Over at borderlandbeat.com, we learn that Mexico’s legislature has “reformed” their anti-terrorist laws to do, well, anything they want (Harry Reid is jealous). What they really, really want: reign-in the auto-defensa or citizen militia groups that have taken over large swathes of Michoacan. The ADs (as they are now called) took-up arms, illegally, to stop the rape, torture and murder inflicted on the residents by the Templario drug cartel, under the watchful, well-paid eyes of the local police and Mexican military. While AD infighting reveals the potential for an out-of-the-frying-pan-into-the-fire sitch, anything is better than the horrors perpetuated by the cartels, supported by the government. Which is determined to disarm the ADs and return control to the cartels. Full article after the jump . . .
DD. As reported yesterday in a story posted by Pepe on the Forum, the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) imposed charges of ‘organized crime in the form of terrorism’ against AUC members of Yurécuaro, who were arrested for the murder of PAN mayor Tanhuato, Gustavo Garibay García, which occurred on 22 of March.
For the first time the PGR has filed charges that make it implicit that a community group of self-defense is a criminal organization that commits illegal such as terrorism. On February 11, the Mexican Senate approved reform of the laws concerning terrorism.
The reform law provides jail terms of 15 to 40 years and fines from 27,000 to 80,000 pesos (roughly US$2,045 to $6056) for those who use chemical, biological or radioactive weapons or arms of any other kind to carry out acts that seek to generate fear among the population. The bill states that this punishment will be applied to those who “intentionally commit actions affecting public or private goods or services against the physical or emotional integrity of people, or their lives, that cause alarm, fear or terror in the population or in a group or sector of the population, that threaten national security or pressure the authorities or individuals to make a determination.” If the so-called terrorist attack affects publicly accessible property or the national economy or if hostages are taken, the penalty will be increased by half.
Critics of the new law fear that with such a vague definition in the Mexican security reform, the new law could be used to advance political agendas, suppress social manifestations, persecute opposition parties or individuals and silence critics.
How this relates to the Santa Ana Michoacanos was raised by Pepe in the Forum article when he asked : “Will paisanos sending assistance to AD’s (auto-defensas or citizen militias) who don’t disarm be open to U.S. charges of funding terrorism?”
That possibility remains a ticking time bomb.