The ongoing war against Mexican drug cartels might seem distant to those unaware of its gravity, but for people like Sylvia Longmire, the issue of organized crime in Mexico has reached a level comparable to terrorism.
The issue not only plagues residents of Mexico, but has invaded the United States as well.
As a former Air Force captain with an extensive background in counterintelligence and counterespionage, Longmire is no stranger to the workings of Mexican crime syndicates. Her book, entitled “Cartel,” aims to provide her read- ers with professional understanding of Mexico’s war against drugs.
Longmire made a stop at UTD on Oct. 19 for her national book tour to give a presentation on the subject matter in the Jonsson Performance Hall.
“Mexico is in the midst of a violence crisis caused by the drug war,” Longmire said. “Roughly 46,000 to 50,000 people killed as a direct re- and fighting against the Mexican bring illegal drugs from Mexico sult of the drug trade…Right now government for control of very into the United States.” there’s roughly five major Cartels that are fighting with each other lucrative — what are called plazas — or drug trafficking quarters, to Longmire’s presentation was the first event hosted by the Organization of Latin American Studies, or OLAS.
As a new organization on campus, officially started in August 2011, OLAS’ mem- bers said they wish to promote awareness of Latin American culture and issues on campus.
Courtney Kennedy is a graduate student in the Latin American Studies program and also serves as the communications director of OLAS.
“There are few Ph.D. and master students at UTD that study Latin America, and we decided that we needed an organization to promote Latin America on campus,” Kennedy said. “I think UTD is very helpful in that it wants to spread the word about organizations that cater to minority groups.”
Toni Loftin, a Ph.D. student and the president of OLAS, had been in contact with Longmire for some time over Twitter prior to the presentation at UTD. When Longmire mentioned that she was going on a book tour, Loftin thought it would be a good idea for UTD to be one of her stops as the first endeavor by OLAS.
“We kind of started off with a big bang,” Loftin said.
The members of OLAS said they were pleased with the overall turnout of their premiere event, and Longmire was very informative for people unfamiliar with the issue and also for the people who know the harsh reality of Mexico’s drug war.
Having family in Mexico, Loftin has witnessed first- hand the gravity of the cartels and other criminal gangs in the country, as she said two of her cousins have been kidnapped as a result of the prevalent crime.
Loftin said she believes cultural awareness will be a big part of UTD’s campus, which consists of a diverse demographic of students.
“I think UTD is making more of an effort to recog- nize and be receptive to the kind of cultural diversity that we have in Dallas and Texas,” Loftin said.
OLAS has begun talks of doing a weeklong movie-night series for its next event sometime during the upcoming spring semester.
