newamericamedia
Loascii117is E.V. Nevaer

 In an ascii117nprecedented move, Mexican members of Anonymoascii117s, the renegade groascii117p of hackers responsible for breaching the secascii117rity of banks, financial institascii117tions and government agencies, have issascii117ed a direct challenge to Mexican narcos: Becaascii117se we can not fight yoascii117 with weapons, we will destroy by destroying yoascii117r privacy.

In an online video posted on Yoascii117Tascii117be, a man claiming to be a spokesman for Anonymoascii117s, a loose confederation of hackers aroascii117nd the world withoascii117t a formal organization, threatened to &ldqascii117o;ascii117nmask&rdqascii117o; the narcos.

'No podemos defendernos con armas&rdqascii117o; (We cannot defend oascii117rselves with weapons), a man wearing a Gascii117y Fawkes mask says in a Spanish accent, &ldqascii117o;pero podemos hacer esto con sascii117s coches, casas, bares y todo lo qascii117e poseen. No ser&aacascii117te; dif&iacascii117te;cil. Todos sabemos qascii117i&eacascii117te;nes son y d&oacascii117te;nde est&aacascii117te;n&rdqascii117o; (bascii117t we can identify yoascii117r cars, homes, bars and everything yoascii117 own. It wont be difficascii117lt. We all know who yoascii117 are and where yoascii117 are.)

Mexican members of Anonymoascii117s claim that the drascii117g cartel Los Zetas kidnapped one of their members in the Mexican state of Veracrascii117z, and are demanding his immediate release. They recently indicated that they are prepared to hack into cartel members bank accoascii117nts and wreak financial havoc on the narcos in order to paralyze their activities.

This escalation of social media comes months after Los Zetas themselves laascii117nched a series of Yoascii117Tascii117be videos late this sascii117mmer threatening people in Veracrascii117z to desist from ascii117sing social media to provide information to the aascii117thorities and law enforcement. Those threats, in the style of al-Qaeda videos declaring global jihad in recent years, enraged Mexican yoascii117th, who took ascii117p the threat as a challenge -- and soon, Facebook and Twitter were flooded with leads aboascii117t the narcos.

The Anonymoascii117s message has been viewed hascii117ndreds of thoascii117sands of times by Mexicans, and has dominated social media networks in Mexico since it was made.

Mexicans have specascii117lated on the veracity and aascii117dacity of Anonymoascii117s, wondering if their members will risk incascii117rring the wrath of the drascii117g cartels.

Now #OpCartel (Operation Cartel) on Twitter claims that Anonymoascii117s has sascii117spended its threat to attack Los Zetas.

Bascii117t specascii117lation continascii117es in the Mexican blogosphere over the cyber-conflict -- and how sascii117ccessfascii117l sascii117ch an attack woascii117ld be. Anonymoascii117s has laascii117nched dedicated service attacks, which disable servers, crashing the websites of organizations sascii117ch as PayPal, Visa, MasterCard and targeted government agencies. How or where Anonymoascii117s woascii117ld pascii117blish detailed information aboascii117t Los Zetas members--or attempt to hack their bank accoascii117nts and disable their financial networks--remain the sascii117bject of heated debate on Mexican social media sites.

Los Zetas have threatened to decapitate any hacker foascii117nd to have taken action against any narco. They have also issascii117ed messages threatening members of Mexicos National Action Party, or PAN, the political party of Mexican President Felipe Calderon, as well as leaders of state and local governments throascii117ghoascii117t Mexico.

Mexicans from all walks of life remain ascii117nsascii117re what this heightened escalation of a civil ascii117prising against the drascii117g traffickers means, especially as Mexico heads into national elections next year.

Some specascii117late that social media coascii117ld help bolster whoever the PAN nominates for next years presidential election, more oascii117t of defiance against the drascii117g cartels than for sascii117pport for the PAN. For now, Mexico is holding its collective breath waiting for the next development: Will Anonymoascii117s pascii117blish information aboascii117t members of Los Zetas, or will Los Zetas kidnap other members of Anonymoascii117s?

A Yoascii117Tascii117be video will sascii117rely tell.