Money Laundering and the Drug Trade: Role of the Banks

By Dylan Murphy
Global Research

Mexico is in the grip of a murderous drug war that has killed over 150,000 people since 2006. It is one of the most violent countries on earth. This drug war is a product of the transnational drug trade which is worth up to $400 billion a year and accounts for about 8% of all international trade.

The American government maintains that there is no alternative but to vigorously prosecute their zero tolerance policy of arresting drug users and their dealers. This has led to the incarceration of over 500,000 Americans. Meanwhile the flood of illegal drugs into America continues unabated.

One thing the American government has not done is to prosecute the largest banks in the world for supporting the drug cartels by washing billions of dollars of their blood stained money. As Narco sphere journalist Bill Conroy has observed banks are ”where the money is” in the global drug war.

Mexico’s July 4 Election – Has the Narco State Arrived?

Michael Collins

Nearly 50 candidates and public figures have been assassinated in the run up to Mexico’s 2010 state elections. Former presidential candidate Diego Fernández de Cevallos, major leader of the ruling PAN party, was kidnapped on May 16 and has not been heard from since. Three days ago, Rodolfo Torre, the odds on winner for governor in the state of Tamaulipas, was murdered in a highway ambush. Torre’s murder represents the highest ranking politician of the 50 assassinations this election cycle.

The political murders by the drug cartels are not focused on one party. The Los Angeles Times suggested that the goal may be to create chaos and elevate the drug cartel control over the entire Mexican political system.

The US-Mexico border: where the drugs war has soaked the ground blood red (Independent, UK)

The narcos have penetrated the US embassy in Mexico City (as they had previously the one in Colombia’s capital, Bogota), their funds allowing them to siphon out a stream of intelligence about future operations against the narcos.  The Independent, March 21  (Image)

Judge Rakoff Nails JP Morgan

Michael Collins

Federal district court Judge Jed S.  Rakoff called off a J.P. Morgan deal in an order that revealed the inside track on how the financial giant does business. The ruling of January 28 prevents Morgan from selling or participating the $225 million loan it made to Cablevisión, owned in the majority by Grupo Televisa, one of Mexico’s largest telecommunications companies.  (Image)

Cablevisión used the loan to purchase a Empresas Bastel which operated a major fiber optic network throughout Mexico. While it was no secret that Morgan would sell the loan to other investors, Judge Rakoff found that Cablevisión, and its majority shareholder Televisa, had no intention of allowing it’s biggest competitor to control 90% of loan.

Cablevisión sued Morgan after it discovered that the firm had crafted a loan sales agreement that allowed the Morgan-selected investor, Banco Inbursa, S.A. (Inbursa), to gain virtually all of Cablevisión’s business secrets in return for purchasing the loan. Banco Inbursa is owned by Carlos Slim, the Mexican investor who also owns Telemex, Mexico’s largest telephone, fiber optic, and internet provider. The Slim companies are Cablevisión’s largest competitor for the very business the Morgan loan was used to purchase, a Mexican business and consumer fiber optic network.

Global Survey: 74% Critical of Neoliberal Capitalism

Sao Paolo, Brazil wealth vs poverty

By Ernesto Carmona 

A global survey commissioned by the BBC revealed that 74% of 29,000 respondents in 27 countries are critical of neoliberal capitalism. This is a reversal from a 2005 survey by the same firm, GlobeScan, which found 63% in favor of a free market. The only Latin American nations surveyed all hold free trade agreements with the US, and all reject neoliberalism by vast majorities. France and Germany believe strong regulation can cure problems with capitalism.

CIA Agent Captured in Cuba

By Eva Golinger

An employee of a CIA front organization that also funds opposition groups in Venezuela was detained in Cuba last week

An article published in the December 12th edition of the New York Times revealed the detention of a US government contract employee in Havana this past December 5th. The employee, whose name has not yet been disclosed, works for Development Alternatives, Inc. (DAI), one of the largest US government contractors providing services to the State Department, the Pentagon and the US Agency for International Development (USAID). The employee was detained while distributing cellular telephones, computers and other communications equipment to Cuban dissident and counterrevolutionary groups that work to promote US agenda on the Caribbean island.

Latin Americans Ditch US ‘War on Drugs’

Mexico and Argentina move towards decriminalising drugs

by Rory Carroll in Caracas, Jo Tuckman in Mexico and Tom Phillips in Rio de Janeiro

Argentina and Mexico have taken significant steps towards decriminalising drugs amid a growing Latin American backlash against the US-sponsored “war on drugs.” Argentina’s supreme court has ruled it unconstitutional to punish people for using marijuana for personal consumption, an eagerly awaited judgment that gave the government the green light to push for further liberalisation.

Legalize Pot… Now What?

By Roberta Seldon

If the proposed bill to tax and regulate marijuana in California passes legislation, drug smugglers from south of the border could make the cash-strapped state an offer they won’t want to refuse.