2,000 soldiers can't stop the bloodshed in Juarez

Posted on Fri, May. 09, 2008

STAR-TELEGRAM/TOM PENNINGTON

A crime-scene technician inspects the car in which police Capt. Saul Peña López was slain Tuesday in Ciudad Juarez. He was the 15th officer slain in the city since the beginning of the year.

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico -- The lights of the bullet-ridden sedan were still shining when the investigators arrived. Police Capt. Saul Peña López had been rushed to the hospital by then, but the blood-soaked pavement suggested he wouldn't be there long.

Under the guard of machine-gun-toting Army soldiers -- sent here to quell a record outbreak of gang shootouts, kidnappings and unsolved murders -- the father of four died in the hospital from multiple gunshot wounds before midnight Tuesday. He was being buried today. Peña's murder made him the 15th law enforcement agent to be slain in violence-racked Ciudad Juarez since the beginning of the year, city police officials said. The 14th, a state prosecutor, died 24 hours earlier in a pool of blood in front of her home, where authorities retrieved 32 shell casings fired from AK-47 rifles.

In both cases, the armed assailants got away.

More than a month after Mexican President Felipe Calderón dispatched more than 2,000 soldiers to the troubled border city, execution-style murders remain commonplace -- and usually unsolved -- as heavily armed drug cartels battle for control of lucrative drug-smuggling routes into the United States.

Violence 'unprecedented'

"Even for a violent city like Juarez, this is pretty amazing," said Tony Payan, a drug cartel expert in El Paso and author of the book The Three U.S.-Mexico Border Wars: Drugs, Immigration, and Homeland Security. "It's unprecedented."

Authorities were already grappling with record violence in 2007, when Calderón sent more than 20,000 troops throughout the country to battle the cartels. The response from the drug kingpins was spectacularly swift and bloody.

Suspected drug traffickers gunned down a senior federal investigator in charge of gathering intelligence on the cartels in May 2007 and knocked off a federal police commander last September. They were also blamed for the beheadings of two Mexico City customs officials in December -- presumably revenge killings stemming from a cocaine bust. All told, the death toll eclipsed 2,500 last year. And 2008, with more than 1,000 killed so far, is on track to match or surpass that record, according to published reports.

At least 10 federal police officers have been killed in the past three weeks, and pitched shootouts have raged from the Pacific Coast to central Zacatecas, where three died in clashes Wednesday morning, including a young girl believed to have caught a stray bullet, authorities said.

It has been a particularly violent year in Ciudad Juarez. Once the undisputed turf of the Juarez Cartel, the city of 1.3 million people has become the scene of an epic turf battle, as elements of the powerful Sinaloa Cartel try to muscle their way in.

Nearly 300 have died in the violence so far this year, some of their bodies dumped in mass graves.

Two cases

The first police official in Juarez to die in the violence this week was Berenice Garcia Corral, a state criminal investigator, who was killed execution-style Monday night. Before Garcia's family could bury her, word came of the second police slaying.

Peña López was shot four times with an AK-47, a favored weapon of cartel hit men, as he pulled up about a block from his Cuauhtemoc police station.

Across the street, the owner of an ice cream shop, afraid to give her name for fear of retribution, said she hid under a rack of display freezers until the shooting subsided.

"Panic," she said, when asked to describe how it felt. "I don't think I'm going to be able to sleep well anymore."

Authorities say the shift that Peña supervised ended at 2 p.m. They were at a loss to explain why he left the office at about 8:30 p.m. That's when the assailants, reportedly waiting outside for him in a red pickup, riddled Peña with bullets before fleeing into the night.

His wife, Gloria Zuniga de Peña, said her husband called at about 2 p.m. to say he expected to be elevated to station commander and would be coming home late.

"I never thought anything like this would happen. He's never done anything bad," she said, holding her hands to her face. "He's been a police officer for 21 years, and nothing has ever happened to him."

