美国国家公共电台 NPR--Mexico's president states willingness to negotiate peace deals with cartels

Mexico's president states willingness to negotiate peace deals with cartels

Transcript¹

NPR's A Martinez talks to Falko Ernst of the International Crisis Group about the likelihood of Mexico's government reaching a peace deal with the country's drug cartels.

ASMA KHALID, HOST:

Mexico has one of the highest murder rates in the world. Last year alone, more than 30,000 people were killed in the country, many of them ensnared in the ongoing² violence between rival cartels. Now Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is publicly stating his willingness to negotiate peace deals with the country's most powerful cartels. It's an attempt to stop the bloodshed. His comments came after an activist³ whose brother went missing called on the cartels to end the practice of forced disappearances⁴. For more, we're joined by Falko Ernst. He focuses on Mexico for the International Crisis Group. Thanks for being with us this morning.

FALKO ERNST: Good morning. Thanks for having me.

KHALID: So I want to begin by understanding the current environment in Mexico. Let's just start by talking about how much power the cartels have in Mexico these days.

ERNST: So we are up against a huge security challenge in Mexico. The number of criminal groups, active armed criminal groups in Mexico, has more than doubled over the past decade. And we are looking at about 200 non-state armed groups active in Mexico on the ground today. And over the past and the current administration, they have been able to further accentuate⁵ their power over territories, populations, illicit⁶ economies and politics. And they're exercising great violence against especially civilian⁷ populations, which have been left vulnerable to their increasingly predatory practices.

KHALID: So when Obrador was elected, he had vowed⁸ to end Mexico's drug war, promised, essentially⁹, this non-confrontational approach with cartels. How has that gone? Has he done that?

ERNST: Well, he hasn't really done that so far, basically. There has been more continuity in spite of his promises to double down on hard-handed anti-drug policies. And he has instead just - a U-turn and sent more troops to the streets. And the number of confrontations¹⁰ between state forces and criminal forces are still very high.

KHALID: So now that Mexico's president has publicly said he is open to these peace deals with the cartels, help us understand how likely it is that this idea would become a reality.

ERNST: The reality is it has already become a reality under this and current administrations as well. So you have a routine engagement on an informal level outside of the law between state, including military forces, and these armed groups. They negotiate their permanence. They share territory. And sometimes this is driven by agendas of self-enrichment that are well present within the state. So on an informal level, we already have that.

KHALID: OK.

ERNST: Now, the difference now is that Lopez Obrador is coming out and saying publicly that he would be willing to engage in such a way in order to get violence down.

KHALID: So you're saying that they already have had, this administration and previous administrations, some sort of peace deals, but it hasn't necessarily curbed¹² the violence?

ERNST: Yes, exactly. So the problem has been, under this administration specifically, that essentially criminal groups, some of which I talked to as part of my work, have been told, including by the armed forces, that if they curb¹¹ spectacular violence, public violence, shows of force that make the headlines, that they will be granted leeway to govern their own territories. The problem is that this can be a part of a pacification¹³ strategy, but that this and previous administrations haven't formulated¹⁴ a long-term plan of how to unwind criminal power, for which it would need disciplinary tools to rein¹⁵ in their power over populations.

KHALID: OK. So in about the last 30 seconds we have, I just want to know what you think, then, ultimately needs to happen to reduce the violence in Mexico.

ERNST: Well, right now, I mean, the problems are so overwhelming that any administration coming in will find it really, really hard to have the financial and institutional tools at hand to meet all of these challenges across the board wholesale¹⁶. And what they would need to do is to focus and concentrate resources and efforts to specific regions that still produce the bulk of lethal¹⁷ violence.

KHALID: OK. Falko Ernst is a Mexico senior analyst¹⁸ with the International Crisis Group. Thank you so much for your time.

ERNST: Thanks very much for having me on.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

3 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

4 disappearances   

n.消失( disappearance的名词复数 )；丢失；失踪；失踪案

参考例句：

• Most disappearances are the result of the terrorist activity. 大多数的失踪案都是恐怖分子造成的。 来自辞典例句
• The espionage, the betrayals, the arrests, the tortures, the executions, the disappearances will never cease. 间谍活动、叛党卖国、逮捕拷打、处决灭迹，这种事情永远不会完。 来自英汉文学

5 accentuate   

v.着重，强调

参考例句：

• She has beautiful eyes, so we should accentuate them in the makeup.她眼睛很美丽，我们在化妆时应该突出她的眼睛。
• Mrs Obamas speeches rarely accentuate the positive.奥巴马夫人的演讲很少强调美国积极的一面。

6 illicit   

adj.非法的，禁止的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He had an illicit association with Jane.他和简曾有过不正当关系。
• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year.今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。

7 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

8 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

9 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

10 confrontations   

n.对抗，对抗的事物( confrontation的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• At times, this potential has escalated into actual confrontations. 有时，这一矛盾升级为实际的对抗。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• These confrontations and uncertainties were bing played out for the first time on a global scale. 所有这一切对抗和不稳定，第一次在全球范围内得到充分的表演。 来自辞典例句

11 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

12 curbed   

v.限制，克制，抑制( curb的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Advertising aimed at children should be curbed. 针对儿童的广告应受到限制。 来自辞典例句
• Inflation needs to be curbed in Russia. 俄罗斯需要抑制通货膨胀。 来自辞典例句

13 pacification   

n. 讲和，绥靖，平定

参考例句：

• Real pacification is hard to get in the Vietnamese countryside. 在越南的乡下真正的安宁是很难实现的。
• Real pacification is hard to get in the Vietnamese countryside(McGeorge Bundy) 在越南的乡下真正的安宁是很难实现的（麦乔治·邦迪）

14 formulated   

v.构想出( formulate的过去式和过去分词 )；规划；确切地阐述；用公式表示

参考例句：

• He claims that the writer never consciously formulated his own theoretical position. 他声称该作家从未有意识地阐明他自己的理论见解。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This idea can be formulated in two different ways. 这个意思可以有两种说法。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

15 rein   

n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治

参考例句：

• The horse answered to the slightest pull on the rein.只要缰绳轻轻一拉,马就作出反应。
• He never drew rein for a moment till he reached the river.他一刻不停地一直跑到河边。

16 wholesale   

n.批发；adv.以批发方式；vt.批发，成批出售

参考例句：

• The retail dealer buys at wholesale and sells at retail.零售商批发购进货物，以零售价卖出。
• Such shoes usually wholesale for much less.这种鞋批发出售通常要便宜得多。

17 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

18 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。