DPS warns parents:I agree drug cartel violence is a big problem; I'm particularly concerned that nobody seems to have a plan for what to do about Ciudad Juarez, which has devolved into an anarchic dystopia, awash in blood. Against that backdrop, though, it's odd for DPS to highlight the two cases of teen "hit men" which actually happened several years ago. The story came out in the press in April 2007 - see Grits coverage - back when now-DPS director McCraw was the governor's homeland security chief.
Mexican cartels and gangs recruiting in Texas schools
The Texas Department of Public Safety is warning parents across the state to be aware of efforts by Mexican cartels and transnational gangs to recruit Texas youth in our schools and communities. These violent organizations are luring teens with the prospect of cars, money and notoriety, promising them if they get caught, they will receive a minimal sentence.
The Mexican cartels constantly seek new ways to smuggle drugs and humans into Texas are now using state based gangs and our youth to support their operations on both sides of the border.
For example, Laredo natives Gabriel Cardona and Rosalio Reta were recruited in their teens to be hit men for the Zetas. The Zetas, composed primarily of former Mexican military commandos, originally served as the enforcement arm of the Gulf Cartel, but have since become their own cartel. El Paso teens have been recruited to smuggle drugs across the border, many with the packs taped to their bodies.
While such recruitment is growing across Texas, juveniles along the Texas-Mexico border are particularly susceptible. In 2008, young people from the counties along the Texas-Mexico border accounted for just 9 percent of the population in Texas, but 18 percent of the felony drug charges and gang-related arrests.
“As these dangerous organizations seek to co-opt our children to support their criminal operations, it is more important than ever that parents be aware of these risks, talk to their children and pay attention to any signs that they may have become involved in illegal activities,” said Steven C. McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety.
To protect our communities and our children from these powerful and ruthless criminal organizations, local, state and federal law enforcement agencies and the District Attorneys in Texas border counties are working together to detect, disrupt and deter Mexican cartel-related crime along the Texas-Mexico border.
One supposes that kids most likely to be recruited by drug gangs will be neglected, dispossessed, and impoverished - i.e., youth whose parents aren't likely to read or respond to a DPS press release. Further, it follows that such recruits will likely number among the many thousands of Texas high school dropouts, not in "schools," as the press release headline suggests. These criminal smuggling organizations feed off the misery and fear of others, including the children they recruit, so the cartels benefit from a robust labor pool whenever a large, poor, uneducated underclass exists. That group of youth, not those in school with attentive parents, are the ones likely to be trained and recruited by groups like Los Zetas.
In light of that distinction, one wonders if warning parents to talk to their children and pay attention for signs of illegal activities by kids will really help retard drug smuggling or cartel violence? It seems like a strange focus, though certainly from a political perspective you can never go wrong issuing calls to Protect the Children. But if DPS really wants the public's help disabling drug cartels, why not ask them to help identify corrupt public officials? Lord knows we've got our share of those, and average folks are more likely to turn them in than they are their own kids.
H/T: Dallas News Crime Blog
MORE (11/18): From the Texas Tribune, where Brandi Grissom came up with a better headline than mine: Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Smugglers.
Didn't I just see a "Law and Order" episode about a kid who got recruited to be a hit man for a Mexican cartel?
ReplyDeleteYes, it was based on actual events, but the names were changed to protect the wrongfully convicted.
ReplyDeleteThe neglected and impovershed are likely targets but any 13 or 14 year old with self esteem issues is just as susceptible. The message is a good idea but other groups should be helping deliver it; Immigration, schools, churches, LULAC, anyone with an organization set up for door to door workers. And the cartels are right, we have a kid that was caught with 14 bags taped to his back and he has a one year minimum watching TV every day plus other priveleges.
ReplyDeleteYeah, RAS, this "message" will be heard and paid attention to at about the same frequency as the "messages" about the dangers of drugs and why kids shouldn't do drugs. Maybe even less, since there are few pushers out there willing to pay their customers to smoke dope.
