Tom Marshall in his blog FMF State of Mind highlights the possible repercussions of the drug cartel related violence that erupted outside the Estadio Corona in Torreon which brought a match between home team Santos Laguna and Monarcas Morelia to a standstill this weekend.
The shootout between the drug cartels and police authorities led to the players and officials fleeing the field and as the gunfire intensified part of the crowd invaded the pitch heading towards the exits. Many took refuge behind the barriers. The match was finally suspended.
Marshall makes an important point when he says that the Mexican Primera has been successful in attracting very good talent from other South American leagues (Christian Benitez, Humberto Suazo) because of its higher wages. The influx of quality which has enhanced the Primera considerably is now in danger because of the escalating violence. Players from other leagues may decide it is not worth taking the risk and stop coming.
Drug related violence has claimed over 34,000 lives since President Felipe Calderon launched his crackdown on the drug cartels in 2006. This BBC report has more on the cartels and the territories they control. The spike in execution style killings is partly due to the turf war between the cartels and their battle with the Mexican army which has been inducted by Calderon to clean up the drug trade. Caught in between are the innocents.
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