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| `Narco-Museum' Used To Train Military |
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Posted by FoM on September 02, 2001 at 19:33:29 PT By Ricardo Sandoval, Dallas Morning News Source: San Jose Mercury News 
In a city with some of the world's finest museums, the hottest one is the toughest to get into. It's Mexico's first official ``narco-museum.'' It displays heroin- and marijuana-processing machinery, confiscated weaponry of infamous drug traffickers, and examples of oddball methods used to smuggle drugs into the United States -- like stuffing drugs into implants. The idea behind the museum, which is run by the Mexican military, is to give recruits a taste of what they'll be up against, and what to look for when they hit the streets in search of illicit drugs. Mexico's military plays an aggressive role in drug enforcement, in support of federal police and anti-narcotic prosecutors. At least 25,000 soldiers are on regular drug patrol, concentrated along Mexico's two coasts. Yet despite the military's best efforts, Mexico is considered a haven for traffickers who move cocaine to the United States from South America, grow and export marijuana and heroin, and control most of the methamphetamine traffic in the United States. In this atmosphere, the narco museum has caught on. After a Mexico City television crew was allowed a sneak peek, military officials began turning down daily requests for tours from the public. The museum, officially called the Museum of Mind-Altering Substances, is housed in Mexican military headquarters in Mexico City. And unlike at the U.S. Pentagon, there are no public tours of the Mexican Defense Secretariat. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration also operates a museum, which is open to the public by appointment at the agency's headquarters in Arlington, Va. But at the Mexican museum, only some military and federal police recruits and Mexican law students are permitted guided tours. Defense officials have also invited foreign diplomats and visiting dignitaries. ``It is valuable for us to see exactly what Mexico is up against,'' said Leslie Kekana, South Africa's vice ambassador to Mexico, before inspecting the automatic rifle taken from imprisoned drug lord Héctor Luis ``El Güero'' Palma, inscribed with a swaying palm tree near the trigger. ``It gives you an appreciation of how tough this fight is.'' The tour began at a plaque bearing the names of 380 Mexican soldiers -- drivers and generals alike -- who have died enforcing drug laws. Once inside, an army captain quickly made it clear that almost everything inside was real, captured in raids on drug plantations, labs and the homes of smugglers. That's evident by the smell of chemical and drug residue at the bottom of glass bowls and tubing used for illicit drug processing. Grisly photos of the buttock implants are also real, as are the consequences: the female smuggler who died of an overdose after one of the implants burst. The real highlight for visitors appeared to be a collection of weaponry confiscated from traffickers -- from simple revolvers to rocket launchers. But some displays also drift toward the absurd, such as a gaudy, solid-wood door into which an artisan had carved the figure of a trafficker holding an automatic weapon and guarding a marijuana plantation. Then there's the scale-model of a captured James Bond-style narco truck -- equipped with tear-gas dispensers and oil-slick bombs -- and mannequins dressed up in cowboy hats, open shirts and loud jewelry. ``That's the attire narcos prefer and should be viewed with suspicion,'' said the military docent. The pale-faced mannequins clad in the cartoonish narco-garb drew chuckles. But the mood turned somber when the tour guide pointed at a child-sized mannequin whose overalls were covered with drug-laced stickers. Children, he says, ``are forced to smuggle for these terrible people, or they're being lured into taking drugs. That's why were doing all this, to protect our children, our country's future.'' Complete Title: `Narco-Museum' Used To Train Military, But No Mind-Altering Tours for the Public Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA) Related Articles: Museum of Substance - Salon UK - High Spots in History Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
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| Comment #4 posted by Lehder on September 03, 2001 at 06:26:44 PT |
| I think you are right. I really do. They want it all. I was thinking before only in terms of oil. But we all know where the real money is, don't we. And we already know about CIA laundering of drug money, Oliver North and the contras, Barry Seal and drug-czar-cia-boss George Sr. Thanks for pointing out the obvious, always the hardest to see. ughhhh. Enough for today. I'm going outside. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #3 posted by aocp on September 03, 2001 at 01:44:34 PT |
| ...just thought of this after posting: After all, it's not like they're actually going to Maybe they've already got their thumb in the pie? Ya [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #2 posted by aocp on September 03, 2001 at 01:42:19 PT |
| ``It gives you an appreciation of how tough this fight is.'' I bet. It's a wonder that these people can't make that [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #1 posted by jAHn on September 02, 2001 at 19:55:27 PT |
| http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/2001/08/huac.html Up there is a link to a site that has just recently declassified info on investigations into American Nazis,the Ku Klux Klan, and other subversive cults that are considered ((to some)) threats to national security. This is for the people WHO REALLY BELIEVE THAT AMERICA HELPED NAZIS END THE WAR, TEMPORARILY, SO THAT THEY CAN CASH IN ON THE METHODS OF MADNESS IN USE!!! The Conspiracy AGAINST MARIJUANA... The one that the gov tries EVER-SO-HARDLY to cut the final scene from!!! ((which IS NOT going to happen, you NAZI-LOVING,PROHIBITONIST PANDA-HATERS!!!)) [ Post Comment ] |
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