ReplyDeleteThe back message here is about those "former Mexican military commandos...." Did you know that some of those people are reported to have been trained by the United States Army? At what used to be called the School of [or for] The Americas. They got hands on instruction in tactics, weapons, torture and all that good stuff. Now, if DPS is right, that training is really coming back in spades to bite this Nation, this poor, confused, misguided, poorly motivated Nation, in the red, white and blue butt.
RAS, I think it's absurd to say Los Zetas might recruit any 13 or 14 year old with self-esteem issues to become a paid assassin. When you examine the individual cases, clearly youth who wind up in that situation are coming from pretty desperate straits, they're not just acting out in a fit of middle class angst.
ReplyDeleteAlso, are you saying the youth you mentioned caught with 14 bags of dope should have no "privileges"? What "privileges" are you talking about besides TV? What SHOULD be happening to this kid in your opinion that's not happening now, RAS, since you snidely infer without saying so that he's being improperly pampered?
I will gladly pay your moving expenses and rent for the first year, Grits, if you would move to Juarez. I'm sure your pro hug-a-thug blog would be very popular down there.
ReplyDeleteAnd all this gang violence is just a bunch of overhyped conservative nonsense.
Is there any thug you don't love? First murderers on death row, then the poor misunderstood child sex offenders, and now the cartel hitman.
Yeah, Grits ol' pal. What about all those thugs in high places? Anon didn't mention them.
ReplyDeleteYeah RAS - he has "other privileges," including living in an unsafe environment which many TYC Institutions provide daily. If I'm not mistaken, you're out at the WTSS. You can keep kids safe in a 48 bed funded program like that, but an Al Price, Evins, Crockett campus? Just "being there" is punishment. I think the hardest transition for any of us long term TYC employees is dealing with TYC "trying" to become more treatment oriented and less correctional. We're not there yet but it's where the train is heading - or trying to. But I understand the frustration as well.
ReplyDeleteGrits, I've been dealing with adolescent gangbangers for almost ten years and I can assure you that the ones that are the most fanatical aren't the ones after the money, it's the ones whose entire ego, their source of pride and self esteem is supported by gang related acts;everything from tagging to assaults by 1 to 4 or 5 against 1. They are usually too little or too far behind in school to participate in athletics to impress their peers or the girls. Probably 80 to 90% of gangbangers have an IQ between 75 and 90 which limits their prospects financially and romantically unless they've got teardrop tattoos under their eye and gang IDs on their arms to impress the girls that like the bad boys and to intimidate the jocks that could squash them like a bug in a one on one fight. The ones with above average intelligence go home before I ever find out what gang they're in. The priveleges are movies on Fri and Sat. in the Rec building or time in the game room shooting pool, playing air hockey, etc. The point I was trying to make is that the incentives offered by the cartels far exceed the disincentives of a stay in TYC.
ReplyDeleteGang activity, and possible association with the cartels, are alive and well in TYC. I think that was well-demonstrated with the assault at the Al Price unit last week that sent several JCOs to the hospital.
ReplyDelete"The point I was trying to make is that the incentives offered by the cartels far exceed the disincentives of a stay in TYC."
ReplyDeleteI think you are probably right about the relative ranking of the incentives, RAS. But it may be a stretch to conclude that the adolescents you describe are going to be easy pickings for cartel recruiters. For one thing, the disincentive of getting killed or spending a long stretch in prison would have a bearing on the adolescent decision making. Maybe?
And, I suspect the kids you describe as being the low-hanging fruit for recruiters are the same one referred to by Grits.
This entire problem is driven by prohibition policies. They would be much more manageable if we declared an end to the War on Drugs, provided a mechanism for regulated but legal access to all drugs for adults (think alcohol and tobacco).
ReplyDeleteThere are no cartels fighting over wine distribution or tobacco distribution.
The recruitment of kids and violence of drug cartles are just two of the heavy costs we pay for an ineffective and counterproductive drug control policy.
TYC has been a start point for these youth for years since they receive little treament, except mistreament. Do away with TYC and you'll do away with much of the trouble.
