Teun Voeten - Mexican Drug Violence: Hybrid Warfare, Predatory Capitalism and the Logic of Cruelty

ONLY THE DEAD HAVE SEEN THE END OF WAR

-PLATO

FOR LM

Mexican Drug Violence

Hybrid Warfare, Predatory Capitalism
and the Logic of Cruelty

Teun Voeten

A Small Wars Journal El Centro Book

Copyright 2020 by Teun Voeten and Small Wars Foundation.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Front Cover Image: Ciudad Jurez, April 2011. Late afternoon April 26 th , Javier Herrera Garca, a 25-year-old traffic policeman was killed while carrying out a speed control with a radar gun. Forensic detectives found 10 caliber 223 bullet casings on the scene.

Back Cover Image : Culiacn, June 2009. A body was found in the early morning in a deserted alley in the industrial zone. The victims hands and mouth were tied with duct tape, a common practice in narco-related killings.

Cover design: Nathalie Albert, nathaliealbert.nl

All photos: copyright Teun Voeten, www.teunvoeten.com

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery Getty Images.

Rev. date: 11/11/2020

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Table of Contents

Afterword: Crime Wars, Criminal
Insurgency, and State Transformation

Reactions to Mexican Drug Violence

Teun Voeten has penetrated one of the most dangerous societies in the worldthe narco-traffickers of Mexicoand come back with far more than a stunning portrait of crime syndicates. He has developed a profound understanding of how violence works and why it is so hard to eradicate. His assessment is brutally honest and shuns the facile myths that exist in both right-wing and left-wing thoughtthank god. It is a deeply extraordinary and original work.

Sebastian Junger, war journalist, anthropologist and bestselling author of The Perfect Storm and Tribe: on Homecoming and Belonging

This book is a reminder of what ethnography should be. Relativism is firmly dismissed, in favor of empathetic exploration. Prose is direct and jargon-free. Detail-rich stories are brought to life, framed by theory, and situated in historical context a penetrating study of the human condition, which is equally fascinating and usefulan all too rare achievement in the field today.

Nicholas Krohley, author of The Death of the Mehdi Army: The Rise, Fall, and Revival of Iraqs Most Powerful Militia

A solid, well-crafted, nuanced, but also bloodcurdling account of extreme violence, based on courageous fieldwork. Most studies on crime and violence focus their attention on the perspective of the victim. Teun Voeten is one of the few researchers who does not hesitate to also investigate the perspective of the perpetrator, and to confront the darker side of humanity.

Maarten Boudry, philosopher and co-author of Science Unlimited?: The Challenges of Scientism

Revealing, penetrating and urgent. Fast-paced prose, written with visual imaginary by a journalist who has been at the first line of every international conflict, including drug wars.

Linda Polman, investigative reporter and author of War Games: The Story of Aid and War in Modern Times

A unique insight into the raw reality of modern conflicts. Voetens combination of journalistic experience and academic insights truly reveals how war and crime are increasingly intertwined in todays societies.

Martijn Kitzen, Associate Professor of War Studies at the Netherlands Defence Academy and former military officer.

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