BS

They have many other skills
Extortion, robbery,illegal logging, taking over the lime industry for a period of time etc
They will not go away and these skills will be passed on to future generations , they are heros in many regions of Mexico
The Robin Hood syndrome

Here's where Keith's BS meter would be useful. Saying that the removal from the black market of the stupidly banned substances that most enrich violent organized criminals and the corrupt authorities who protect them wouldn't change a thing demonstrates an extremely naive and poor understanding of the problem, especially on a socio-economic level. Without the endless supply of money from stupidly banned recreational substances, the Mexican authorities and their resources would be freed to actually tackle the rest of the real crime that exists in our country on a much more level playing field. There is little attraction for young people to join ordinary criminal gangs not associated with the limitless wealth of the narco trade. Prohibition 2.0 offers basically the same attraction to young NiNis* as Prohibition 1.0 offered to young folks during the years leading up to the Great Depression. A way to make quick money and appear macho.

Several of the cartels over the years looking to establish a footing in our region began their reigns of terror eliminating local kidnappers, extortionists, rapists and robbers. It's the same way they established their "credentials" in Michoacán and other regions of Guerrero. This story keeps repeating itself over and over. They take advantage of the absence of any real police force to gain a reputation as benevolent vigilantes. No Robin Hood syndrome. They demand loyalty, and the political parties and the municipal governments are often the first to give it, which is why we never hear from our municipal government on this matter. In Chilpancingo a new twist developed this year where bad guys would be found tied, beaten but alive and naked with a message taped to them explaining their crimes.

But the latest wave of violence only underscores an old Mexican adage: mejor el malo por conocido que el bueno por conocer.

The recent detention of a local capo has opened the door for new gangs to fight for control of the region. During the decades I've been here I've watched one story sadly repeat itself while the so-called authorities continue to commit the same mistake over and over (and they will continue repeating it since it is the only strategy to follow for the stupid war on drugs). Each time a capo goes down, his or her replacement has always been less educated, less disciplined, less benevolent, and more violent. That brings us to where we are today and why we're seeing shootings on the main streets of town in broad daylight, something that was unthinkable and practically unheard of here not that many years ago. And it's all directly tied to that long-failed policy often known as the war on drugs.

[*NiNi - Ni trabaja ni estudia]