ReplyDeleteMost of the youths I had on my caseload in TYC (I had the young ones at WTSS ages 11-14 until we had to send them to Abraxas) didn't give a rip about the possibility of getting killed or going to prison. They thought they were invincible (which, admittedly, a lot of teenagers do) and they thought prison was a joke because they had family members telling them how easy it was. They were all about the money, the dope, and the (women).
ReplyDeleteThe privileges under the new treatment program are up to each facility. Some of the privileges at Gainesville was allowing them to have their own hairstyles, and they could earn a trip to go shopping at Wal-Mart for clothes and other items. They were allowed to wear whatever clothes they bought. They were trying to bring things back under control when I left because the contraband situation was getting out of hand.
WTSS got the TVs well ahead of some other facilities. Before a plan could be developed to attach usage to earned priveleges, we were told to just turn them on and let them watch TV all day.
Is the DPS message inappropriate? Nope. A bit on the scare tactic side, but if it gets a parent to get out of their self-absorbed world and pay attention to their children before they end up under TYC supervision, it's fine by me.
Whitsfoe, by the way I love the name, Being in a TYC facility is more of a punishment than it was two years ago but the program is less correctional; sounds like good intentions without good sense (or good information) have failed again. More treatment is a great idea but the way Core groups were used before were pretty effective and most facilities haven't hired the therapists they need. Have you seen the job posting for a contract attorney(with experience) for $5,100 a month? What kind of expertise do they expect to get for that kind of money? They need to hire some one with real business experience to tell them how to recruit, train, and evaluate productive assets. I'm talking about the Lege as well as most state agencies. They needed to listen to the people at their hearings in 07 that warned them not to throw out the baby with the bath water.
ReplyDeleteIf TYC had been completely swept clean in '07, perhaps all the current mess would not have occured. If you keep dirty laundry with clean laundry, guess what happens? And, it did happen, the whole agency is now tarnished, again.
ReplyDeleteLet's get the drug cartels out of the marijuana business. Let's allow ordinary Americans to grow a little marijuana for personal use. Limit the number of plants, and put a small user-fee on it to cover administrative costs, something like a fishing license; $100 per year for a dozen plants. It's a win-win and it might prevent chicks from going banshee like this chick:
ReplyDeletehttp://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/post/Vilified-New-Mexico-soccer-player-breaks-her-sil?urn=top,203447
"If TYC had been completely swept clean in '07, perhaps all the current mess would not have occurred. If you keep dirty laundry with clean laundry, guess what happens? And, it did happen, the whole agency is now tarnished, again."
ReplyDeletePlease study the rules of English writing. This over use of commas is distracting and suggests an adult version of either ADHD or ignorance. Redundant use of "perhaps" is also a give away of who posted this non-sense.
WOW. It seems the dead weight of current TYC is upset by the truth. It hurts when the direction of TYC is shown to be wrong. Did some touchy TYC corruption get stung by the prior post? Only the hold out criminals of TYC are scorched here?
ReplyDeleteIt just the thug life Little grit. It the American way.
ReplyDeleteI think he needs help, but the problem is, RC has to volunteer it.
ReplyDeleteRC needs help. Please encorage it. If we close, dose he get this help?
Damn. Is TYC full of suckers and suckees? What about the help for estranged kiddos?
ReplyDeleteBig Springs is still open I herad. Can't his insurance pay for that? Johnny went there and it helped him.
ReplyDelete"One supposes that kids most likely to be recruited by drug gangs will be neglected, dispossessed, and impoverished - i.e., youth whose parents aren't likely to read or respond to a DPS press release."
ReplyDeleteFor all of those saying this post somehow supports thug life, this is the sentence I think you may have missed. The message isn't that gangs are good, but what the hell is DPS doing issuing a press release (that got picked up by KXAN nightly news by the way) when the real way to combat gang membership is to fight the poverty, the dispossession, and the isolation?
I guess Johnny's plaything would know. Check for STDs.
ReplyDelete1042: Did you just step in your own do-do?
ReplyDelete