> Now the evidence itself suggested at least a plausible hypothesis: the attacks were triggered when a bus used to transport heroin was commandeered by the students, and that the motive—because the municipal police and others involved in the attacks didn’t know which of the commandeered buses had the drugs aboard, or perhaps had been specially outfitted to smuggle drugs without detection
That's a very plausible theory. I wonder how much drugs could a bust like that carry.
The thing about the events and the theories is that the real situation is now evident and the particulars matter only in a symbolic way.
Essentially, the students were murdered by the ruling narco-state fusion. The Federal authorities efforts to blame the events on a fusion of local authorities and narcos likely is perceived as an effort to cover up the general collusion between the state and the narcos on all levels.
This is a world in which during the course of the investigation, 60 other mass graves, of other large groups of people murdered in area were found [1]. When industrial-scale for murder and the disposal of bodies are operating, yeah, it's hard to figure out how certain people died and where they are not.
As a cause, I get the impression that finding the students' murderers now is oriented towards not finding some specific hidden villain or exact turn of events but rather on casting light on the entire narco-state complex where corruption goes up to highest level (and extends into the US).
BBC: "Mexico missing students: Search uncovers 60 mass graves" The attorney general's office says the remains of 129 bodies have been recovered from the graves. None of the remains have been linked to the students who vanished in Iguala."
[1] http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-33671636
but it isnt all of mexico right? (forgive me, I have read a lot of books + articles on this but this is my impression) the violence is more concentrated in areas like Sinaloa, Ciudad Juárez, Nuevo Laredo etc.
I know there are multiple cartels but it is my understanding that a lot of the murders can be attributed to the war been Sinaloa and the Zetas up north ?
That's bullshit (about being safe every where unless doing shady business) as an example I was almost abducted while waiting for my bus in the bus terminal.
I know of people missing who's only doing was driving thru a highway to go somewhere else.
This idea that only Bad People doing Bad Things™ are in risk here is dumb.
Good for you, nothing to do with my point that not only people getting drugs get in incidents, as proved by the article.
I'm pretty sure someone could come and tell you "I've lived in LA/Washington and never got robbed", would that make your experience getting robbed in LA or statistics about Mexico City being safer than DC untrue? no.
Also, drug buyers are customers. It would seem crazy for a dealer to endanger customers on a regular basis. So, buying drugs in a shady part of town should be (relatively) safer than most activities?
I don't know about being relatively safer, if you have a higher income than average you definitely can become a target because, via their other business (extortion, kidnapping and asking for rescue) they can also obtain profit, so being successful can be risky.
Now, are dealers purposively endangering their clients? I don't think so, but risks do come with getting drugs (e.g the police/military comes by, a rival cartel comes by, etc). Also, most of their income comes from the drugs they sell in the states so I don't think losing customers here is such a (monetary) loss to them.
You (wrongly) assume drug dealers and their surrounding cast are balanced and rational individuals. There's a huge spread, but when you interact with criminals living on the edge of society you should not expect to be safe.
I wouldn't say in EVERY mexican city, there are "safe" cities where drug related crimes are not a big concern. There are others where you can get shot on the street doing nothing but just walking i.e. most of the border towns, some cities in Guerrero, Veracruz, Tabasco...
I think that's because the many powerful movie plots are drawn from the parts of real life that most people in the modern developed world are insulated from most of the time.
That's a very plausible theory. I wonder how much drugs could a bust like that carry.