On Sun, 1 Jul 2007 07:17:03 -0400, Kyle Boatright wrote:

I can't reconcile your last two statements with the high level of organized
crime in South/Central America....

I could see why you would say that, but the Narco-states don't fit the
classic definition of a police state because the drug factions can
effectively match firepower with the official state governments and corrupt
its police force.

A classic police state has a disarmed population like Haiti and requires
considerably fewer police per capita to achieve effective crime control.
They achieve this by not granting any rights to the populace. When the
police choose to solve a crime, they simply start rounding up people and
applying very effective methods of interrogation.

Getting back on topic, the legal systems of most of our neighbors to the
south are not based on English Common Law and as a result they are
historically less interested in human rights and more interested in
results.

--
Dallas