Belgian Businessman Murdered in Acapulco

K

KingLeonidas

Longterm Registered User
Unfortunately, this crime falls into the category of ... "what was he thinking?". The Belgian businessman had filed two lawsuits against a Mexican partner. He was successful and was pursuing a ruling that would have paid him $10 million. But it never occurred to him that he might get shot in the process?? Why didn't he hire bodyguards ... or if he did - where were they? This situation is an example where CP work in Mexico is legitimate ... although fraught with peril.

Belgian killed in Mexico had been threatened - Yahoo! News

KL
 
that's exactly the part that I cannot figure out.
It should have been obvious that this was likely create a disastrous outcome ... why did he pursue it?
Very likely his Mexican partner did not have the money ... it could have been lost due to corruption, or even reduced by extortion payments to local cartels. So it seems clear that using the courts to "beat the money out of the guy" was not exactly the sensible option.

Crazy.
And now there's a Belgian body lying on the street.

KL
 
I've just read the article and it also says that six Spanish women were raped by a gang, it seems as though this is not the place to go for a hol.
 
Yes ... the rape of the Spanish women was really bad. They had their boyfriends with them. The guys were beaten up and then tied up. Then the women were raped. I don't recall any recent news that the Mexican police solved that case yet - but they are under a lot of pressure to bring in the perpetrators. Acapulco has really gone downhill ... the safety record is going to the pits. It's got to be hurting Mexico's tourist industry a lot.

KL
 
Cor, dear, they know how to shoot themselves in the foot! I hear about the amount of drug related killings they have over there, is this now spilling over into other areas?
 
Des ... certain cartels - most noticeably the Zetas - have gone well beyond drug sales and have expanded into kidnapping, extortion, prostitution and anything else that makes money. It's all tied together in their crime franchise ... which is highly violent. In fact, if the Zetas ever do become a successful global syndicate - they would be pretty close to a real version of "SPECTRE" from the old James Bond movies :)

The Mexican Gov't appears to be trying to stop, or control, the Zetas. But that's far from easy. I'm not sure that it's been established that the Zetas were responsible for the rape of the Spanish women ... that crime was brutal and will be counterproductive for whatever crime syndicate was involved.

KL
 
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Hi KL, what also surprises me is that Mexico is, I believe, a deeply religious country. What on earth has gone wrong? Tens of thousands of people have been killed out there and now this; are they just going to sink even further and is there any chance that America will ever lend a hand? So much of what happens there is for the American markets. cheers, KL
 
Des ... honestly I think most Americans try to put the situation in Mexico out of their minds. Most people are aware that it's pretty bad. That's an understatement - it's appalling. I follow the reports of the security incidents pretty regularly, but these days I don't read them before I go to sleep. There's simply no point in losing your peace of mind ... because the cartels seem determined to out-do each with other depraved and sickening acts of violence and torture. I no longer watch the narco death-videos - there's no point in staring at slices of he**.

Right now - the violence in Mexico has generally not spread into the USA. The biggest reasons are: (1) The US Border Patrol is doing a pretty good job of keeping many thugs out of America, (2) The cartels are very smart and realize it's not in their best interest to do anything that's high-profile inside America. There would be a huge public outcry, and US law enforcement is too strong. So the cartels operate a strange double-standard with violence ... inside Mexico it's an "anything goes" kind of operation as they try to intimidate each other ... and inside the USA it's a "keep your head down, stay invisible, and make a profit" kind of thing. The one main exception, where occasional nasty violence does spill into the USA - is if anyone tries to rip off the cartels for money or drugs. That is pretty stupid, and the general population gets the point.

I see no resolution ... until America is willing to come clean and legalize drugs. Obviously if we've got that many people who are willing to be users, we may as well face reality and change the law. That's my opinion, anyway.

As for Mexico itself - I can't see any hope until drug profits stop rolling in from the USA. They've got what ... maybe 50,000-60,000 people dead over the last 6 years from these drug wars. There's a whole generation of young Mexicans growing up in a "warzone atmosphere" where all forms of social conscience have been "raped" by the violence. Psychologically, it will destroy them if it goes on for another decade.

KL
 
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I have never understood why America pursues waging war across the globe, whilst a more sickening one is being fought across a river on their very own doorstep......... Ooops, forgot the magic word..'OIL!'

