Mexican drug violence comes to Arizona

Mexico's Drug War Comes to America.
This image provided Saturday June 2, 2012, by the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office, shows the vehicle where five dead bodies burned were found inside in Pinal County's Vekol Valley area, west of Casa Grande, Arizona.

The Insane Drug War  -  Try to find a Wine Cartel or a Beer Cartel.  They do not exist anymore.

• Billions have been spent in a "war" on drugs, but drug gang violence has been in American cities for decades.
• Take the gang violence out of drugs.  Re-legalize drugs.  Let people buy their drug of choice by prescription through a pharmacy.

The so-called Drug War goes on and on.  The gang violence gets a little worse and a little more out of control every year.  The only answer the politicians have is to spend even more money.

With this backdrop of growing violence an Arizona sheriff announces that five bodies found burned beyond recognition inside the shell of a charred SUV are likely the result of drug cartel violence.

The bodies and vehicle were found in the Vekol Valley, a rugged, mountainous desert area that's a well-known smuggling corridor for drugs and illegal immigrants headed from Mexico to Phoenix and the U.S. interior.

The bodies were so badly burned that investigators couldn't immediately determine their gender or ethnicity. While it's unclear whether the victims were from Mexico, the sheriff's office has notified the Mexican Consulate.A Border Patrol agent first spotted the white Ford Expedition driving at around 4:30 a.m.

The vehicle disappeared despite an effort by federal and local authorities to track it down. Why the vehicle first drew attention from authorities is unclear.

At daybreak, an agent spotted tracks leading from Interstate 8 into the desert. The vehicle that left the tracks had apparently launched off the highway, going airborne for a short distance before landing in the desert. The tracks continued on for a couple of miles.

Agents could see the smoldering vehicle from a distance through binoculars.

They approached with extinguishers. Inside, they found the bodies - one in the rear passenger seat and four lying in the back cargo compartment. The front seats were empty, Babeu said.

Babeu said investigators will try to determine whether the victims were dead before the SUV was set ablaze or whether they were alive when the fire was started.

With billions in drug money the "war" will never end.
Cash seized by Mexico’s Army is displayed to the press in Mexico City.

"Clearly these people were murdered, but we don't know the manner of death," he said.

The sheriff said the extent of the violence, particularly in the western part of the county - about 35 miles south of Phoenix - is more evidence that drug smuggling north of the border hasn't subsided.

Pinal County deputies were involved in more than 350 high-speed pursuits last year, and Babeu said most of those involved cartel members. There have been shootings, the bodies of murder victims have been left in the desert and just this week, several loads of drugs were confiscated, he said.     (AP News.myway)