Pubdate: Wed, 18 Jan 2012
Source: Sun, The (Yuma, AZ)
Copyright: 2012 The Sun
Contact: http://www.yumasun.com/sections/opinion/submit-letters/
Website: http://www.yumasun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1258
Author: Charlie Minn

WHAT CAN BE DONE ABOUT DRUG VIOLENCE?

As bad as the attacks on 9/11 were, and I am a New Yorker who was 
there that infamous day, there is a war that is actually worse. Right 
across the fence from El Paso, Texas, is a poor Mexican city where 
more murders were committed in 2010 than the 9/11 attacks.

Since 2008, there have been more than 10,000 murders in this decaying 
city, which easily surpassed both of our wars in the Middle East 
combined by a whopping 40 percent. This city is called Juarez, which 
has become the symbol of all the unspeakable violence that has hit 
our once-proud neighboring country of Mexico. As the 
director-producer of "8 Murders a Day," a movie documentary about 
Juarez that opens here Friday, I know about the violence there.

The mass murders in Mexico, due mainly to the rivalries among 
ferocious drug cartels, has reached an all-time high, with Juarez 
accounting for almost a quarter of the damage. Currently, 71 percent 
of Mexico is crippled by drug cartel violence, and the Americans are 
shamelessly supplying most of the illegal weapons and cash to Mexico 
for all the illegal drugs that are destroying our own country.

This level of violence is also due to the colossal failures of both 
the U.S. and Mexican governments. The Mexican side has been riddled 
with deep corruption and Felipe Calderon's miserable attempt at 
weakening the powerful cartels. The Obama administration has 
collectively yawned at our desperate neighbors, with priorities 
focused in on the Middle East.

Children and even babies being slaughtered are not uncommon in 
Mexico. At this point, anybody is "fair game" during this drug war 
which has turned Juarez and other parts of Mexico into a 
bullet-riddled "free-for-all."

Can we finally say "no to drugs" or have stiffer penalties to bring 
down all the drug users in America? That would be one refreshing 
start. Would sending in U.S. troops be an option? Can Mexico govern 
itself despite the Americans' horrific involvement? Is legalizing 
drugs in the United States worth a try? Citizens in Cairo, Egypt, 
toppled their own government -- is it out of the question that Mexico 
could follow a similar revolt?

Charlie Minn

El Paso, Texas
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom