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Comment by TheAlchemist | Hacker News Reader

There was an article about disappearing engineers - the ones working on communications.

Cartels figured they need somebody to setup sophisticated communication systems - do you think they asked a company for help ? They just kidnapped the people they found working on communications towers, made them do the job, then buried them.

Sorry but your idea of trying to work with a cartel is beyond stupid. With a lot of luck, you could end up working for them. As a slave.

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yes I think he doesnt seem to understand that the absolute last thing that you want is to be known by criminals. For anything. Next time they need an X done where X is whatever your job happens to be, they know who to get

That's not lost on me. Obviously it would be a tough balance to strike to remain "useful" to the cartels, while not being "too useful" that they would feel the need to exert control. That's why I'm interested in educating myself more fully on the whole situation so I can make an informed risk assessment. If there's no path forward that also kept my family and myself safe, I won't pursue it further.

You’re thinking of cartel members like they’re VCs. They’re gangsters. They “assert control” over everything and everyone, that’s what gangsters do and they’re literally the worst ones around. There is no way you can do anything with them that will not put yourself and your family in danger

One could argue that cartel members and VCs do share some qualities. But again, your point is well taken and you may very well be right. I won't move forward if there isn't a safe, legal path to do so. I appreciate your feedback.

This plan sounds right up there with:

I've got a carbon fiber submarine controlled with a $30 joystick and a screen screwed into the side of the hull. Want to go for a ride?

The safe, legal way to contact everyone is to publish in the commons. Establish prior art and do not claim intellectual property protections for the idea.

VCs can destroy your career and finances in safe/legal ways. Cartels don't operate in safe/legal ways. Cartel members snitch on you, can kill you or family members. Cartel members always care about their safety first, not your safety; that means, they can do whatever they want. Just go to https://www.borderlandbeat.com for all narco news.

The kind of naïveté you displayed in this thread shows that you will end up communicating with a fake cartel member, who is some federal law enforcement agent. That agent will set you up on a path of you getting convicted. That's for sure.

Getting catfished by the law and convicted and imprisoned would probably be preferable to whatever the cartels would have in store too.

Sounds like we need to be setting these Cartels on VCs.

Are you prepared to walk around with a gun on your person at all times and a cyanide tooth to avoid more regrettable death?

Apart from the suicide pill, lots of Americans do that...

Right, exactly. In Mexico, they dismember people and leave their legs, heads, etc. lying around on the street as a warning. And OP wants to see if there's a way to keep his family safe from them so he can get into business with them? That's like looking for a way to dive to the bottom of the Mariana trench without having the pressure flatten you into a very small, wet pancake.

If it's such a great idea, and you're such an altruist, then just post it publically. What's all the secrecy and coyly holding your cards close? Do you think they're going to sign NDAs with an "idea guy"? It's not the idea that matters, it's the execution, and if you're trying to run some kind of a hustle on them where you make any kind of profit or benefit, then it's going to be your execution.

Communication workers, IT specialists end up missing in Mexico; here is the story: https://www.vice.com/en/article/9akgj8/radio-silence

Oh, man. A great read, harrowing.

Thanks for the link.

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