Police spokesman Jaime Torres said no evidence had emerged suggesting that the slain officer had any connection to drug trafficking, which often goes hand-in-hand with the low wages on the city's police force. He said he had no information about any promotion that might have been coming Peña's way.

U.S. side of border

The violence hasn't been contained to the Mexican side of the border. Ralph Basham, commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, told a congressional committee in Washington this week that assaults against Border Patrol agents had tripled since 2001 as authorities clamp down on the southern border.

"Our success is putting pressure on smugglers of illegal aliens and drugs," Basham said. "They, in turn, are becoming frustrated, and unfortunately, more violent."

www.cbp.gov

Drugs, drugs and more drugs -- coke, heroin, pot and amphetamines all headed to the U.S. from their primary source -- Mexico.  Instead of closing our border and protecting American citizens from the addictive poison our legislators want to send 1.4 billion to Mexico for the Merida Initiative, another way to tie us to Mexico and "cooperate" ourselves into a hole.  Even Lou Dobbs thinks the plan is worth the effort and the money.  I don't.

We have seen that trade and open borders are more important than the lives of American citizens.  If you are hooked, if you know someone who is an addict, if you have ever been in a drug rehab, if you know family members who have suffered along with the addict, if you have been a victim of drug violence then you should make your voice heard.  

As long as we allow our countrymen to be poisoned with impunity they will be.  It has been demonstrated.

I've spent a lot of time dealing with Mexico and the Mexican government...the whole country is broken at virtually every level and terminally infected by corruption in all aspects of government, commerce, industry and its culture. Mexicans themselves are a charming, sweet-natured people whose combined cultural backgrounds span both native and European traditions and reach far into the pre-history of the Americas.

But Mexico is no United States and lacks the focused work ethic we inherited from our European ancestors. As a result the country's vast natural resources wealth is squandered or siphoned-off, leaving great masses of people desperately poor and disconnected from the modernity we in the US take for granted. Given the corruption and complete dysfunctionality of nearly all aspects of Mexican society there is little wonder that so many people turn to violent crime and the drugs trade.

President Calderon could put all the soldiers he has into the battle and they'd still lose the gunfight because the army lacks the training, the funding, the professionalism to effectively take on these urban criminal 'gureilla' groups...

The only way to defeat the monsters who run these drugs cartels is take the profit out of the trade by legalizing personal, at-home drug use -- all drugs, not just the 'soft' stuff...Undersell the gangs and they'll disappear soon enough...let people get wrecked at home...that's their business anyway and it goes now regardless of whatever laws are in place...Put into place strong consequence-based laws that make public intoxication a major offense -- on the same order as but stronger than current DWI/public intoxication laws...also, make sellng drugs without a vendor's license a serious offense...An approach such as this is the only thing that will possibly rein-in the drugs & the violence...it's not a very appetizing solution but clearly, prohibition hasn't worked and never will work.

Until we take a new approach the violence will continue on both sides of the border and in places most of us have never heard of...the drugs war is an abysmal failue and is largely responsible for much of the tragedy and misery we've seen here since 1965. 

jColes:

Interesting concept that just might work. Criminals such as drug dealers will not want to be bothered by legalities and drug users found on the streets in an obviously drug-induced state also need to be charged or fined. As a bonus, should the dealers decide to obey the law, the govt. can collect license fees.

Smokers of regular cigarettes have been made to feel like pariah; its time to do the same for drug users - whether they be entertainers, athletes, politicians or just "Joe/Jane Average". No more idolizing them when they are caught with drugs or just given the customary "slap on the wrist" of a petty cash fine or community service. Doesn't teach our kids much, this double standard.

jColes said:

I've spent a lot of time dealing with Mexico and the Mexican government...the whole country is broken at virtually every level and terminally infected by corruption in all aspects of government, commerce, industry and its culture. Mexicans themselves are a charming, sweet-natured people whose combined cultural backgrounds span both native and European traditions and reach far into the pre-history of the Americas.

