Feelin the Love from Libya to Mexico

Update: Looks like Pokey knows his stuff: Islamic Spring… Anti-Aircraft Missiles Flow Into Gaza From Rebel-Held Areas in Libya via @gatewaypundit ~ SW

by John “Slow Pokey” Ritter | August 26, 2011 | Trailer Park Show

Pokey and Gov Perry.

As Libya is in the news I would like to mention a few things.

To start with: there is no question about the fact that all kinds of unpleasant people and groups are well established everywhere in Latin America.  So I won’t dwell too long on it other than to say there are several sources I consider quite good, one of which is  Vanessa Neumann in Foreign Policy Research Institute. Scroll down to the notes there for some very good info. Others perhaps not so good like Jane Jamison at Uncoverage.net all give good information which taken together begin to shed light on the picture.

Second thing I’d like to point out: It is common knowledge that if you smell cocaine in Europe, Hezbollah brought it. Again nothing new. From last year,  a reputable source. And my favorite of all reputable sources, Small Wars Journal, here is a piece called Hezbollah in the Tri-Border Area of South America by Cyrus Miryekta  I highly recommend you down load this and take the time to read the entire thing. While somewhat dated I’ll also recommend this from Military Review by Lieutenant Colonel Philip K. Abbott, U.S. Army.

Third: Drugs go from Latin America to Africa to Europe and it’s a two way street. Have you ever heard of MALI?  And what does Mali, a some what friendly country, have to do with Hezbollah and Latin America? Drugs. Lots of drugs and this story doesn’t  stop.

And if that isn’t enough there’s more from Ejike Okpa ii [Dallas Texas] in The African Executive. It’s not anything new from our friends at The UN in 2008.  I could go on and on – but you get the idea.

Fourth — I promise, I’m getting to my point: Libya is collapsing and we all know they have some really neat stuff. I’m not too worried about the really nasty stuff. Here are two from a moderately reliable source [Associated Press]. First the nasty stuff and then the lesser nasty. Like I said those two stories don’t overly alarm me, I’m looking at this from a Border/Drug smuggling/TCO [Transnational Criminal Organizations] aspect. Chemical weapons just don’t fit. Chemical weapons are really bad for business, they are hard to handle. If one were to be used all kinds of hell would come down on cartel members’ heads. Let’s face it, it’s just bad for business. In my opinion, there is just no use for them.

Fifth: What ties together Libya and the Texas/Mexican border and what worries me: SA-7s. These are nasty little things, and Libya has lot’s of them, or did. According to Reuters News some may already be in Mali, from this past April . I find no reason to doubt this story.  Not a great record against Fighter Jets but BETTER against helicopters and civilian jet liners. For TCO’s or terrorist  SA-7s are much easier and safer to handle than chemical weapons.

In conclusion, for Mexican drug people, SA-7s could be just what the doctor ordered for those pesky Army helicopters. And as for terrorists, again much easier to handle and transport than chemical weapons. Contrary to popular belief, it would be very difficult for a terrorist group to enlist the aid of a Mexican drug smuggling group in their efforts to get chemical weapons or SA-7s into this country. Smugglers have no love for America but they know what would happen to themselves when the smoke cleared. Very bad for business.

There may be evidence that certain terrorist groups may not need Mexican help in smuggling stuff into this country. I just haven’t seen anything credible that they have such capability.

I’m not too worried about seeing these missiles here. As Stratfor says they’re not likely to do anything too stupid.

But if I was a Mexican Army helicopter pilot I might be a little nervous.

Related: The Bloody Aftermath of NATO’s Libya War 

Libyan Weapons are Disappearing - IPT