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Column 011606 Brewer

Monday, January 16, 2006

Homicide Rate in Mexico is Appalling

By Jerry Brewer

Impunity in Mexico’s homicide rate is not acceptable at

any international humanitarian level. This, an issue
that must concern all free nations of the world that
value the dignity of human life. Too, it must be a major
concern of each presidential candidate in the upcoming
Mexican elections. The citizens of Mexico, as well as
victims and victim families, must demand action and
plans to bring the guilty to justice. A democratic nation
must be dedicated and prepared to act on their behalf
for humanitarian purposes

According to figures cited in the Mexican media, more

than 1,500 people died in 2005 of violence linked to
“organized crime.”

It is believed that approximately 500 women have been

murdered in the state of Chihuahua since the late
1980s. Many have simply disappeared. The killing of
women has continued virtually unabated since 1993.
The causes of this aura of femicide vary – domestic
violence, suspected narco-executions, gang shootings,
and sexual assaults. Many of the murders of these
women seem to follow the long-pattern of young
women who suddenly disappear and are later found
raped and murdered.

Violence against women is epidemic in Mexico. In

Ciudad Juarez alone, six years of killing sprees have
claimed the lives of 182 women. Many human rights
organizations believe that figure to be even greater,
with many still missing. At least 100 of the Ciudad
Juarez victims fit a pattern in which a young, slender
woman was sexually assaulted, strangled, and dumped
in the surrounding desert. In the state of Chihuahua a
significant number of cases of young women and
adolescents were reported missing.

On the “organized crime,” or drug trafficking front, the

victims have included many current or former police
officers, government officials, politicians, and
journalists. In 2005 more than 187 people were
murdered in the Nuevo Laredo area alone. Many
victims have simply vanished into the control of armed
groups.

As equally disturbing as the staggering body count in

Mexico, is the level of sophistication of the
killers/assassins and their facilitation of movement to
avoid capture. The weaponry used by these killers
have included grenade launchers, bazookas, AK-47
automatic weapons, and others. In Nuevo Laredo, after
a violent firefight with police, an apparent hit list of
officials sentenced to death was found, as well as
addresses, maps, and photographs of municipal police
officers.

As for the “killing expertise,” Los Zetas, a group of elite

former Mexican soldiers have led the way, hired by
organized drug cartels. Later, former members of a
Guatemalan special forces unit known as “Kaibiles”
emerged. The Kaibiles are known for their grueling
jungle-survival training, paratrooper skills, and
counterinsurgency operations. Seven alleged members
were arrested last year in the State of Chiapas.

Mexican drug cartels are also recruiting hired killers in

the U.S. Jose Luis Santiago Vasconcelos, Mexico’s anti-
drug prosecutor, said that the “great majority” of
gunmen for the Sinaloa Cartel are U.S. citizens “who
live in the United States.”

How can so much death and violence in Mexico take a

backseat to massive world media detailing less pressing
issues? Is the value of human life (in Mexico) not
regarded as a top world concern? Are we more
concerned about migration or should we also be
concerned humanely for many of the reasons people
flee for their lives?

The death toll is real and there should be no confusion

on that issue. In case the murdered victims, women
and children, and the countless missing do not move us
to action, let us look beyond walls and fences to the
fact that the U.S.-Mexico border area remains one of
the most dangerous anywhere in the world. All of these
dangers pose a serious and immediate threat to public
safety on both sides of the border. Walls do not stop
murder. Walls do not prevent sophisticated weaponry
and elite-trained paramilitary assassins. In plain fact, a
horrendous war is taking place that knows no
boundaries.

This epidemic of violent murder and impunity must end.

There is no reasonable expectation of any police force
in Mexico to have, or acquire on its own, the resources
necessary to effectively win this fight alone. For the
insurgents are far too well armed, trained, and
financed.

Mexico needs help with their profound deficiencies in

justice and security, and an inability to cope with many
of the needs and rights of their citizens. The world
must lend a helping hand.
___________________
Jerry Brewer, the Vice President of Criminal Justice
International Associates, a global risk mitigation firm
headquartered in Miami, Florida, is also a columnist with
MexiData.info. He can be reached via e-mail at
Cjiaincusa@aol.com, and jbrewer@cjiausa.org.