Thx, Sen Graham: Ukraine Uses Money WE Gave Them to Give Advanced Drone Training to MEX Narcotraficantes—Does ICE Get to Use Autonomous Live-Fire Drones?

Intelligence Online ^ | 07/29/2025 | Staff

[CharlesOConnell]

Ukraine counterintelligence investigates presence of sicarios on front line. [Spanish word for a hitman or a hired killer, especially in Latin American and Mexican drug cartels.]

Ukraine's domestic intelligence suspects Spanish-speaking volunteers of infiltrating the International Legion to train in flying FPV drones. [First-Person View drones.] Some are reportedly linked to cartels and have been recruited through private military companies.

[CharlesOConnell]

https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/4329106/posts

Azerbaijani Govt. highly involved with organized crime, contrasted with Mexican Govt. under substantial influence of the Sinaloa & Jalisco New Generation Cartels

Col. Douglas Macgregor is at pains to emphasize how the Narcotraficante Cartels pose a substantial risk to the security of the U.S. through its "soft underbelly".

And Azerbaijan, as a remote government strongly involved with organized crime, has emerged as an important player in military attacks on U.S. opponent, Iran. Contrasts between these two criminal governments.

The comparison between the Azerbaijani regime under Ilham Aliyev and the Mexican state nominally led by Claudia Sheinbaum, yet heavily penetrated by the Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation cartels, is not a contrast between a corrupt and a clean government—but rather a study in parallel forms of deep state criminal governance, each tailored to its geopolitical position and media environment. Both systems are textbook examples of state-criminal fusion, yet they differ in visibility, structure, and Western complicity.

Ilham Aliyev pictured, upper left

Azerbaijan: A Mafia State with Diplomatic Immunity

Ilham Aliyev inherited the presidency from his father, Heydar Aliyev, a former KGB general who converted his Soviet connections into a post-Soviet criminal fiefdom. What distinguishes Azerbaijan is the centralization of criminality. There is no competing mafia: there is only one, and it sits at the top of the state apparatus. The ruling family controls oil wealth, oversees heroin trafficking from Afghanistan through the Caucasus, and launders billions via Western institutions, particularly in London and Dubai, all under the protection of Western intelligence and diplomatic silence.

This tight structure allows for remarkable control. There are no major rival cartels operating in Azerbaijan. There are only vassals. The state is the cartel. Western complicity is essential: the Aliyev regime has bought off Western politicians, media figures, and think tanks through the so-called “Caviar Diplomacy,” securing immunity from criticism while maintaining a façade of strategic partnership—primarily to counterbalance Iran and Russia.

Mexico: A Fragmented Narco-State with Democratic Trappings

In contrast, Mexico’s narco-state is less centralized but no less criminal. The illusion of democratic governance remains more intact, at least for Western consumption. Claudia Sheinbaum, successor to López Obrador, serves not as a commander-in-chief, but as a figurehead presiding over a fractured sovereignty. Real power lies with the cartels, especially the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, which control large swaths of territory, law enforcement agencies, and military units.

Unlike Azerbaijan, where the state is the mafia, Mexico suffers from competing cartels that function as alternative governments in their respective regions. The level of violence, endemic corruption, and political assassinations are symptoms of this divided criminal order. Government agencies operate more like subcontractors for various cartels than independent institutions.

Key Differences

Category	Azerbaijan (Aliyev)	Mexico (Sheinbaum)
Structure of Criminality	Centralized under the ruling family	Fragmented across multiple powerful cartels
Control of Territory	Total state control	De facto cartel rule in many regions
Relationship with the West	Protected asset for Western intelligence (esp. U.S. and Israel)	Occasionally scapegoated, selectively exposed
Media Image	“Authoritarian ally”	“Struggling democracy”
Corruption Visibility	Hidden behind oil wealth and diplomacy	Open warfare, killings, mass graves
Foreign Intelligence Links	Ties to Mossad, MI6, CIA	Cartels with historic CIA connections (e.g., Iran-Contra legacy)

Shared Features

Despite these differences, both regimes are upheld by the same global system: a transnational elite that tolerates, enables, and profits from state criminality so long as it aligns with Western strategic or economic interests. Azerbaijan launders its heroin and oil money through London banks; Mexican cartels move product through routes under the surveillance—but not interruption—of American intelligence.

What we see is not governance versus anarchy, but two distinct models of integrated criminal rule—one sleek and diplomatically protected, the other chaotic and visibly violent—each molded to its geopolitical niche. Neither serves its people. Both serve the machinery of covert empire.

[BrexitBen]

It’s way past time to send Lindsey Graham into retirement.

All he cares about is promoting wars on the Fake News Sunday morning shows.

[Red6]

Someone should have a picture of him in Cesar’s armor, pointing towards Gaul.

It’s literally the same thing. The guy wants to boost his reputation through war.

When I heard that bafoon advocate invading Mexico, no kidding, I realized, there are no rules, no boundaries, no moral compass, no common sense... Anything goes-

[ProgressingAmerica]

Graham got Trump’s endorsement. Get ready for 6 more years of this lump!

Such a wasted senate seat. So sad.

[Allegra]

The guy wants to boost his reputation through war.

I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that there’s some financial benefit to Lindsey as well.

[Mount Athos]

Very sad to see trump endorse the catastrophe of Lindsey Graham. Broke my heart

[ransomnote]

So I’m guessing the cartel’s hitment, or their owners, pay Zelensky for the privilege of using Ukraine’s US assets and funding to cover their training....

[Waverunner]

And with the Ukrainians running the investigation, well , we know they can be bought.

[Sirius Lee]

The anti-personnel drones are a genie that can't be put back in the bottle. It's all a joke now for the chest thumping Graham-fanbois, but wait until these things start killing Americans on our own soil.

Glad I got to live when I did. The world ahead looks like a highway to hellscape.

[tlozo]

Col. Douglas Macgregor is at pains to emphasize how the Narcotraficante Cartels pose a substantial risk to the security of the U.S. through its "soft underbelly".

LOL, not ONE mention from MacGregor how Venezuela, backed by Russia, has become a hub for illicit drug trafficking and a sanctuary for terrorist organizations. Wonder why? Hypocrite

It's Time to Designate Venezuela as a State Sponsor of Terrorism

Under the authoritarian rule of President Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela has become a hub for illicit drug trafficking and a sanctuary for terrorist organizations. The Maduro regime has cultivated mutually beneficial relationships with armed groups such as Lebanese Hezbollah and Colombia's Marxist rebel group ELN, allowing them to exploit Venezuela's lawless environment for their own nefarious ends. The Maduro regime's connections with terrorist-criminal elements and drug cartels have transformed the country into a destabilizing force in the Western Hemisphere with far-reaching implications for U.S. national security. Moreover, after Maduro failed to safeguard an open and free election in July 2024, it is time for the U.S. to designate the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela as a state sponsor of terrorism.

https://www.rand.org/pubs/commentary/2024/08/its-time-to-designate-venezuela-as-a-state-sponsor.html

[bk1000]

But, but, but, muh Russia!

[CharlesOConnell]

Sirius Lee: The anti-personnel drones are a genie that can't be put back in the bottle.

Trailer for Philip K. Dick's Screamers (1995).