I was puzzled by the news of a DEA raid in Atlanta last week. Not that they found drugs and drug dealers in Atlanta. Those are almost as common a peanuts and peaches in Georgia.

And not by the small amount of drugs and money, because I suppose that even drug dealers are subject to the vagaries of shipping and inventory maintenance just like everyone else.

No, I was puzzled because the raid was in retaliation for the murder of a DEA agent in Mexico.

I understand why the DEA wants to discourage the murdering of its agents, but I don’t understand the connection to the enforcement of drug laws here in Georgia.

Is the message: Don’t murder our agents and we won’t raid your drug operations?
Or won’t raid them quite as often?

Or won’t raid them when any of the big shots are in town?

I always took the DEA at its word that it was trying to stop drug trafficking.

Now it appears that the mission of the DEA is to provide a safe work environment for its agents while they don’t seriously interfere with drug trafficking.

Funding for the DEA and its operations does depend upon the existence of drug trafficking.

All the DEA posturing romantics about its agents and mission to one side, the DEA needs the drug trade and drug traffickers need the DEA.

They weed out competition and inept dealers.

What happened in this case was that the drug traffickers did not play by the rules.

Play by the rules and the DEA will pay less attention to your drug operations.

Attention drug traffickers: Don’t kill DEA agents in foreign countries.

Thank you for your attention, now back to trafficking news.