Violence in Mexico

by Surah

While many of us around the world are enjoying our inalienable, indivisible human rights, those in Mexico have undergone the bloodiest war in their history. One marketing student, at the tender age of 21 has been uprooted from her home in Monterrey, a city in Mexico ravaged by drug wars, and sent to live in Mexico city—a residence that is instead barraged with robberies and kidnappings. Her parents claimed that they never thought they would have to send her to Mexico City but they prefer for her to live there. President Eduard Gallo of the anti-crime group: Mexico United Against Crime mentioned the life in Mexico City, “We haven’t had heads cut off. We don’t have blockades. We don’t have houses on fire. We don’t have bombs.” Ken Ellingwood from the Los Angeles Times writes, “Drug traffics are aware of the risks of igniting major provocations in a city that is home to the federal police, army, navy and intelligence officers.”




If you haven’t heard about the drug-related violence in Mexico, you are one of few. According to the Financial Times, 15,273 lives have been lost during 2010. They have it on record as the bloodiest year in the government’s war against crime according to official sources from the Financial Times. While many tourists (including myself) have made conscious decisions not to visit the country during this bloody battle, some claim that they killings are not targeted towards tourists. However, the Financial Times noted that in Acapulco, a popular coastal destination for vacationers, 15 people were found decapitated in the first week of 2011. The Washington Post also has highlighted crimes against tourists by noting, “Civilians with no evident ties to the drug trade have been killed in the crossfire and occasionally targeted.” The Washington Post does point out though that most of the killings are drug-linked deaths.



President Felipe Calderon declared war against organized crime in December of 2006 and since then, according to the Financial Times, over 30,000 people have perished. The war on drugs for President Calderon has been arduous one to say the least. Nearly every month, a report comes out about the uncovering of mass murdered bodies in makeshift grave sites. President Calderon has been quoted as accrediting the United States for the constant need for drugs, “The origin of our violence problem begins with the fact that Mexico is located next to the country that has the highest levels of drug consumption in the world. It is as if our neighbors were the biggest drug addict in the world.” While experts have noted that cocaine, marijuana, and methamphetamine are constantly smuggled into the United States through Mexico, they also note that the weapons being used by the cartels are being smuggled into Mexico from the United States. This interdependent relationship has left Mexico with more body bags than they ever could have foreseen.



President Obama has allocated $1.3 billion dollars in aid to assist with police training, court reformation, and other military supplies. When El Universal, a Mexican newspaper can report that 96 people were killed in a single day, the problem cannot be ignored.



Even those in rehabilitation centers aren’t safe—The Washington Post noted that patients at the Faith and Life drug center in Chihuahua were forced onto the floor and against the wall and executed. 19 of those people died and they ranged in ages from 16 to 63. One of the teens reportedly made a telephone call home and managed to yell out, “Mommy, they’ve come to kill us!”



The stories simply do not stop. There are thousands of articles online chronicling the lives lost, the families torn apart, the drug cartel violence, the corruption within the Mexican government and the mass murder grave sites.



There might be something to see some sort of light at the end of the tunnel though. The Financial Times reported on Alejandre Poire, the government’s security spokesman in which he tried to assure the Mexican people that the government was beginning to make headway. Poire noted that in the third quarter of 2010, drug-related murders stabilized and even declined during the last three months of the year. He also mentioned that the violence was in localized areas rather than occurring nationwide.



While some may find comfort in his words, those who live in Ciudad Juarez may not see it that way. Juarez has been noted as having some of the highest amounts of battles between crime organizations. The Washington Post notes as many as a third of the drug-related deaths occurred in Juarez in 2010.



The war on drugs in Mexico is both an American and a Mexican problem. Without demand, there would be no supply so efforts must be targeted at both ends of the problem. As a citizen of the United States I try to stay abreast of these sorts of stories because human loss affects us all and even though we may not realize it, it affects the entire world. What can we do? Stay informed and don’t make bad decisions that could contribute to this drug war. Even though some people may partake in illegal drug activities, they may not think about how many people had to die, how many were threatened, stabbed, and kidnapped in order to satiate an obsession with drugs. Spread the word!

 
References:
“Mexico: Investigate Enforced Disappearances in Ciudad Juarez. Police Accused, Torture Allegations Against Chief” Human Rights Watch. ONLINE: http://www.hrw.org/.
“Mexico: Letter to President Calderon. Human Rights and Public Security” September 24, 2010. Human Rights Watch. ONLINE: http://www.hrw.org/
Thomson, Adam. “Mexico Drugs Violence Makes 2010 Bloodiest Year” Financial Times (London, England) January 13, 2011.
Ellingwood, Ken. “The World; Mexico Under Siege; Fleeing Violence, Many Seek Safety in the Capital” Los Angeles Times. (Los Angeles, California, US) March 27, 2011.
Booth, William. “Mexico’s drug violence claims hundreds of lives in five days” The Washington Post. (Washington, US) June 16, 2010.

Seele, A., Shirk, D., & Olson, E. “5 Myths about Mexico’s drug war” The Washington Post. (Washington, US) March 28, 2010.