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Ralph Averill's avatar

The source of the violence in Central America are criminal gangs financed to a great degree by the high-profit trade in illegal drugs destined for the US. The people fleeing the violence are yet more victims of the 50+ yr old US War on Drugs.

De-criminalizing drugs won’t make those gangs disappear, but it would take away most of their power, as well as weakening the US police/ criminal justice/prisons industrial complex that undermines communities of color.

But that was the real purpose, right?

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Stuart Attewell (Paris, Fr)'s avatar

It undermines those of a vaguely white or pinkish skin too. They want to keep everybody under control. The cheap heroin epidemic that followed the opiod pain killers throughout the country was colourblind.

Legalize the drug business and the same oligarchs then treat it as an investment opportunity and are mostly very much more attentive to the "efficiency and blamelessness" of their supply chain and the places that they source their inputs.

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Ralph Averill's avatar

While addiction is indeed an equal opportunity affliction, incarceration for drug possession has a distinctly racial bias.

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Liz Ayer, Nyc/MA's avatar

And all the court cases concerning this opioid crisis hardly dented this family’s wealth.

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Karen Smith's avatar

And I’ve recently seen something about them trying to claim their legal costs on their taxes. They have no shame, no moral compass.

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Liz Ayer, Nyc/MA's avatar

Greed is their whole compass.

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Stuart Attewell (Paris, Fr)'s avatar

The "kindly" english owners manage to save their last 10s of Billions. the poor dears, from the jaws of "vengeful justice" .

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Kathleen Allen's avatar

... so, once that revenue stream graduates into the hands of legalized business interests, where do people on the ground turn for their sustenance? I have the impression that human trafficking and sexual slavery are well established industries as well ... who owns/controls them ...? And what incentives/opportunities are there for people to change ...?

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Stuart Attewell (Paris, Fr)'s avatar

Very attractive and lucrative businesses operating very efficiently if not effectively ripping off those families in the poor "south" who can afford the price. But on the other hand I recall what a colleague's "mistress" told me while trying to arrange a "contract" for her sister during my first project in Nigeria in 1974....white men are rich and stupid...they pay!

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Liz Ayer, Nyc/MA's avatar

I heard that our country supplies much of the guns and ammunition to the gangs. We are also their largest market for illegal drugs.

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janjamm's avatar

The US also "buys" government support for American corporate resource extractors which contributes to corporate land acquisition and the removal of indigenous people. Fear in poor communities is fomented by troops, many of which are trained in the US, in order to silence resistance.

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Stuart Attewell (Paris, Fr)'s avatar

Back to policies refined in the 18thC development of the British Empire....commerce drives politics and divorce what happens in the Colonies from whatever is possible in the home country.....nobody who "counts" will want to know.

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Roland (CA->WA)'s avatar

It’s filthy, it’s evil, and it’s true

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Liz Ayer, Nyc/MA's avatar

Yes this happens too— I think China does this kind of thing more extensively at the moment.

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janjamm's avatar

China is late to the game after Britain and the US pummeled and polluted worldwide. But it seems to be making up for the slow start. China is also the home of 70% of rare metals. We shall see how this all plays out as resources dwindle further.

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Roland (CA->WA)'s avatar

🏆🏆 as usual Janjamm beautifully stated

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Stuart Attewell (Paris, Fr)'s avatar

A "win-win" solution for those and such as those who don't care how they make their millions and what it does to everybody else.

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KellyR's avatar

This has been my understanding of the immigration problem, well summarized here.

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