December 09, 2009

Interesting story about the violent crisis in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico that has arisen due to the drug wars. Ciudad Juarez is one of the deadliest cities in the world. There has been about 2,250 killings this year. That is a rate of 173 per 100,000 residents. In comparison, Baltimore -- the deadliest U.S. city with a population more than 500,000 -- has a rate of 37 per 100,000 residents.

The violence began in early 2008 when rival drug cartel bosses launched a feud over drug routes their organizations had previously shared. Both sides have lost many gang members and family members, and as the feud drags on, each side has adopted increasingly brutal tactics. And innocent people are getting caught in between. "'Not one person murdered yesterday,' Ciudad Juarez's leading newspaper proclaimed in a banner headline. It was big news in this border city...the first time in ten months that a day had passed without a killing. But by the end of that day, Oct. 30, nine more people were riddled with bullets...Violent death is a part of life in Ciudad Juarez...Bloodied bodies hang from overpasses, and children walking to school stumble across hit men filling targets with lead." One 17 year old interviewed said, "I've seen bodies near my house, on the way to school, outside my work. It's no longer weird to see dead people."

In response to the violence, thousands of troops and federal police came to Ciudad Juarez in May 2008 to crack down on the violence and drug dealings. A retired general took over the police force and purged the corrupt cops and doubled the police force with military-trained officers. This year the president of Mexico sent in 7,000 soldiers. The killings did begin to slow down. However, the drug seizures instituted by the government has resulted in the loss of income for traffickers -- so they have turned to kidnapping, bank robberies, and carjackings to make money.

"The city is dying," said the president of the local chapter of the National Chamber of Commerce. Steel bars cover windows, nightclubs and bars that once attracted a crowd including those from the U.S. are struggling or closing, residents are afraid to socialize outside of their homes, people run stoplights to avoid being carjacked -- even in the daytime, there have been 6,000 businesses that have closed this year, and the only businesses that are thriving are funeral homes.

Residents are fed up and feel that not enough is being done. The local Chamber of Commerce has asked the United Nations to send in peacekeepers. The president of Mexico rejects that idea and says Mexico can handle its own problems. (Full Story)