by
Edgar Pina
(Translated
by David Brookbank)
Every day or, more likely,
every week, those disciplined soldiers of the Mexican National Army, deployed
at the Benjamin Hill Check Point in Sonora, find in passenger buses traveling
from south to north, suitcases, bags, ice chests and little packages filled
with a variety of drugs.
Depending on the substance
and the quantity, the suspect -- who could be any passenger selected at the
judgment of the uniformed character doing the search -- is subjected to
detention and an overwhelming accusation of drug trafficking in which the
accused is presented with a horror film (complete with the prosecuting
attorneys, police, judges, jailers and convicts) which ends, after a back and
forth between threats and friendly levity, in a request for payment, a fine, an
extortion, a bribe which, no matter how burdensome it might be, seems like a
marvelous solution to the detained.
Nearly one hundred percent
of cases, for certain, are resolved in this manner.
The experience of Yanira
Maldonado and her husband Gary ended differently. Their appearance, their
lifestyle, their nationality, their backgrounds and, above all else, their
proven innocence, brought about their just release, leaving the jealous
guardians of the well-being of the citizenry (Americans, primarily) in the
ridiculous situation of having accused an innocent, while the true perpetrator,
if in fact there was one, got off free of charges and responsibility.
The social cost of
maintaining this farce of war on drug trafficking is enormous. And I am not
referring only to the cost of buildings, installations, vehicles, technology,
food, fuel, wages for troops and officers, but rather to the even greater
delays, losses and inconveniences suffered by hundreds of vehicles transporting
people and merchandise that inevitably must (as we must) pass through these
check points.
But at the same time that
this scheme multiples across various points of the Mexican republic, a huge
number of routes operate day and night, from south to north, by land, sea and
air, transporting enormous tons of drugs, which enter, not surprisingly, into
North America, to supply the vice, the vices, of millions -- yes, they are
millions -- of US consumers.
Perhaps futurologists could
help us speculate on future scenarios on a continent where the consumption is
in the north and a good part of the production is in the south. The
legalization of marijuana in various US states for medical uses, as well as for
"so-called" medical uses, and the proliferation of and growth of
production facilities -- with engineered species and everything else -- the length
and width of the geography of the land of Uncle Sam, are important components
of the scenario to come, but it isn't easy to imagine it in its complexity
Accordingly, realize that no
amount of precaution is too much when you travel by bus, shuttle van or private
car since you will have to face these individuals, generally malevolent, on the
roadways, individuals who in the best of cases will only interrogate you as to
your identity, occupation and the sort of material you are transporting.
These -- who we support with
our taxes -- are the guardians of the nation and all the rest of us are guilty,
until we can prove that we are innocent.
