Ed Calderon

So this has always been going on.

In a lot of ways, yes.

Brutality in Mexico has been going on for a while.

But cartel brutality?

Like when did the cartels really start gaining power?

I think the 70s, 70s and 80s is when we start seeing the formation of the first large organizations and federations that are working to produce and or to traffic substances through Mexico up into the United States.

Was it originally cocaine?

Marijuana.

I think originally heroin actually was at the start or the initiation of a lot of this stuff.

And where were they getting the heroin?

They were planting poppy in the Sierra for the war effort, apparently, for the Americans because they were running on a shortage of morphine, so they needed a place to plant it.

And that's one of the places where they kind of started like, oh, we can grow this here.

Yeah.

Vietnam, World War II era, that's when you started seeing the initiation of people planting certain things.

50s, I'd say 50s, yeah.

And it's an interesting point you bring up of Vietnam because it has something to do or elements of it remind you of Mexico.

Mexico has been a place that has been ruled over by a single party for 80 years, if that, the PRI.

And then it went through its democratic period.

And now we have other parties coming into play.

And now we have a ruling party all over Mexico called Morena, who is, you know, this is the party of the abrazos no balazos.