NR: "America really is not
yet fighting this war."
Sunday, August 09, 2009
Length: 4:26
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Michael is now on a rooftop in Guadalajara and
(after another showing of Wednesday's
Los Zetas piece) talks to Don Lemon about the
big picture of the drug war -- the
supply/distribution route and the tough choices
ahead for Americans.
DON LEMON,
CNN NEWS ANCHOR: All right. CNN's Michael Ware is in
Guadalajara, Mexico. He is standing by. We're going
to talk to Michael in just a little bit about what's
happening there. And what should the leaders be
talking about when it comes to Los Zetas and the drug
cartels. Meantime, here's some of your feedback,
Michael's going to join us on the other side of the
break.
LEMON: All right. Before we went to the break, we saw
a report from CNN's Michael Ware about the Zetas,
Mexico's most dangerous drug cartel.
CNN's Michael Ware joins us now from Guadalajara,
Mexico.
Michael, thank you very much. The drug violence seems
like, you know, extremely urgent issue when it comes
to the U.S., to Canada, and to Mexico, obviously.
We're not hearing that much about it. It doesn't seem
like it's that high on the agenda. What can the U.S.
expect to get out of this, if anything, out of this
summit?
WARE: Well, Don, President Obama has, we're told,
landed now in Mexico, so he should be here in the
city of Guadalajara. And we do know that the drug war
is on the agenda.
Now, what everyone will be looking out of any
discussions about the drug war from President Obama
is two things -- money and guns. America is
partnering with the Mexican government in the war
against the drug cartels. The Mexican government is
risking everything. Mexican President Felipe Calderon
has sent more than 40,000 army troops into the
streets of his own city.
But one could understand if he feels like he's doing
that alone. America has promised $1.4 billion over
three years, but that's $400 or $500 million a year.
Now, El Chapo Guzman, the head of just one cartel of
many, one individual, his net worth is estimated at
more than double what America is putting into the
drug fight every year. America really is not yet
fighting this war. And I think the Mexican government
will be hoping that Obama will have something to
bring to the table and something to announce, some
real involvement in terms of money. I mean, Mexico's
still waiting on delivery of helicopters that they've
been begging for.
Also guns, the guns that are being used to fight this
war are coming from America. This doesn't just mean
stopping at the border and increased border control.
It means preventing the sales in the first place.
Mexico's calling for a weapons assault ban. Let's see
if the Obama administration can actually step up on
any of these fronts and actually begin to fight the
drug war in Mexico, Don.
LEMON: You know what, Michael, a lot of people are
asking this. In your report you said it was upwards
of $40 to $50 billion a year that the drug cartels --
at least one of them, that they can make, that they
can generate. So the question then becomes, why not
regulation and taxation, especially now with a
sinking economy, if you have that much revenue coming
in.
WARE: Well, that's the thing, Don. If you look at the
grand scheme of this drug war, I mean, it's not about
the American border. It starts in the Andies in South
America and goes to the streets of the United States
and to the streets of Canada. In the Andes, you have
production. In Central America, you have warehousing
and transshipment of the drugs. In Panama, you have
the money laundering and the banking. And Mexico is
the retail end. By the time you get into the United
States, that distribution.
Now, the profit incentive is not going to go away
until America's demand for this multibillion dollar
supply of elicit drugs, every year perhaps up to $30
billion to $40 billion a year, goes away, until this
demand disappears. Now, I don't know about you, Don,
but I don't see that American demand disappearing any
time soon.
So America's got some tough choices. It's got to get
real about this war. You either send the 101st
Airborne Division into Mexico and really seal that
border, which isn't that possible, or you start
thinking about regulating some of these drugs and
taxing them and looking at earning some revenue.
There's tough choices ahead for any American
administration that really wants to tackle the war on
drugs, Don.
LEMON: CNN's Michael Ware in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Michael, we appreciate it.