But Mexico is no United States and lacks the focused work ethic we inherited from our European ancestors. As a result the country's vast natural resources wealth is squandered or siphoned-off, leaving great masses of people desperately poor and disconnected from the modernity we in the US take for granted. Given the corruption and complete dysfunctionality of nearly all aspects of Mexican society there is little wonder that so many people turn to violent crime and the drugs trade.

President Calderon could put all the soldiers he has into the battle and they'd still lose the gunfight because the army lacks the training, the funding, the professionalism to effectively take on these urban criminal 'gureilla' groups...

The only way to defeat the monsters who run these drugs cartels is take the profit out of the trade by legalizing personal, at-home drug use -- all drugs, not just the 'soft' stuff...Undersell the gangs and they'll disappear soon enough...let people get wrecked at home...that's their business anyway and it goes now regardless of whatever laws are in place...Put into place strong consequence-based laws that make public intoxication a major offense -- on the same order as but stronger than current DWI/public intoxication laws...also, make sellng drugs without a vendor's license a serious offense...An approach such as this is the only thing that will possibly rein-in the drugs & the violence...it's not a very appetizing solution but clearly, prohibition hasn't worked and never will work.

Until we take a new approach the violence will continue on both sides of the border and in places most of us have never heard of...the drugs war is an abysmal failue and is largely responsible for much of the tragedy and misery we've seen here since 1965. 

Bad idea.  I worked in drug court for awhile where my judge considered pot a "gateway" drug.  It seems so innocent, a few hits and so what, but it's the gateway, by way of meeting druggie friends and becoming comfortable in the drug culture, whereby you sink into a way of life that will eventually kill you or any chance you have of becoming a productive citizen.

I heard one woman say that she was hooked the first time she used crack and from there it was all downhill.  Also you  need to realize that some people, maybe your old grandmother, have a gene that makes them more easily disposed to picking up an addiction, any addiction, and if drugs are accepted in the living room old grams may become addicted along with your children. 

Mz& Suffering...the idea is really simple: make the drugs so cheap that no drugs gang can or will compete, and voila, drug violence goes away. This has to be done on a national level and operated by the states. In my idea, the Commerce Department will make contracts with drug-producing countries and US companies to produce drugs that are free of contaminants and are of 'pharmaceutical' quality in amounts large to ensure that supply is never an inducement for drugs gangs to come back. The Federal agency negotiates bulk prices, then re-sells the products to state agencies similar to Alcoholic Beverage Control departments at cost-plus 5% to cover operating costs, much the same way the Defense Commissary Agency works...The states license retail re-sellers. I envision adding a drugs department to existing liquor stores or even stand-alone retailers -- but no street dealers, per se. The state sells to the retailer at cost-plus 7%, and the retailers will have a recommended mark-up range on each product, exactly the same way neighborhood grocery stores have...their profit margin would likely be in the 7-10% range.

For example, at today's prices illegal cocaine sells for about $35K per kilo from cartel to regional supplier...that $35K becomes $150K by the time it's cut and sold on the street in a typical multi-level marketing operation...with end-user prices in the $50-gram range (or about $1,400 ounce)...that's a lot of untaxed money and broken lives, with associated costs passed on to us.

My research indicates bulk contract purchases of cocaine can reduce cost to $4,500 per kilo, and when cut with pure agents and with 20% mark-up over cost, the price to the end-user is about $7 per gram or $200 ounce. Given that kind of price difference drug gangs go out business quickly, just as bootleggers did at the end of Prohibition -- with all of the same effects that re-legalizing booze had on the supply system. One of the keys to the system is keeping greedy politicians and moralists from laying heavy taxes on the products...we must keep them cheap and readily available if the plan is to work.

The social problems associated with illegal drug use will be reduced but not eliminated...some people are just doomed and will always find a way to ruin their lives and those of people around them...but all of that crime associated with illegal drug use will go away pretty quickly...home and business burglaries will become rare, home invasions will drop off as wacked-out addicts will no longer need to steal to get their drugs...ditto stick-ups at the local stop & rob store...no more locking young people up for decades for simple possession...take drugs out of the homicide rate and more than 90% of American murders go away...

