Murder City_ Ciudad Juarez and the Global Economy's New Killing Fields - Charles Bowden [115]
Municipal Public Security recently assassinated, of another who is presumed to have been abducted, and of 17 active agents, was placed at the Police Monument located at the intersection of Juan Gabriel and Sanders Avenue. This death threat was registered a few days after a series of attacks began against police chiefs of the different corporations. The list was placed in a funeral wreath on the wall where memorial plaques honor agents killed in action. The message, similar to those found on the bodies of assassinated persons, read: “For those who did not believe: Cháirez, Romo, Vaca, Cháirez and Ledezma.” It also warned 17 active agents, identified by surname, code and district: “For those who continue not believing.”
El Diario de El Paso, El Paso, Tx., January 28, 2008
U.S. APATHY TOWARD NARCO-TRAFFICKING CREATES MORE VIOLENCE IN MEXICO
The U.S. government has not stopped drug traffic to the interior of the country and this has generated an increase in violence in Mexico, especially along the border, said Charles Bowden, author of Down by the River, a book about the drug trade.
Norte de Ciudad Juárez, January 28, 2008
TRAVEL TO JUÁREZ PROHIBITED FOR U.S. MILITARY PERSONNEL
Commanders at Fort Bliss announced that military personnel stationed in El Paso are prohibited from traveling to Juárez due to the recent outbreak of violence there related to organized crime. Since last Saturday, the base commanders have suspended issuance of passes to visit Juárez due to the “unacceptable risk to health, security, well-being and morale” of the soldiers.
Norte de Ciudad Juárez, January 28, 2008
SIX MORE MURDERS OVER THE WEEKEND
This weekend, police reported finding the bodies of six murder victims in separate incidents; four were shot.
El Diario, Ciudad Juárez, January 28, 2008
The secretary of Municipal Public Security, Guillermo Prieto Quintana, ordered the arrest for 36 hours of the agent assigned to guard the Monument to the Fallen Police Officer. The agent was charged with negligence because he was on duty when the funeral wreath and list of 4 murdered policemen and 17 targeted for killing was left at the monument. The officer testified to his superiors that he did not see who left the threat, but unofficial sources say it was left by a group of hooded men in a dark pickup. The agent charged left his post when his replacement arrived but did not tell him or anyone about the threatening note or funeral wreath left at the monument. “It was an act of negligence because the agents assigned to guard duty fall into a routine and think that the job is not important.”
FEBRUARY
El Diario, Ciudad Juárez, February 1, 2008
BODY FOUND IN CAR TRUNK; VICTIM JESUS DURAN HAD BEEN MISSING SINCE JANUARY 19
The body of a man was found yesterday in the trunk of a car abandoned on the street in the southeast area of the city. The victim had been reported missing to the State Investigative Police a week before his body was found. This was the second of four bodies found yesterday in different places in the city.
El Diario, Ciudad Juárez, February 1, 2008
TWO MORE EXECUTED VICTIMS FOUND
The bodies of two men were found yesterday in Rio Champoton Street in the Cordova Americas neighborhood where more than a dozen bodies have been abandoned. Both men were found with their hands tied with adhesive tape, one with hands behind his back and the other with hands in front. The two bodies were found lying a few meters apart and the heads were bloody. Five 9 mm cartridges were found at the scene.
Norte de Ciudad Juárez, February 1, 2008
HOMICIDE RECORD BROKEN; MORE THAN 40 VIOLENT DEATHS DURING THE MONTH OF JANUARY
January broke a record for intentional homicides. According to official statistics from the State Attorney General, the violent deaths registered at the end of January surpassed those registered during any of the previous 12 months.
El Diario, Ciudad Juárez, February 1, 2008
JANUARY BREAKS 1995 HOMICIDE RECORD
Forty-three murders were committed