ZZ Top once immortalized this small border city with Mexican Blackbird, a song that described a Mexican whore—the product of another Mexican whore and a black American, that apparently know how to deliver what they were looking for. Over the Memorial Day weekend, I went there to meet with my friend Oscar.

Oscar is trying to figure out how to make a living for himself and his community without selling illegal drugs.

And he’s having hell.

Things do seem to be heating up in Mexico. Statistics may say otherwise, but statistics aren’t valid in a land where most crime goes unreported.

Traditionally, Mexico’s drug wars involved the business of moving drugs to the U.S. And this has always meant crime and violent acts as the participants of one of the most capitalistic of all businesses—that of selling illegal drugs—battle over turf. But now it appears that crack cocaine is finding its way into Mexican communities. Crack has a way of destroying all that get near.

Coca leaf tea is one thing: crack cocaine quite another. Just as a tonic with a small amount of opium is quite different than injectible heroin. Some drugs can’t be made available to the masses without dire consequences.

I know this is an unpopular view for many that frequent this site, but that’s the way real democracy works: people have to sit down and discuss ideas and look at all sides of an issue.

It’s easy to blame all drug-related problems on the fact they’re illegal. And I fear, inaccurate.

I find lots of gray areas in this world, where the solution to one problem creates other problems.

NPR’s Day to Day show is running a three part series produced by Scott Carrier. I am the subject of the piece. The first part, which aired Tuesday the 17th can be heard here. And part two here. Part three is here.

The pieces don’t talk politics. Scott simply asked questions of me and then condensed the answers into short soundbites for the show. If you want to learn what it was like smuggling marijuana out of Mexico in the eighties, which, by the way, resembles what it is like today, check it out.

I read with interest when a group of sixteen with connections to various law enforcement agencies were caught allowing illegal drugs to enter the US, and also for accepting money from what they thought were drug dealers but in fact turned out to be FBI agents.

This particular group was caught in Arizona.

Todady's program at Democracynow is worth your time.

From their site:

A chief terrorist with long ties to US intelligence agencies is seeking asylum in the United States. The FBI has evidence linking him to an airline bombing that killed 73 people. We're talking about the notorious militant Cuban exile: Luis Posada Carriles. Today we speak with one of the few American reporters who has interviewed him and the president of the national assembly of Cuba, which is calling for his extradition to Venezuela.

much more at the link

By Chellis Glendinning

Chiva paints a picture of Chimayó New Mexico, number one per-capita consumer of heroin in the number one per-capita consumer state in the United States. The book also offers a well-researched history of the global heroin trade from past to present. The picture is ugly indeed.

My friend Molly sent me a link to this report filed by Greg Palast from Ecuador.

Maybe you’ve seen the reports from Ecuador: Amid massive anti-government protests, Lucio Gutierrez, the third leader of this oil-rich nation forced from office in eight years, sought exile in Brazil on Sunday April 23rd.

That same day Greg Palast landed in Quito, the nation’s capital, to interview current and former government officials to document Gutierrez’ ouster and to determine ultimately what it will mean.

Greg is currently in Quito and will be providing exclusive reports available here, at GregPalast.com, over the next week. Please check back for frequent updates.

Before I wrote Contrabando I wrote a book called A Cowboy's Observations on Drugs. I say a book. In reality it is two essays, one on my personal battle with addiction, and the second on the laws concerning drugs and proposed changes.

I had it published through a print on demand publisher with less than satisfactory results.

by Hugh O'Shaughnessy via informationclearinghouse

04/13/05 "Irish Times" - - COLOMBIA: The war on drugs being waged by the US administration on Colombian territory with the help of the government of President Alvaro Uribe has suffered a serious reverse.

According to figures published by the White House Office of Drug Control Policy, a record effort last year to eradicate by aerial spraying the coca bushes - whose leaves provide the raw material for cocaine - fell well short of the drastic reduction the two governments had hoped for.

The eradication effort involves the use of low-flying aircraft spraying poison. These have to be protected by armed helicopters from attack from the ground: since 2000 the cost is estimated at more than the $3 billion.

The poisoning of 337,427 acres of land last year produced no dent at all in Colombia's capacity to produce the narcotic...

Last week I was invited to an event featuring authors that contributed to a book called Rio Grande, an anthology compiled by Jan Reid and published by the University of Texas. A piece of Contrabando is contained in the book.

The panel consisted of Jan, the primary author and editor, Dagoberto Gilb, Ceclila Ballí, Dick Reavis, and Rolando Hinojosa. In the crowd were others of note, among them Bill Wittliff, the screenwriter and producer of Lonesome Dove and many other movies of note (he’s also an award-winning photographer).