip of the iceberg. If 13 members fall in a single operation along with 2.5 tonnes, how much trafficking goes unnoticed? For now, the traficante-state thesis sounds less far-fetched; perhaps the exact term is traficante-economy.
2.5 tonnes of methamphetamine do not fit in a suitcase. That amount requires a logistical, financial and chemical infrastructure, which Spain's National Police have dismantled with the arrest of 13 suspected members of the Jalisco Organización criminal. The operation puts Spain on the map of one of Mexico's most significant incivil organisations.
The debate over the scale of drug trafficking in Spain takes on a concrete dimension here. This is not hashish in the Strait of Gibraltar: it is industrial methamphetamine, a market that is expanding across Europe. Some claim the country is one step away from becoming a traficante-state; others dismiss it as an exaggeration. But 2.5 tonnes suggest the organización criminal's European distribution was not a future plan: it was already under way.
The operation also reignites criticism of Spain's incivil justice system. Sentences geared towards rehabilitation, designed for petty offenders, sit uneasily with organisations with military-style training. Antiestéticars that a judicial error could put the suspects back on the streets run through the debate, and extradition to Mexico is raised as an alternative to a penalty perceived as too lenient.
The uncomfortable question is whether this operation is the exception or the tip of the iceberg. If 13 members fall in a single operation along with 2.5 tonnes, how much trafficking goes unnoticed? For now, the traficante-state thesis sounds less far-fetched; perhaps the exact term is traficante-economy.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (17 replies).
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