Murder City_ Ciudad Juarez and the Global Economy's New Killing Fields - Charles Bowden [140]
El Diario, Ciudad Juárez, April 15, 2008
A payroll ledger found in the search of a Juárez cartel leader that confirmed municipal police collected $8,000 per month has spurred a federal investigation. The ledger used code names for those who received payment from the Vicente Carrillo Fuentes organization. Municipal police spokesman Jaime Torres said that
“We know that there are good and bad elements in every group and the police are no exception. We are in the process of detecting these bad elements. . . . ”
New York Times, April 16, 2008
DRUG WAR CAUSES WILD WEST BLOOD BATH, KILLING 210 IN A MEXICAN BORDER TOWN
CIUDAD JUÁREZ, Mexico—One sign of the desperation to end organized crime in this border town is that the good guy on the police recruitment posters is not a clean-cut youth in a smart police cap, but a menacing soldier in a black mask and helmet carrying a heavy machine gun. “The mortuary is full of more than 50 unclaimed and unidentified bodies, proof that the soldiers in the underworld war come from other states,” the mayor said.
El Diario, Ciudad Juárez, April 16, 2008
Juárez residents’ greatest fear is to get caught in the crossfire during a gun battle in the streets, according to a recent poll. Two out of three residents say that it is “very easy” to get a marijuana cigarette, a dose of cocaine or ecstasy.
La Jornada, Mexico City, April 17, 2008
NUEVO LAREDO, Tamaulipas—Offering salaries in dollars, life insurance, houses and late-model cars, the Gulf Cartel is recruiting ex-soldiers, according to an announcement posted Thursday on the streets of Tampico. “Stop your suffering, ex-soldiers, federal police . . . join the ranks of the Gulf Cartel . . . here we pay in dollars, we offer benefits, life insurance, a house for your family in a good neighborhood, and pick your own new car or truck every year . . . What more could you ask for? Tamaulipas, Mexico and the United States—all Gulf Cartel territory!”
El Diario, Ciudad Juárez, April 18, 2008
Víctor Jesús Jiménez Soto, Benjamín Verdugo Villalobos and Alfonso Leyva Carrasco showed the marks of torture and violence on their bodies and said that the drugs and guns were planted by the Mexican army.
El Diario, Ciudad Juárez, April 18, 2008
The State Attorney General reported 21 homicides in the city during the first 18 days of April. Official statistics indicate 231 murders so far in 2008; 12 are women. In January there were 48 murders, 45 in February, and 117 in March.
El Diario, Ciudad Juárez, April 19, 2008
POLICEMAN AND 8-YEAR-OLD SON SHOT AND KILLED
Four people were shot and killed last night in separate organized-crime-style incidents. Municipal police captain Alejandro Martínez Casas and his 8-year-old son died at the medical center where they were taken after the attack. Martínez Casas’s name had appeared in the list of targeted officers on the Police Monument on January 26. The attack occurred at about 9:15 P.M. while Martínez drove his late-model, double cabin Nissan Titan pickup with Mexican plates, number DS57696, registered in the State of Chihuahua. A group of masked, armed men opened fire with AK-47s. Numerous bullet holes could be seen in the front and on the passenger side of the pickup. The child, whose name was not released, received various bullet wounds and witnesses reported that one of his arms was nearly destroyed.
The other double homicide occurred when the still unidentified occupants of a 2002 Honda were shot after being chased by four men in two other vehicles. Another man was shot and wounded on the sidewalk in Colonia Galeana. As neighbors gave first aid, 6 men