Saturday, January 17, 2009

‘Have The Citizens of Juarez and El Paso Finally Had Enough?‘
  Disorder piece by Dave Gibson

Fed up with the crushing violence which has transformed the city of Juarez into a free-fire zone, a group of residents calling themselves the Juárez Citizens Command, has sent out a press release vowing to kill one criminal every day, until order is restored. The CCJ claims to be a group of businessmen, frustrated over the seeming inability of the authorities to curb the spiraling violence in Juarez.

The statement from the CCJ was distributed in Spanish on the internet on Jan. 15. The following is an excerpt from that statement:

“Better the death of a bad person, than that bad person continue contaminating our region.”

“Our mission is to finish each 24 hours with the life of a criminal. The hour has come to stop this disorder in Juárez.“

The CCJ said they would soon release a full manifesto detailing their stated goals.

During 2008, there were more than 1,600 murders in Juarez. In addition to the murders being fueled by an ongoing war between the Juarez and Sinoloa Cartels, thousands of kidnappings occurred in and around Juarez last year. Also, bank robberies and carjackings have now become an everyday occurrence in the city. In short, chaos reigns.

Recently, Mexican President Felipe Calderon ordered an additional 2,000 troops into Juarez to battle the cartels. However, more than 35, 000 federal troops are currently deployed throughout Mexico, battling the cartels, with poor results.

A few days before Christmas, the bodies of eight Mexican soldiers were found about 50 miles from Acapulco. All of the men had been decapitated. Several Mexican newspapers reported the contents of a note beside the severed heads which read: “For every one of ours you kill, we will kill 10 of yours.“

More than 5,600 people were killed in Mexico’s drug violence last year. Many of those murdered were police officers and soldiers.

Since Jan. 1, 2009, there have been more than 40 murders in Juarez. A brief sampling of those murders follows:

Jan. 5…The lifeless body of Jose Ivan Vasquez Lopez, was discovered inside a trash can. Lopez had been beheaded.

Jan. 7…The body of Ricardo Arturo Alvarado Contreras, was found lying in a vacant lot. His hands had been hacked from his arms.

Jan. 6…Prominent attorney Mario Escobedo Salazar, was found shot to death inside his office. The bullet-riddled body of his son Edgar Escobedo Anaya, was found outside the office, police discovered 14 spent shells near the body.

Jan. 13…Guillermo Pizarro Marceleño was shot to death as he sat eating inside El Trebol restaurant.

Jan. 14…A 19-year-old student at the University of Ciudad Juárez, was shot to death with an AK-47, on the side of the road. Jaime Alejandro Irigoyen Flores, had been kidnapped from his home two days earlier.

On Jan. 16, the El Paso Times offered a very interesting opinion poll on their website. The poll asked the question “With violence raging in Juarez, is vigilantism the answer?” What follows are the results of that poll after a total of 2,547 respondents:

“Yes, nothing else has worked, and it’s time for the people to take matters into their own hands.”…59%

“I’m not sure, but at this point, it’s probably worth a try.”…29%

“No, innocent people could get hurt.”…16%

While the results may be a bit shocking to some, it speaks to the fear and frustration that people are feeling with so much violence taking place just on the other side of the border. Many Juarez residents, including a great number of police officers have come to El Paso, seeking refuge from the cartels.

Whether or not the Juárez Citizens Command will actually emerge as an actual force to confront the cartels, remains to be seen. However, the interest shown in their announcement and the positive way in which many already view them, is another sign that the government of Mexico is dangerously close to losing all control of that country.

The drug cartels which now control large portions of Mexico and operate in nearly 200 U.S. cities, represent a clear and present danger to every citizen of both countries. None of us can afford to ignore this issue any longer.

Dave Gibson

Posted by Dave Gibson on 1/17/09

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