Pubdate: Tue, 23 Mar 2010
Source: El Paso Times (TX)
Copyright: 2010 El Paso Times
Contact: http://www.elpasotimes.com/formnewsroom
Website: http://www.elpasotimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/829
Author: Adriana Gomez Licon

SLAYINGS ESCALATE: CLINTON HEADS TO MEXICO CITY TO DISCUSS AID PACKAGE

EL PASO -- Killings in Juarez are occurring at a faster rate this 
year than last, when the city had a staggering 2,643 murders.

At least 555 people have been murdered in 2010. In comparison, 449 
homicides occurred in the first three months of 2009.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton today leads a 
delegation to Mexico City for discussions about revising the Merida 
Initiative, a $1.3 billion aid package the U.S. government sent to 
Mexico in 2008 to combat organized crime. The U.S. contingent also 
will include Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Homeland Security 
Secretary Janet Napolitano.

Frustrated and angry Juarez residents said they want results -- and peace.

"We are disappointed in our justice system and tired of seeing the 
blood shed and shed," said Brenda Lara, a lawyer with Casa Amiga, a 
nonprofit crisis center.

So far, more than 5,100 have died in the city of 1.3 million since 
Mexican President Felipe Calderon began to crack down on drug 
cartels. The violence in Juarez exploded in 2008, when more than 
1,500 people were murdered.

The cartel-related violence regained international attention after 
three people with ties to the U.S. Consulate in Juarez were shot to 
death March 13.

As the violence worsened, Mexican executives' visits to Juarez have 
been disrupted by angry protesters. During last week's visit by 
Calderon, the attorney general and public safety secretary said there 
had been fewer homicides, more victims rescued from kidnappers and 
more federal police officers patrolling the streets.

But Lara said she was not persuaded that the city was safer.

"I do not see anything, not a single improvement," Lara said. "The 
lack of safety that we all feel is huge. People cannot have the same 
freedom they used to."

A survey of 1,800 people conducted in November by the Autonomous 
University of Ciudad Juarez showed that 97 percent of the population 
felt unsafe.

Maria del Socorro Velazquez, a researcher at the university, said 
people did not feel safe in almost every environment except at home.

In the same survey, 52 percent said they disapproved of and 
distrusted all Mexican authorities. "They lost their trust because it 
is known that they don't apprehend the criminals," Velazquez said. 
"They are experts in sealing off (scenes of crime), but not in detaining."

The U.S. State Department released its 2010 International Narcotics 
Control Strategy Report earlier in March. The document said 
"corruption remains a significant impediment to counter-narcotics 
efforts in Mexico."

The report also said the Calderon administration had only been able 
to tackle the problem at the federal level and neglected the 
municipal and state law enforcement for lack of money.

Local and state officers account for 90 percent of Mexico's police 
force. But Juarez is also patrolled by 7,000 soldiers and 2,000 
federal police officers.

"Besides the fact that the president's strategy is not the most 
adequate, the problem is the government has not advanced when it 
comes to corruption," said Hugo Almada, a member of the recently 
formed public safety committee in Juarez.

Agencies need more detectives and more intelligence, Almada said.

Among the urgent matters Juarez residents have asked Calderon to 
solve are extortions and kidnappings.

Almada said one of the recent crimes that has the city in a state of 
shock was the kidnapping of former Chihuahua gubernatorial candidate 
Pablo Cuaron's son. Cuaron lost a bid to represent the National 
Action Party, the conservative party of Calderon.

Chihuahua state attorney officials said they had no information about 
the kidnapping, or even a report of it.

People fed up with the killings, kidnappings and extortions have 
moved away. An exodus is evident in the number of houses abandoned, 
businesses closed and jobs lost.

Juarez's planning department said 110,000 houses have been abandoned, 
which means about 420,000 people moved out of the city. More than 
75,000 people have lost their jobs since December 2007, said the 
Mexican social security institute. And the Mexican chamber of 
commerce said close to 11,000 businesses were forced to close, 
fearing extortions and assaults.

"For the first time, we may see negative numbers in population 
change," Velazquez said.

The turmoil in El Paso's sister city has prompted changes of 
sentiments among U.S. politicians.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, for instance, said the U.S. 
government had not done enough to solve the crisis. Gov. Rick Perry 
last week unveiled a spillover strategy to patrol the border in 
helicopters. Perry stand drew criticism from U.S. Rep. Silvestre 
Reyes, D-Texas, who said the governor was serving as an alarmist.

But El Paso Mayor John Cook told El Pasoans to avoid visiting the 
deadliest city in Mexico.

At least 45 U.S. citizens have been killed in Juarez since 2007. 
Almost one-fourth of the executions, homicides and drug-related 
deaths of Americans in Mexico occurred in Juarez.

Lara said some accounts from people who visit the crisis center 
remind her that hope dies last. Two parents recently visited Lara and 
told her their daughter was missing after gunmen murdered their son-in-law.

"They are devastated, but they continue to search for their daughter 
and look into the son in-law's-case," Lara said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom