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| Columbus, New Mexico |
One of the reasons I chose to live in New Mexico for a year was to learn more about our border issues with Mexico. I placed on my New Mexican to-do list a visit to all three of the state's international border crossings, and a few weeks back I did my first one at Antelope Wells.
Before I came to New Mexico, I came across this CNN article, On the Border: Guns, Drugs -- and a Betrayal of Trust. Here's the lead:
Mayor Nicole Lawson is only 37, but her hair is already turning white as she tries to keep this border town corrupted more than a year ago by Mexican cartels from falling deeper into financial ruin.
The article evoked all sorts of visceral responses on my end related to man's inhumanity to man, injustice, corruption, political expediencies, and just the banality of acts that result in evil, such as Americans who smoke pot and say it harms no one - but they don't take care to investigate where their supply comes from and who dies or who is enslaved in the drug industry through threats to their family's lives. (I don't give a shit if you use pot - I do care if you are supporting the drug cartels - and murder - by consuming product from other countries.)
Aiee, I could rant on, but... enough for now.
Based on this article, I had certain expectations of what I'd find in Columbus, New Mexico. I sort of expected to find a town under siege, a border crossing that carried the possibility of risk, and I even made a point of letting key individuals know where I'd be on this particular weekend visit.
Sure enough, I found drug running. It was rampant and completely in the open.
Yes, there is a steady stream of senior citizens flowing over the border from the U.S. to the drug stores in Puerto Palomas, taking advantage of lower prices for their prescription meds. While in town for their weekly or monthly or quarterly visit, they often enjoy a margararita or a beer, and lunch, at the Pink Store.
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