# Anonymous vs Drug Cartel in Mexico ... **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 31, 2011, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anonymous-vs-drug-cartel-in-mexico/601383 "2011-10-31T15:23:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2011, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anonymous-vs-drug-cartel-in-mexico/601383/61 "2011-11-09T09:30:29Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > You are conflating two separate points: > > _As individuals_, we have a responsibility to not reward evil actions. > _As a society_, we have a responsibility to punish evil actions. > > I’ve never suggested anyone has a moral responsibility to become a vigilante. But attacking someone for doing so _because the murderous, torturing terrorists will take offense_ is cowardice. The cartel in question, zetas, is composed at the top level of ex special forces soldiers, trained in the US and equal in every way to something like fully armed Navy SEALs. Trained not just in combat but intelligence, surveillance, communications, explosives, urban warfare, covert ops, etc., etc. They were the best of the best of professional soldiers. They recruited and trained some of the best of the best from the criminal world, corrupt cops, etc gave them all the same training and information, and have literally unlimited access to money and weapons. They are not only fighting a brutal war among themselves and other cartels but using their other hand to hold off the entire Mexican army and police forces at the same time. It is not a cowardly action to avoid vigilantism that will get people killed. The threat is not trivial. Under the circumstances it isn’t at all cowardly to vocally criticize such misguided vigilantism. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2011, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anonymous-vs-drug-cartel-in-mexico/601383/62 "2011-11-11T03:14:38Z")
Anonymous spokesman flees Dallas home. Here’s the story: [http://gawker.com/5858405/face-of-anonymous-flees-north-as-drug-cartels-war-on-bloggers-heats-up](http://gawker.com/5858405/face-of-anonymous-flees-north-as-drug-cartels-war-on-bloggers-heats-up) > [@](#): > > Nothing came of OpCartel, which was called off after Anonymous announced the cartel had miraculously returned their missing member. Still, Brown feels that he’s in enough danger that he’s high-tailing it out of his Dallas home, whose address he says has been made public online by some of the many enemies he’s made during his career as an informal Anonymous spokesman. > > “I’ve got ex-military people releasing info on me and family. Have to leave Texas,” he tweeted. “Anyone who can buy me ticket to NYC/Boston and have me pay them back in month, let me know. [Transistor@hushmail.com](mailto:Transistor@hushmail.com) Home no longer secure.” ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2011, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anonymous-vs-drug-cartel-in-mexico/601383/63 "2011-11-11T05:16:19Z")
> [@joebuck20](#): > > Anonymous spokesman flees Dallas home. Here’s the story: > “I’ve got ex-military people releasing info on me and family. Have to leave Texas,” he tweeted. “Anyone who can buy me ticket to NYC/Boston and have me pay them back in month, let me know. [EMAIL=“[Transistor@hushmail.com](mailto:Transistor@hushmail.com)”]Transistor@hushmail.com Home no longer secure.” At least he’s not letting this experience interfere with his tradition of broadcasting his whereabouts every 20 minutes via twitter. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2011, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anonymous-vs-drug-cartel-in-mexico/601383/64 "2011-11-11T10:37:10Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > … > And if they’re criminal organizations in foreign countries, they don’t even get to do FOIA requests in the first place anyway. Remember: scary Mexican thugs, not S.M.E.R.S.H. I may be a bit off topic but I feel it’s worthwhile to point out that [SMERSH](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMERSH)wasn’t a creation of Ian Fleming. It was a very effective, and very brutal counter-intelligence agency of the Soviet Union during the Second World War. And if **Crazyhorse’s** description is anywhere near accurate the cartel in question sounds very much like the real SMERSH. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anonymous-vs-drug-cartel-in-mexico/601383.md?page=3)