Sylvia Longmire's Blog: Mexico's Drug War, page 10
July 18, 2011
My brief tour of the SW California-Mexico border
While I was on vacation with my husband in San Diego, we were fortunate enough to be able to arrange a brief driving tour of the US-Mexico border between San Ysidro and Otay Mesa. I was offered the chance to observe operations at the port of entry, but due to my occasional reliance on a cane to walk (thanks to my MS) and the requirement to be on my feet most of the time, I regrettably had to decline.
Regardless, our brief tour was fascinating, and we had awesome tour guides in the form of a...
July 9, 2011
Taking a quick break...
Good evening everyone! I just wanted to let my readers know I will be on vacation until July 17th, and NOT (by some weird miracle) taking my laptop with me. Yes, I am purposely trying to stay away from all news about the drug war because, after all...it's a vacation! So, I won't be posting anything over the next week, and won't be able to approve any comments on existing posts, either. No worries, that will all get taken care of when I get back.
In the meantime, have a great week!
July 7, 2011
Kirkus Reviews gives "Cartel" a thumbs up!
I just wanted to let my readers know that Kirkus Reviews, a trade publication and company that describes itself as "The World's Toughest Book Critics," gave my forthcoming book a thumbs up! Here's the review they posted:
CARTEL
The Coming Invasion of Mexico's Drug Wars
Author: Longmire, Sylvia
Review Date: July 15, 2011
Publisher:Palgrave Macmillan
Pages: 256
Price ( Hardcover ): $26.00
Publication Date: September 27, 2011
ISBN ( Hardcover ): 978-0-230-11137-0
Category: Nonfiction
Overview of the...
July 4, 2011
Should drug legalization advocates be pursuing decriminalization instead?
After my panel interview on KNPR last week to discuss the pros and cons of legalizing marijuana, I was left with a lot of food for thought. There were some great points made by everyone involved, and I haven't thought about the issue - or the practical domestic 
ramifications - of such a dramatic shift in US drug policy as deeply and extensively as I have in the last week.
Then I read an intriguing Twitter post a few days ago, and my brain has been spinning ever since. Essentially, it...
June 30, 2011
Live panel interview today on KNPR (Las Vegas)
Later this morning (specifically, at noon EST/9am PST), I'll be doing a live panel interview on State of Nevada Public Radio (KNPR) to discuss the pros and cons of drug legalization. The other panel guests will be Jude Joffe-Block, reporter for Nevada Public Radio, Keith Humphries, Prof of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University (and White House policy advisor), and Allen St. Pierre, Exec Director of NORML. I'm sure this will be a lively and informative discussion!
To tune in...
June 29, 2011
BOOK REVIEW: "El Narco: Inside Mexico's Criminal Insurgency," by Ioan Grillo
Every so often in this business of following Mexico's drug war, I come across an analyst or writer who really gets it. Don't get me wrong; there are dozens of academics, journalists, analysts, politicians, law enforcement agents, etc. who have a really good handle on the 
situation in Mexico. But many times, because of what their job entails, they have a limited view of the big picture, or some of the more in-depth, nuanced issues. I've been reading Ioan Grillo's work for some time, and he...
June 26, 2011
Interview for The Jaco Report on St Louis FOX2 News
Last week, I did a lengthy interview for The Jaco Report, a news program on the local St Louis FOX2 station. We talked about the heroin trade in St Louis, as well as the overall drug war and its impact on the US. It aired this morning, and if you'd like to watch, please follow the link by clicking on the image below:
June 24, 2011
"Despite El Chango Arrest, Violence Likely to Grow in Mexico."
Here is an excerpt from Guy Taylor's article in World Politics Review (in which I'm heavily quoted):
"The capture this week of La Familia Michoacana drug cartel boss José de Jesús Méndez, aka El Chango or the Monkey, represents a shiny notch on the belt of Mexican President 
Felipe Calderón, whose five-year-old presidency has been defined by its war against drug kingpins. But the arrest is unlikely to stem the ongoing violence that has caused frustrations to mount among Mexican voters...
June 23, 2011
Interview on KURV 710 (Fox News Radio)
This morning, I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Tim Sullivan for KURV 710's "The Valley's Morning News." We talked a bit about my background, about Cartel, and about the lack of a definition of border violence spillover. If you'd like to listen (it's about 5 min long), please click below!
"Guns in Mexico: A challenge to Obama and the NRA"
Here is an excerpt from my op-ed in today's San Diego Union-Tribune:
"Here is a public challenge to both the National Rifle Association and the Obama administration. I challenge you to prove that either of you has any idea what you're talking about when it comes to southbound weapons trafficking to Mexico. The issue at hand is not whether guns sold in the United States are making their way into Mexican cartel hands; that's indisputable. It's trying to figure out exactly how many of those...
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