We can reduce the number of street cops by 50% or more, take the automatic weapons away from cops (truly scary notion giving racist, xenophobic, psychologically disturbed people heavy firepower and immense legal authority!) Reduce the courts structure by 50% or more and best of all, close down most of the American Gulag system and restore the civil liberties we've lost to the cop establishment and war on drugs...all of which saves taxpayers hundeds of billions of Dollars every year and makes us freer with less loss of liberty ...and if we dedicated just 10% of the cost of the drugs war and law enforcement cost saving to drug-use prevention and rehabilitation we can turn this awful social evil around in 20 years, or less.

Take the profit away, take the thrill of participating in an illicit activity away, provide a non-judgmental service program that attaches no stigma to recreational drug use (but with strict consequence-based laws) and drugs use will go down measurably within two years and decline to a point of statistical inertia within a decade...and virtual abstinance in 20 years. And use the law enforcement reduction savings to fund a world-class drug use prevention and rehab program...everyone wins but the crooks & the law enforcer system.

The greatest resistance will come from those with the most to lose if this plan were to be enacted -- the law enforcement establishment, trial lawyers, state welfare agencies and lying-conniving would-be tyrants we call professional politicians...We can win this battle but it will require a lot of effort and straight talk to the Middle Class voter.

I forgot to mention:

1. People who have committed violence as part of their drugs crime(s) get no mercy...they stay in jail for the max of their sentence...no parole.

2. Non-violent offenders get out of jail as soon as possible, but not before they complete drug aversion and a societal re-entry program...and if they stay clean for three years, their conviction should be expunged and their full civil rights restored. If they screw-up again, hammer them hard...maybe not with jail but mental treatments...or jail if the offense warrants.  

Look at the taxes they are piling on cigarettes. Look at the people who die from alcohol related deaths and the people they drag down along the way. One drink for an alcoholic alters their personality.

You can talk economics all you want but drugs are poison to most people and to those who can't quit drugs are a sure and degrading death. I wonder how many people will be drivning cars around who are under the influence. How many will choose to live in altered realities? New charges and new penalties will have to be invented to make sure people don't fall asleep at the wheel. Our judicial system and lawyers will thrive.

And ....

Look at you.  You're already making up laws and penalties for the drug culture you're putting in our living rooms and you did it before I could post a reply. 

Your Honor --

1)  I abstained a full eight hours before I took off from LAX.  I can't help it if my system works differently than most.

2)  I didn't mean to throw the baby out the window.  Something flashed in my mind and she looked like a monster.

3)  I now know I prefer to be stoned than to work.

4)  I didn't mean to fall asleep on the baby and smother him.  It was an accident.

5)  I know I fell asleep and forgot to feed the kids and put them to bed.  I must have OD'd.

6)  I know I spent my entire paycheck on drugs but they were so cheap.  That's why I couldn't afford a babysitter.

7)  I'm not really addicted.  I just can't stop.

8)  Sure I disappeared for three days but I don't remember any of it. 

Why is there no campaign to abolish drug use that is at least 1/2 as vehement as that against regular cigarette smokers or drinkers? Why is there no entertainer, athlete, politician that can sincerely address the issue? Why does the media show it to be glamorous and OK with the "in" crowd? Why do these people not unite to initiate a campaign against drugs?

I guess they don't want them outlawed as it would cut into their sources.

A plan, albeit not one you would endorse, is better than no plan at all. Everyone on the planet is a potential victim of drugs, either through the use of them or as the target of a drug-altered user.  Responsibility has to be taken by everyone - the seller, the user, the victim. Its good to be a devil's advocate, but nothing is perfect and even a bad plan can be brought closer to perfection through tweaking.

