Pledge: Brian
Prayer: Rev. Ed
Brents Card Game: Pat
Sergeants Report: Sam filling in for Joe
Happy Bucks: Finally having a meeting after 3 straight storm cancellations!, Pete on vacation, Yankees bucks quickly followed by Red Sox bucks, Rev. Ed for having Friday off, HB for our guests
Raffle Winners: Mark C, Brent, Rev. Ed
Program: Brian DeBlasiis introduced our speaker Mike Paradise
Mike is a PhD candidate in law enforcement and has been studying the criminal organizations in Mexico and their impact on the United States. Formerly known as cartels, transnational organizations (TCO's) traffic in much more than drugs. Their criminal endeavors include everything from counterfeit consumer goods to agricultural and mining to people. They will sell whatever they can get their hands on. They operate in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Mexico to name a few with the US their biggest customer. Counterfeit consumer goods coming from Mexico are gaining in popularity. There is mineral theft and logging theft causing operations there to hire security. Kidnapping leads to extortion, bribery and violence. They threaten to go after your family if you don't cooperate. Hundreds of mass grave sights have been found and authorities don't know who is responsible. Over 150,000 deaths have been reported in this way.
Their infrastructure rivals local law enforcement in guns and material such as armored vehicles which they build themselves and can go over 70mph. The prisons are controlled by these organizations. People who resist are killed, often in a public way such as hanging under a highway bridge to intimidate the public. Police must wear masks to hide their identities. Journalists are in danger for reporting on the TCO's. People are beginning to protest - they don't care anymore, they are tired of the daily threats, violence and intimidation.
The TCO's use social media to recruit by glorifying the lifestyle - their advertisements show luxury, expensive things, beautiful people, etc. They have corporate style hierarchies and once you belong, you can never leave voluntarily. Examples are the Cifuentes Villa 2011 and Sanchez Network 2014. Areas of influence in Mexico change regularly. South Mexico is where most of the cocaine and opiates come from, western Mexico-agriculture, east Mexico-tourism.
Every city in the US has a drug problem and Connecticut ranks 4th in major drug trafficking from Mexico. The TCO's adapt very well to changes in our laws and enforcement efforts. As legitimate drug activity increases, heroin trafficking increases. Drug supplies have shifted - Mexico is almost the exclusive supplier of heroin today with Asian markets declining. Fentanyl, a synthetic opiate, is 50-100 times more potent than morphine. Fentanyl is now being used to cut heroin turning a small amount into a larger more profitable amount. Just 2mg of fentanyl is fatal. $80,000 worth of heroin when cut with fentanyl yields over $2 million worth on the street. It is so dangerous, police must don masks to prevent inhalation during a bust. Sniffer dogs are especially vulnerable. Carfentanyl is starting to appear and it's more potent than fentanyl. Drug overdoses account for more deaths than suicide and Connecticut is 3rd in the nation per capita in drug overdoses.
Enforcement is difficult, billions of dollars have been spent with little effect. As Mike stated, if you build a 20 foot wall they will get a 21 foot ladder. Stopping the money laundering is key to fighting the TCO's. Its an international problem that demands an international solution.
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