Charles Bowden on Mexico's Dirty War Against Drugs

by via Democracy Now

Tue, Aug 11, 2009 7:34AM

Tuesday, August 11, 2009 :Last week Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy blocked the release of a State Department report affirming that Mexico has respected human rights in its fight against drug cartels. Leahy's move holds up more than $100 million dollars in U.S. aid. The money has been delayed under a law linking fifteen percent of U.S. funding to Mexico under the Meridia Initiative to Mexico"s record on human rights. On Monday, President Obama praised the Mexican government for its handling of the drug war. We speak with Charles Bowden, a reporter who has been extensively covering the human consequences of Mexico"s drug war.

He has recently published two articles on Mexico"s drug war. His latest is called “We Bring Fear”, appearing in the current issue of Mother Jones magazine. The piece chronicles the case of Emilio Gutiérrez Soto, a Mexican reporter who"s seeking political asylum in the United Stated to escape threats from the Mexican military. Another article, a profile of a Mexican police commander who"s also worked as a paid assassin for drug cartels, appeared in the May issue of Harper’s Magazine. His most recent book is “Some of the Dead Are Still Breathing: Living in the Future.”

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