Crack down on fire-causing cartels
An international law enforcement effort is needed to bring the perpetrators of the La Brea fire to justice.
Unless you have been sleeping for the past week, you probably know that state and local officials believe that Mexican cartels that operate massive pot farming operations in far northeast Santa Barbara County were behind the 89,000-acre fire.
You also may be aware that it apparently was a cooking fire gone wrong that set the conflagration in motion. This outrage should not go unpunished. This fire was expensive to fight, damaging to the environment and the presence of a huge marijuana growing operation in our wilderness areas is deeply disturbing.
These cartels are essentially organized crime operations. They have assets in the U.S., Mexico and elsewhere. An international effort should be mounted to seize those assets, prosecute the perpetrators and recover the cost of both fighting the fire and property damage.
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