![](\"http:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/_zKOkAsVZMsA\/SqNH-wA7RtI\/AAAAAAAABAg\/hgt_79jloyc\/s320\/altar1.jpg\")
\u00a0![](\"http:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/_gxq5uJIKars\/Sx3jeA7ROWI\/AAAAAAAAB20\/fZ_kZ1xG2tY\/s640\/santa-muerte1.jpg\")
<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Altars to Santa Muerte, “Saint Death” to the poor and the narcocultos<\/strong><\/p>\n SWJ <\/strong>has been en fuego the last few days and this is the first of several that I recommend that readers give close attention.<\/p>\n Dr. Robert J. Bunker<\/strong> and Lt. John Sulivan<\/strong> are indicating that the canary in the coal mine phase of Mexico’s narco-insurgency has passed.\u00a0Mexican society is entering a new and more dangerous period of accelerating cultural devolution. Nacro-insurgent violence has shifted from the economically motivated and brutally instrumental of organized crime syndicates everywhere\u00a0to culturally totemic and ghastly ceremonials out of tribal prehistory:<\/p>\n Extreme Barbarism, a Death Cult, and Holy Warriors in Mexico: <\/a><\/strong>Societal Warfare South of the Border?<\/a> <\/em><\/strong>by Dr. Robert J. Bunker <\/strong>and John P. Sullivan<\/strong><\/p>\n …Our impression is that what is now taking place in Mexico has for some time gone way beyond secular and criminal (economic) activities as defined by traditional organized crime studies.3 In fact, the intensity of change may indeed be increasing. Not only have de facto political <\/em>elements come to the fore-i.e., <\/em>when a cartel takes over an entire city or town, they have no choice but to take over political functions formerly administered by the local government- but social (narcocultura<\/em>) and religious\/spiritual (narcocultos<\/em>) characteristics are now making themselves more pronounced. What we are likely witnessing is Mexican society starting to not only unravel but to go to war with itself. The bonds and relationships that hold that society together are fraying, unraveling, and, in some instances, the polarity is reversing itself with trust being replaced by mistrust and suspicion. Traditional Mexican values and competing criminal value systems are engaged in a brutal contest over the ?hearts, minds, and souls\u2018 of its citizens in a street-by-street, block-by-block, and city-by-city war over the future social and political organization of Mexico. Environmental modification is taking place in some urban centers and rural outposts as deviant norms replace traditional ones and the younger generation fully accepts a criminal value system as their baseline of behavior because they have known no other. The continuing incidents of ever increasing barbarism-some would call this a manifestation of evil even if secularly motivated-and the growing popularity of a death cult are but two examples of this clash of values. Additionally, the early rise of what appears to be cartel holy warriors may now also be taking place. While extreme barbarism, death cults, and possibly now holy warriors found in the Mexican cartel wars are still somewhat the exception rather than the rule, each of these trends is extremely alarming, and will be touched upon in turn.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n