Mz said:

Why is there no campaign to abolish drug use that is at least 1/2 as vehement as that against regular cigarette smokers or drinkers? Why is there no entertainer, athlete, politician that can sincerely address the issue? Why does the media show it to be glamorous and OK with the "in" crowd? Why do these people not unite to initiate a campaign against drugs?

I guess they don't want them outlawed as it would cut into their sources.

A plan, albeit not one you would endorse, is better than no plan at all. Everyone on the planet is a potential victim of drugs, either through the use of them or as the target of a drug-altered user.  Responsibility has to be taken by everyone - the seller, the user, the victim. Its good to be a devil's advocate, but nothing is perfect and even a bad plan can be brought closer to perfection through tweaking.

SMOKING AND DRINKING-- Smoking is no longer politically correct and those who quit will forever be angry and that's why they're vehement.  Drink all you want.  Drown yourself in liquor.  It's still an acceptable way to kill yourself.  Most can walk away with a drink or two.  For those who can't too bad.

DRUGS:  No, I don't endorse that plan.  It would introduce the multitudes to drugs.  Those who had never thought about drugs would try them.  Some -- the unlucky ones born with a disposition to have an addiction would suffer.  Was the compresensive immigration bill better than no bill at all?  I don't think so.

But you don't need to worry about it.  Just go see your local drug dealer and have at it. 

Guys...the bad plan is the one we have now...Here's some research-based reality from the Centers for Disease Control -- which is the least likely advocate for legalization:

-- the vast majority of illicit drug users are from the 'non-productive' classes -- the very, very rich; arts & entertainment and the lower/under-classes. The Middle Class learned long ago that one can't use drugs or alcohol to excess and keep a job which is required to remain in the Middle Class.

-- of those in the Middle Class who tried a so-called 'gateway drug' in their youth (17-25 years old), fewer than 10% use any illegal drugs by age 30.

The American Psychological Association found in its research on causitive factors for beginning illicit drug use among teens that the thrill of doing something that's against the rules is part of the initial draw or temptation.

The APA further found, before the DEA pounded on them to recall the study results, that moderate recreational use of Marijuana does not lead to use of other illicit drugs and that it is less-no more harmful to the brain, liver & kidneys than moderate alcohol use.

If we want to continue having 30,000-plus murders per year in this country, of which 90% are drug-related and tied to illegal secondary activities such as distributing, selling, or stealing to get money to buy drugs;

If we want to continue having tens of millions of burglaries, store robberies, drug store break-ins, street robberies and other drug-associated crimes;

If we want to continue incarcerating people for the non-violent crime of simple possession, or having them under court supervision, and in either case having a permanent mark on their life record that often prevents them gaining higher education or obtaining a professional life;

and if we want to continue having half-hearted, ineffective drug use prevention, interdiction and rehab programs;

If want to continue giving police agencies the power to murder and pillage almost with impunity;

 if we want to see further erosion of our property rights, safety in our homes, further diminishing of our civil liberties;

Then we stay with the current plan. 

Suffering...that list of horrible things you posted earlier...they're happening every day right now...right now, every day. If a plan such as I've outlined is put into effect the rate at which those things happen will decline markedly rather quickly...

Also, Suffering, I didn't add 'new laws' in my second post...those were points that I should have written in to the basic idea post because it's important to get otherwise law-abiding, non-violent people out of the gulags and back into society...if they stay clean, then let's forgive them and let them get on with their lives. Those who have committed an act or acts of violence -- whether drug-related or not -- under current law should stay in prison for as long as current law allows.

I reiterate: none of these habits are good but they're part of the human condition. Even the Tasiday, the most primitive people on Earth who weren't even discovered in their interior of New Guinea homeland valley until about 40 years ago had a small percentage of tribe members who just had to have one more of their sacred roots -- a natural hallucenogenic drug. The doomed will always be with us, just as the failed and failing, the professionally-perpetually poor and the insane. We can't save them but we can save our society by doing something radically different from this clearly failed 'war on drugs.'