After his 2nd escape from prison in the last year, the Mexican drug lord, El Chapo, has been recaptured and is to be extradited or moved to the US to be held in a higher security prison than what Mexico was able to provide. He currently faces drug trafficking charges in many states and wanted by the United States. He was tracked using electronic communications through cell phones with Rolling Stones magazines and his representatives contacting film makers about making an El Chapo Biopic, a biographical movie.
After he was recaptured the Mexican navy raided his home in Los Mochis in his home-state Sinaloa. Many people in the area became supporters of him and protected him on top of his own gunman protection. The people in his home town also viewed him as a Robin Hood figure for helping out the impoverish citizens of the area to survive. He is currently being held in Altiplano Maximum Security Prison in Mexico but is expected to be transferred to the United States for custody soon.
Questions:
1. Do you think people will consider the fact that Chapo was viewed in a heroic light by the people of his home town and if so, how would that affect his treatment in the United States.
2. His multiple escapes and the United State's desire to extradite him indicate that Mexico's prisons are inadequate. Do you think that the anti-immigration republican candidates will use this as a point in the coming race to give a reason to increase immigration policies?
http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/09/americas/el-chapo-captured-mexico/index.html
Thursday Night Open Thread
2 hours ago
3 comments:
I doubt being a Robin Hood figure back in his home town will help El Chapo much with his treatment in the United States. After all, it was not American people that he helped and citizenship often factors into a lot of these things.
I am not quite seeing the connection between (for argument's sake) "inadequate" Mexican prisons and negative views on immigration from south of the border. Just because a country's incarceration system is poor due to either lack of funding or attention to the issue does not mean their citizens or emigrants are necessarily bad people. If you are asking if anti-immigration candidates will fear those escaping prison will immigrate into the United States and incite violence on our soil, I can definitely see that argument with some more belligerent candidates (Donald Trump, is that you?). Even if that were to be a point that is brought up, the chances of that happening are quite slim and is similar to the issue of not allowing in refugees in fear of terrorism. If there was a jar of one million M&Ms and only one MIGHT be poisonous, would you still eat a handful of M&Ms?
People need to understand that some people who sell drugs do it to make extra money and not because they actually "enjoy" the practice of selling drugs. I hope Americans can view El Chapo as a man who wanted to make money to support his family and friends in his hometown rather than an evil monster. While El Chapo did break several laws, we should understand that through media, El Chapo has become even more of a wanted figure. I think that if Americans are informed that El Chapo was viewed in a positive light by the people in his hometown, Americans will take a step back and ask why. I hope people come to understand that this practice of selling drugs is simply a way to make money more easily. It is hard to predict his treatment, however, I believe if the news depicts El Chapo as a hero in some aspects this will absolutely lessen the severity of his future penalty.
I wouldn't be quick to assume that Mexican's prisons are "inadequate" as Abishek suggested. I agree with Shu and believe his escapes for simply due to the fact that many Mexicans did not want him in prison and people helped to removed him from prison. We must understand that some people look up to El Chapo for his "success" with drugs. In terms of the anti-immigration republican candidates, I hope Mr. Trump prevented other candidates from speaking out about immigrants the way he did. I do not believe Mexico's prisons will add to the increase in immigration policies. Right now, we need to first educate the general public - as well as some of the candidates running for president - about the immigrants coming into the United States. They are not all "rapists" as Mr. Trump has referred to. My father came from Peru at the age of twenty one and went to college in San Francisco. Yes, my father was an immigrant and I think the United States should be more grateful rather than sinful of the many immigrants who come to the U.S. each year.
Honestly if he were still in Mexico I think people would consider the fact that he was to somewhat of a degree a hero. However, I do not believe this heroic light will save him in america, or give him any benefits while he serves his time. I say this because he will be in america, not Mexico. While he may have conducted some kind of acts of heroism in Mexico, he has only provided more and more problems within the United States. Thus, he will not get the same treatment while in america. He will be seen as a villain rather than a hero.
First things first, do I believe that the fact that many Mexican people viewed El Chapo as a hero will help increase the demand for anti immigration laws? No, no I do not. Now on the matter of do I believe that a racists individual (like Trump) could bring this up in their ideology. I do think so, because we have seen in the past couple months that some people (like Trump) are not shy of being ethnically hurtful towards people of a different race. In conclusion, people like Trump could mention the heroic views of El Chapo, however it will not get them anywhere.
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