By Daniel Denzir Al Jazeera Last month Don McIntosh, a journalist and friend of mine in Portland, Ore., posted on Facebook that his half brother Daniel McIntosh had just been sentenced to at least 10 years in prison for selling 954 kilograms of marijuana and money laundering as part of a 16-member pot-selling ring. “Our…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com A former federal investigator called for the legalization of drugs during a Libertarian Party of Texas convention over the weekend, the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram reported. Saying the war on drugs has spread needless violence and wasted billions of tax dollars, Sean Dunagan, who worked for the Drug Enforcement Administration, also told the…
By Danny Fenster ticklethewire.com The DEA sting operation involving the laundering of money to drug cartels that has angered some Republican congressmen actually dates back to the Reagan administration, according to the Justice Department. Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs Ronald Weich sent a letter to Rep. Darrel Issa–the Republic congressman leading the charges against…
By Danny Fenster ticklethewire.com It is a fundamentally American right to criticize one’s government, to speak out against wrongful policies–a patriotic act, some would say. But how much dissent is possible if one’s job is to enforce existing laws, whether one agrees with them or not? Legislative change is reserved for political channels, after all–not…
Danny Fenster ticklethewire.com Shades of Operation Fast and Furious? DEA agents have laundered or smuggled–or, “let walk”–millions of dollars in drug proceeds in an effort to trace the money to the end recipients, reports the New York Times. The DEA sought to understand how cartels moved their money, where assets were kept and, ultimately, who…
By Danny Fenster ticklethewire.com The latest in a series of secret passages used to smuggle drugs from Mexico to the US was found on Tuesday, linking warehouses in San Diego and Tijuana, reports the Associated Press. “It is clearly the most sophisticated tunnel we have ever found,” Lauren Mack, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and…
By Danny Fenster ticklethewire.com The face of Mexico’s drug war went down in a fatal helicopter crash caused by foggy weather on Nov. 11, reports Bloomberg. Authorities ruled it was an accident and not sabotage as many had suspected. Interior Minister Jose Luis Santiago Vasconcelos, Mexico’s point man in the war against drug traffickers, died…
By Danny Fenster ticklethewire.com In more sobering news… The family of Brian Terry, the border agent killed last year near the Arizona border, issued a statement on Wednesday in response to US Attorney General Eric Holder’s testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The message: Holder needs to “take responsibility” for their son’s death, reports Arizona…
