Ascensión: A Tale of the Mexican Drug War (Fictional Intelligence)

ASCENSIÓN: A TALE OF THE MEXICAN DRUG WAR

Small Wars Journal is pleased to present an excerpt from Ascensión: A Tale of the Mexican Drug War  by Small Wars Journal-El Centro Fellow Michael L. Burgoyne.

This fictional account—or FICINT (Fictional Intelligence)—describes the security situation in Mexico in an accessible manner.

Here the situation in Mexico is described through the lens of fiction and intelligence to depict future conflict scenarios grounded in reality.[1]  Is it ‘criminal insurgency,’ ‘civil strife,’ ‘crime wars,’ ‘non-international armed conflict (NIAC),’ or something else. Burgoyne seeks to inform the policy and operational debate surrounding insecurity and criminal armed groups (CAGs) in Mexico in this text.

Comments from the author:

In 2020, Mexico suffered over 35,000 homicides, marking another year of exceptionally high rates of violence that are comparable to a war zone. Mexican transnational criminal organizations drive the violence in Mexico and play a key role in the over 70,000 annual drug overdose deaths in the United States. Yet, Americans lack an understanding of the complex security situation just south of the border.

I am thankful to Small Wars Journal-El Centro for the opportunity to present an excerpt from, Ascensión: A Tale of the Mexican Drug War.  I wrote the story as modern day western designed to bring the reader into a violent and complicated world where there are no easy answers. While the story is fiction, the events depicted are drawn from reality, which is documented in the accompanying notes section. These notes also include references to outstanding scholars that provide excellent analysis of the ongoing conflict in Mexico.

Finally, this excerpt is augmented with a brief interview with Alexei Chevez, a Mexican scholar and security practitioner with a deep knowledge of the nature of the internal stability struggles in Mexico.

My hope is that this work of fiction provides an engaging way to understand the very real and daunting security challenges the Mexican people face.

Stay Alert, Armed and Dangerous!

 

Drone Wars

Saudi F-15 shoots down a Iranian backed Houthi drone between the Yemen/Saudi border. These drones attack the oil ports and refineries on a daily basis sometimes causing massive damage and casualties.

Imagine thousands of these types of drones attacking a fixed position at once. This is the future of warfare in the 21st Century.

I highly recommend the novel Ghost Fleet if you have not read it. It’s a entertaining but realistic (and prophetic) snapshot of warfare in the 21st Century.

The Real Goal of Women Combatants, A Commentary

THE REAL GOAL OF WOMEN COMBATANTS, A COMMENTARY

 

One of the best things I have read this month.

No Surprise it comes from one of the sharpest minds and trainers out there right now and a guy I am proud to call my friend.

You want Bullshit? go somewhere else, this is the straight skinny.

This should be made into a poster:

Long being the goal of the Left since at least 1946 has been the undermining of the US military. The American Marxists have understood that America’s strength and pride in nation hinges upon its military might, reflective of its Capitalist strength and ability to project force. But in the post-Cold War era where the Marxist in public view could safely be re-branded as a populist Democrat, military readiness has taken a backseat to social experimentation

Stay Alert, Armed and Dangerous!

Insurgents in the Mountains: Arms of the Baloch Separatist

INSURGENTS IN THE MOUNTAINS: ARMS OF BALOCH SEPARATISTS

 

I found it interesting that the primary rifle favored for both sniping and general use is the SVD and PSL. This reiterates the ideal that in  small guerilla groups the TERRAIN/OPERATING ENVIRONMENT generally dictates the types of weapons used.

Stay Alert, Armed and Dangerous!

 

The Albanian Sniper Squad in Syria and Their Weapons

THE ALBANIAN SNIPER SQUAD IN SYRIA AND THEIR WEAPONS

 

Good read.

There is a multitude of information to be gleamed from the conflict in Syria.

Urban Guerilla Sniping v3.0