*WAR* - Americas way of teaching itself geography!

max
 
This is a good point maxi', America takes a keen interest in may parts of the globe where there is humanitarian suffering, Syria for example. Although they have not involved their own military they have spoken out whereas on their own doorstep, a horrific war is being fought by civilians which the Mexican government cannot control. How can so many people be allowed to die and this drug trade still is allowed to continue?

KL, you write very well. As you say, can the Mexicans possibly put up with another ten years of their living hell and what will it take for the US forces to get involved? By that, I mean boots on the ground not just diplomatic efforts. You provide an answer and you suggest that the legalisation of drugs is a possible solution, is this what it is going to take to end the slaughter? Is there any other possible solution?

cheers, des
 
Des .... I've thought about it from various angles. I see no real solution to the problem - except for the USA to legalize some drugs. I don't think it's necessary to go wild and legalize them all. But if America could legalize a few of the most popular ones - like marijuana and cocaine - it would take a big bite out of the profits from the drug cartels. I don't see any other way of stopping them, or the horrendous violence in Mexico. Personally I'm not a fan of the drugs and don't use them myself. But if America could find a way to legalize them, while minimizing some of the negative consequences, it's probably the only way to go forwards. I think that the USA needs to look at options for legalization. For example, why not do what Amsterdam does - just have certain establishments where people can go to smoke marijuana or do other legal drugs? So the drug use is confined to a specific business location. And have arranged drivers, or taxis, to take them home. If the consumers do not damage to society, is there any great harm to this? Otherwise, I'm afraid the violence and corruption in Mexico will be endless. There is just too much money in the drug profits and it will overhwelm the resources of any small country.

A couple of states in the USA have moved to make marijuana legal - Colorado and Washington. So it will be interesting to see if more states and cities join this trend. Right now there's a definite conflict between the state laws and the national laws - the Feds don't like it, but they are not getting any cooperation from local citizens about the issue. And to be realistic, if you walk around certain places here in Los Angeles (e.g. Venice Beach) marijuana use is almost flagrant. Local police can't really intervene when something is so widely used ... they just try to stop violence or varancy in the area.

Other than that - I don't see how Mexico gets on top of their violence problem. Guns and weapons will alwsy flow to the cartels - that cannot be prevented. If those guys can import hundreds of tons of chemicals into Mexico to make methampetamines, then they can certainly lay their hands on handguns, AK-47's, sniper rifles, grenades, and whatever else they need. So long as the money flow - the cartels will prosper. And they don't have much incentive to quell the violence and intimidation.

KL
 
Haha! Good question mate.
BTW I know the movie you're referring to - it's one of a few I keep at home :) And you're right - the Belgian businessman could have used the help of an experienced CP man during that job in Acapulco ... he might have lived to see his home again.

It never pays off - when clients go "cheap" :)

KL
 
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I wouldn't be surprised, mate, if those very words have been spoken by some people in Acapulco.

Returning briefly to something I was talking about earlier - the possibility of ending the drug war (and violence) by legalizing certain drugs in the USA. Here is an interesting news article that talks about the battle shaping up between the US Government and two states - who have diametrically opposed views to Federal laws about the legalization of marijuana. This is going to be a long and complex fight ... because there are a lot of local people supporting these legalization measures.

Before more states legalize pot, Obama must enforce federal law - Yahoo! News

KL
 
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there are good arguments on both sides for the containment of the problem or perhaps more accurate, to stop the worsening of the problem. Its a complex issue which I feel requires in-depth knowledge and even then, there is evidence to support opposing sides. For the Mexicans its just a really tragic story. The deaths in that country is just the start of the trail of misery that drugs brings: this product, when it reaches the people on the streets, spreads more harm, misery and despair and death so the death toll is much greater overall.

The same argument about legalisation is made over here and again, strong arguments support both sides, to legalise or not to legalise. They've tried to stop the growers but they can't, they can't stop the imports and they can't stop the arrival on the streets of these drugs. So does the education of people, young people in the main I'm thinking, have to start at school to alert them to the dangers of sliding down this slippery road of drug abuse? Is a better system needed to tackle through education to prevent people becoming interested in drugs? Perhaps society has to do more but where money is involved someone is going to try and make a fast buck. To make an analogy; take a look at the bankers, they have destroyed many peoples' lives, and perhaps even destroyed whole countries in order to make a fast buck but they still walk the streets, another form of societal drug?

cheers, des
 
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