Pubdate: Sat, 26 May 2012
Source: Salt Lake Tribune (UT)
Copyright: 2012 The Salt Lake Tribune
Contact:  http://www.sltrib.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/383
Author: Teresa Sanchez Howes

U.S. SHARES DRUG WAR

News that thousands have been killed in Mexico because of violence 
and the war on drugs does not have the same impact as when you put 
name and a face to the numbers.

Alvaro Lopez Joers, the father of my nephews, a well-known lawyer in 
Tulum, Mexico, was executed a week ago at his office. Alvaro was 
working in a real-estate case, defending people from being 
dispossessed of their lands by some drug cartel. He won the case, but 
he lost his life and left behind three children.

The psychological damage is horrible to the family. You feel 
worthless, angry, unsafe; you want to run, but where?

People here believe that since that happens on the other side of the 
border it is not a threat to the United States. They are wrong. It is 
a threat; the violence is moving north. Drug trafficking goes hand in 
hand with arms trafficking.

The violence doesn't see and respect borders. No fences will stop 
them. A wall is a naive solution. It is a complex problem that 
affects everybody.

Teresa Sanchez Howes

Salt Lake City
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