The presence of non-combatants was a factor that was not presented until now, or at least I hadn't seen it. It was my understanding that this took place outside a community, not in one. Thus there is no legitimate basis to suggest indifference on my part regarding the general public's safety in a Mexican community.
Yes, violence begats violence for a while, but eventually it begats peace, often after a major conflict where both sides get hurt. Wars like these never go on forever. Eventually both leaders and participants tire of it, realize they're getting nowhere and take stock of their losses. If the Mexican government can't stop the fighting - and I don't think it can right now - the best course left is to let the narcos wear each other down to the point they're ready for a truce. Desertions often follow major engagements. This war will likely leave the narcos much weaker than they were before. I've noticed the Mexican army and navy have been saving their troops, as they did the other day, while the Sinaloans, Leytas and the other challengers have been expending theirs. Maybe the government troops will eventually become the dominant force just by keeping their powder dry and waiting for a battered, war-weary narco leader to make a mistake.
This isn't an ideal solution, and I wouldn't recommend it for Connecticut, but Mexico isn't Connecticut. If it was, I'd recommend serving summonses on all the narcos, having them appear before a grand jury, issue indictments, make them post bond to keep out of jail, let them remain free until their trials, then set them free again after the verdicts and expect them to show up for sentencing, which would include a stretch in prison with a rehab program that includes awareness training stressing the effects of violence on victims and their families and some courses in conflict management. But I'm not sure all that would work real well in Mexico right now.
Actually, I always thought recognizing and accepting that some cultures are different from mine and accepting that this isn't necessarily a bad, was a sign that I'm enlightened and all that. Seems a guy can't win when the political correctness police feel like going on a tear.
