U.S. ADDICTS KILLED MEXICAN HERO

When Neil Young warbled about the needle and the damage done; when
Steppenwolf begged for God to damn the pusher; the focus was on the
drug, its harmful effects and the evil people who sold it on the street.

Good people have tried to slow the scourge of mind-altering drugs,
calling for everything from brutal enforcement ("... (I)f I were the
president of this land ... I'd declare total war on The Pusher man/I'd
cut him if he stands, and I'd shoot him if he'd run/Yes I'd kill him
with my Bible and my razor and my gun," sang Steppenwolf in 1968), to
legalization, the solution preferred by many leftists and
libertarians.

But neither European-style tolerance nor American enforcement can
claim much success.

In the United States, drug abuse has declined in some categories and
regions, and risen in others, and it has not escaped anyone's notice
that Connecticut thus far has managed to avoid the plague of
methamphetamine. Still, "Cocaine is still a popular drug of choice and
still widely abused in Connecticut," says the U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration. "Demand for heroin is increasingly high, and it
remains easily accessible. ... marijuana can still be obtained
throughout Connecticut."

Throughout these and other reports, references to Mexico invariably
appear.

Most of the drug shipments originate or pass through Mexico. And
whatever residents of Connecticut and other U.S. states may think
about the drug plague, it's time they started taking ownership of
Mexico's plight.

Around midnight Dec. 21, hit men killed four members of the family of
a Mexican military hero, 3rd Class Petty Officer Melquisedet Angulo,
who fell during a raid the previous week that claimed the life of drug
chieftain Arturo Beltran Leyva. It is believed the hit squad targeted
Mr. Angulo's family to avenge the drug lord's killing and demonstrate
the criminal organization's ability and willingness to strike at will.

Is drug violence south of the border Mexico's problem? Yes and no. By
some accounts, more Mexicans are using drugs than before because
improved drug interdiction and border security have forced drug gangs
to lower their prices to levels where Mexicans can afford them. But
the Mexican market is small potatoes.

It's American drug users who deliver the big bucks and keep the
Mexican drug industry thriving.

So what if the authorities grab a few shipments and arrest a few mules
or street-level dealers?

The drugs that reach their destination yield extravagant
profits.

The bottom line is every one of the millions of Americans who procure
and use marijuana and narcotic drugs ought to have the deaths of
Mexican naval hero Melquisedet Angulo, his family, and countless other
victims on their conscience -- because it's the ordinary users, not
the drug lords or the small-time dealers or those between, who make
this industry go.