narcotics in the most optimal manner, and perhaps to increase his personal power. This issue of personal power raises another important question: whether the pursuit of personal power can be considered a political motive with regards to terrorism. Pablo Escobar did have “political aspirations”74 and was even elected to Congress,75 however his underlying political goal seems to have been the consolidation of personal political power, in other words, as Steven Casteel notes, “his cause was simply himself.”76 If Pablo Escobar ordered, or personally committed, acts of violence designed to increase his own personal power, does this constitute terrorism? This question is complicated and requires a full inquiry into whether or not the pure pursuit of power can be considered a political ideology. Though answering of this question is not feasible within the scope of my investigation, I think it has important implications for the concept of narcoterrorism not only in the case of Pablo Escobar and the Medellin Cartel, but also with regards to FARC, specifically in relation to whether their Marxist ideology has been replaced by a desire to maintain and maximize power. The Mexican Cartels In September 2010, Hilary Clinton compared the recent wave of drug-related violence in Mexico to an “insurgency” that resembled Colombia “a generation ago.”77 This comment evokes again the time of both Pablo Escobar and the narco-violence associated with the Medellin Cartel, and also the emergence of FARC. The question then arises as to whether or not some recent acts of violence by Mexican drug traffickers can characterized as acts of terrorism. The Los Angles Times reports that most of the current violence in Mexico is “a conflict between feuding cartel groups,”78 however there have been attacks against both the Mexican government and 74 Ibid, 2. 75 Carroll, Rory, “Hillary Clinton: Mexican drugs war is Colombia-style insurgency,” Guardian 9 September, 2010, Web, 17 November, 2010, 1. 76 Steven W. Casteel, Quote from: Senate Committee on the Judiciary, “NarcoTerrorism: International Drug Trafficking and Terrorism – A Dangerous Mix,” 20 May, 2003, Web, 2 December, 2010, 2. 77 Carroll, Rory, “Hillary Clinton: Mexican drugs war is Colombia-style insurgency,” Guardian 9 September, 2010, Web, 17 November, 2010, 1. 78 “Report: Mexico is not Colombia, here’s why,” Los Angeles Times 27 September, 2010, Web, 17 November, 2010, 1. 26
McAlone- Framing Narcoterrorism
civilians. While a turf war between narcotics traffickers should certainly not be classified as terrorism, the status of the violence against “noncombatants” in this “war” is less straightforward. First, let us consider violent acts against the Mexican government. On July 15, 2010, a car bomb attack that targeted federal police in Ciudad Juárez killed three people and wounded nine. Two of the dead were policemen.79 That attack was said to have been in retaliation for the capture of “Jesus Armando Acosta, a leader of La Linea gang.”80 Thomas M. Sanderson claims “no organized crime group is built around adherence to religious or ideological tenets,”81 however, this does not seem to be entirely correct. This attack in particular speaks to a sort of primitive, eye-for-an-eye ideology that seems to motivate the La Linea gang in their relations with government. At least a rudimentary form of ideology seems to exist, however, the relevant question is whether this ideology rests on itself, or whether it is fundamentally in service of an economic interest. Mexico’s attorney general claimed that the goal of this attack was to “frighten society.”82 But why frighten society? The Los Angeles Times claims that the basic motivation of the Mexican cartels is to stop “government interference” in order to collect “profits.”83 In a word: economics. Though there may be an ideological code that has arisen within the La Linea criminal organization, the basic element that should prevent their violence from being considered terrorism is the underlying profit motive. The targeting of civilians is another way in which Mexican narcotics traffickers can frighten society out of interfering with their business. In an attack in Morelia, Michoacán on September 15, 2008, “civilians were the object of what seems to be violence calculated to create alarm among the populace and pressure authorities to change their strategies against the traffickers.”84 The victims in the Moriela 79 “Attorney general says no ‘narcoterrorism’ in Mexico,” Inquirer 17 July, 2010, Web, 10 November, 2010, 1. 80 Ibid, 1. 81 Thomas M. Sanderson, “Transnational Terror and Organized Crime: Blurring the Lines,” SAIS Review 24, 2004, Web, 10 November, 2010, 55. 82 “Attorney general says no ‘narcoterrorism’ in Mexico,” Inquirer 17 July, 2010, Web, 10 November, 2010, 1. 83 “Report: Mexico is not Colombia, here’s why,” Los Angeles Times 27 September, 2010, Web, 17 November, 2010, 1. 84 Astorga, Luis, “Mexico: Its democratic transition and narco-terrorism,” York University, Web, 10 November, 2010, 2. Northwestern Journal of International Affairs
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