From elsewhere
For some reason the two rather stupid young women arrested in Peru for trying to smuggle cocaine is leading the BBC this morning so I thought I'd pass on what I've heard.
Firstly the young women are guilty as a puppy sitting next to a pile of poo. They knew what they were doing. The "we were forced to", "they had guns pointed at our head" is the line that their handlers told to say if anything went wrong. So they are guilty and can look forward to seven years (the twenty-five years reported is nonsense) in the Santa Mónica female prison. An unpleasant place to be yet their own responsibility.
So far so clear. Thats what happens when two bimbos carry $1.5 million of cocaine through Peruvian customs.
From what i'm told, the wider context is more complex - and please note this doesnt in anyway excuse the criminality of the two. They are, rather dim, which begs the question why an international drugs cartel would entrust such a large amount of cocaine with two rather intellectually challenged people? The answer appears to be that they were the fall guys. Rather a lot of cocaine goes through the route they were taking, in order to "turn a blind eye" at the airport Peruvian customs are routinely bribed. Here is the bribe. $1.5 million of cocaine, the head of customs gets to strut his stuff (and no doubt pick up a bonus) and the Peruvian government can point to a very public example of its efforts in the "war on drugs" and so convince the Yanquis to continue to give them millions of dollars to order to fight cocaine production, a fight no Peruvian government has any intention of ever joining, but every intention of milking the gullible gringoes for.
Firstly the young women are guilty as a puppy sitting next to a pile of poo. They knew what they were doing. The "we were forced to", "they had guns pointed at our head" is the line that their handlers told to say if anything went wrong. So they are guilty and can look forward to seven years (the twenty-five years reported is nonsense) in the Santa Mónica female prison. An unpleasant place to be yet their own responsibility.
So far so clear. Thats what happens when two bimbos carry $1.5 million of cocaine through Peruvian customs.
From what i'm told, the wider context is more complex - and please note this doesnt in anyway excuse the criminality of the two. They are, rather dim, which begs the question why an international drugs cartel would entrust such a large amount of cocaine with two rather intellectually challenged people? The answer appears to be that they were the fall guys. Rather a lot of cocaine goes through the route they were taking, in order to "turn a blind eye" at the airport Peruvian customs are routinely bribed. Here is the bribe. $1.5 million of cocaine, the head of customs gets to strut his stuff (and no doubt pick up a bonus) and the Peruvian government can point to a very public example of its efforts in the "war on drugs" and so convince the Yanquis to continue to give them millions of dollars to order to fight cocaine production, a fight no Peruvian government has any intention of ever joining, but every intention of milking the gullible gringoes for.
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