200 US Marines join anti-drug effort in Guatemala
Source: Associated Press
Aug 29, 8:28 PM EDT
200 US Marines join anti-drug effort in Guatemala
By ROMINA RUIZ-GOIRIENA and MARTHA MENDOZA
Associated Press
GUATEMALA CITY (AP) -- A team of 200 U.S. Marines began patrolling Guatemala's western coast this week in an unprecedented operation to beat drug traffickers in the Central America region, a U.S. military spokesman said Wednesday.
The Marines are deployed as part of Operation Martillo, a broader effort started last Jan. 15 to stop drug trafficking along the Central American coast. Focused exclusively on drug dealers in airplanes or boats, the U.S.-led operation involves troops or law enforcement agents from Belize, Britain, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, France, Guatemala, Honduras, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, Panama and Spain.
"This is the first Marine deployment that directly supports countering transnational crime in this area, and it's certainly the largest footprint we've had in that area in quite some time," said Marine Staff Sgt. Earnest Barnes at the U.S. Southern Command in Miami.
It was 50 years ago when the U.S. military last sent any significant aid and equipment into Guatemala, establishing a base to support counter-insurgency efforts during a guerrilla uprising. That movement led to 36 years of war that left 200,000 dead, mostly indigent Maya farmers. The U.S. pulled out in 1978.
Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/L/LT_GUATEMALA_US_MARINES?SECTION=HOME&SITE=AP&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
(My emphasis.)
xchrom
(108,903 posts)Kolesar
(31,182 posts)And a kegger this weekend when you return to base! I understand the culture.
a la izquierda
(11,795 posts)I have to say I do not feel good about this at all.
Thanks for posting.
catchnrelease
(1,945 posts)Cherchez la Femme
(2,488 posts)WTG DEA & Obama!
drdtroit
(1,625 posts)This has absolutely nothing to do with the "war on drugs"!
be still and know
(12 posts)I agree with you, by the way. I think it's a pretense to create a military presence in yet another part of the globe. Doesn't this concern anyone? The idea that under a Democratic leader we have so many military adventures? WE ARE BLEEDING MONEY FROM THIS!!!!
Lydia Leftcoast
(48,217 posts)Under Reagan we were told that they were Communists.
Now they're drug dealers?
Perhaps they're like the drug dealers in the U.S., people who get drawn into selling heroin or meth or cocaine because they see no other opportunities to break out of poverty.
sarcasmo
(23,968 posts)Response to sarcasmo (Reply #9)
bupkus This message was self-deleted by its author.