Pubdate: Wed, 24 Dec 2008
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Copyright: 2008 The Globe and Mail Company
Contact:  http://www.globeandmail.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168
Author: Marina Jimenez

HIGH SOCIETY MEETS HIGH ANXIETY IN MEXICO

For Well-To-Do Bystanders In Nation's Drug War, The Risk Of 
Kidnapping Lies Around Every Turn - And In Every Taxi

MEXICO CITY -- Lourdes Morales and two friends had just come out of a 
movie at 9 o'clock on a brisk fall evening when a beat-up grey Ford 
pulled up alongside them Five men piled out, pinned Ms. Morales and 
her entourage against a wall, pressed pistols to their stomachs, and 
patted them down for money and valuables.

"Here, take everything," said Ms. Morales, 35, throwing her favourite 
pink bag at their feet. Inside were the keys to her house and car, 
her cellphone, credit card and wallet.

A police car was parked nearby. But the two officers inside didn't 
even blink as the assault unfolded in a wealthy neighbourhood of old 
colonial homes in Mexico City's south end, near the historic 
residence of famed muralist Diego Rivera.

It could have been worse. Ms. Morales, elegant in high-heeled brown 
leather boots and a tweed blazer, wasn't killed or kidnapped. She was 
just one more victim of a drive-by robbery in a country with a 
growing problem not just of drug violence, but kidnapping, extortion 
and petty theft.

The offensive launched by President Felipe Calderon against the drug 
cartels has unleashed a vicious cycle of violence in this country of 
110 million. Decapitated bodies have turned up in parking lots, 
executions have been posted on the Internet, and banners taunting 
police hung over highway overpasses. More than 5,376 people have been 
killed in the past year, a 117-per-cent increase over 2007, with much 
of the drug violence focused along Mexico's northern border, in 
cities such as Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez, where the army has moved in 
and cartels fight one another for territory and control

Ordinary Mexicans, however, worry less about bullets than about being 
robbed or abducted. As the government squeezes the cartels' drug 
profits, more and more criminals turn to kidnapping, carjacking and 
extortion as lucrative sidelines. Criminal gangs scan society pages 
and Facebook postings in search of wealthy targets.

Mexicans, especially the one-fifth who live in the capital, have for 
years put up with the risk of kidnapping, but the recent increase, 
combined with the complicity of police, has unleashed a new atmosphere of fear.

Reliable statistics on abductions are hard to come by because most go 
unreported for fear of police involvement. Last summer, several 
police officers were arrested in the abduction of 14-year-old 
Fernando Marti, the son of a wealthy sporting goods-chain owner.

The Citizens Institute for Crime Studies here estimates the real 
kidnapping rate is more than seven times the official rate. The 
institute believes there are probably about 500 a month nationwide. 
"Ninety per cent of people in Mexico City don't feel safe. Things 
have deteriorated in the last two years," said Luis de la Barreda, 
the institute's executive director. "Kidnappings have increased by 20 
per cent."

When Ms. Morales, who works for a non-governmental organization 
studying the causes of crime, tried to interest police in pursuing 
her assailants, they shrugged. "They told me, 'Don't worry, these 
thieves won't try to rob your house, that's a different band of 
robbers,' " she recalled of the incident last fall.

No savvy, well-heeled Mexican dares look the part any more, removing 
Tiffany bracelets and diamond engagement rings before leaving the 
house. Many avoid hailing taxis on the street, and if they're 
driving, they run red lights after sundown for fear of carjackings.

At dinner parties and cafes, people share stories of the latest 
outrage. These days, it is virtual abductions: Criminals call a 
person's cellphone claiming to be holding a loved one for ransom. The 
person becomes upset, often blurting out the loved one's name and 
agreeing to pay up, only to later discover it's a ruse.

"It's a real psychological manipulation," said a woman in her mid-30s 
who was recently taken in by such a scam. "You're so upset you agree 
to anything."

Some restaurants and shops have been forced to hire guards, install 
security cameras and pay police a few hundred dollars a month to 
patrol their neighbourhoods, just to keep customers safe. That's what 
Robert Craig, owner of Primos, did after clients at his bistro were 
twice attacked last year by a band of brazen watch thieves.

The bandits held up patio diners as they tucked into endive salad and 
steak frites, demanding their Audemars Piguet and Cartier watches.

"They fired off their guns. People were yelling and screaming. It was 
pandemonium," Mr. Craig said, stressing that his establishment is now safe.

Delia Nava, 30, was recently the victim of an "express kidnapping" 
when she made the mistake of flagging a taxi on the street in the 
fashionable Polanco neighbourhood. "I got into the cab and two other 
men appeared from nowhere and got in on either side of me," recalled 
Ms. Nava, a hotel receptionist out walking her cocker spaniel through 
a park. "They drove me around to different banks and made me withdraw 
all my money and hand it over. It was a horrible experience."

She no longer goes out at night alone, or hails cabs from the street.

All this anxiety is a boon for some: Experts say business is thriving 
at the estimated 10,000 security companies operating in the country. 
Bodyguards, guard dogs and armoured SUVs have become status symbols 
among Mexico City's wealthy elites.

Perhaps the most innovative product of all is a new line of clothing 
at Miguel Caballero, a by-appointment-only shop in Polanco with a 
metal detector at the entrance that is known as the Armani of 
"high-security" couture.

On offer are bulletproof trench coats, leather jackets and Italian 
wool sports jackets for $4,000 (U.S.), along with polo shirts and 
tuxedo shirts for $3,000. All the clothing is custom-made, can 
withstand shots from a .44 Magnum handgun, and will be replaced 
gratis in the event of, God forbid, an incident.

Javier di Carlo, the shop's genial marketing manager, shows a video 
of himself sporting a Miguel Caballero leather jacket, wincing 
slightly, as his boss shoots him with a revolver.

"It felt like a pinch. It didn't hurt at all," Mr. di Carlo said with 
a shrug. "When a client comes in and asks, 'Does it work?' I show 
them this video."

Satisfied customers include Prince Felipe of Spain, President Alvaro 
Uribe of Colombia, Hollywood action star Steven Seagal, and King 
Abdullah of Jordan, some of whose photographs decorate the showroom walls.

The store opened its first outlet in Bogota and has since expanded to 
Johannesburg, Guatemala City, and even Harrods, in London.

Ms. Morales, however, won't be shopping here any time soon. Instead, 
she changed the locks on her apartment, bought a new handbag and 
carried on. "I was freaked out for two or three months," she said. "I 
had the sensation that I was being followed."

But she has learned to live with the risk. After all, her brother was 
kidnapped for six hours. Everyone has a story. They're lucky if they 
live to tell it.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom