A look back at Mexican violence this month

I know a lot of you don't understand why we border states are so worried about the drug war spilling into our country... I know a lot of you are upset with demands of immigration reform too... those of you who live deeper in the country are far removed and don't see daily what's going on down here, why we would take such dramatic actions... will allow me to just highlight only the stories that made the news... remember a good deal more happens that never makes the headlines...

April 25, 2010: As of Sunday evening, there have been more than 760 murders this year, raising to 4,992 homicides in the Juárez area since 2008 when a drug cartel war erupted, according to a tally kept by the El Paso Times. the official death toll for the country is 22,700

April 24,2010:Gunmen armed with assault rifles and grenades attacked a convoy carrying the top security official of the western state of Michoacan on Saturday, killing four and wounding 10 in Mexico's second brazen ambush in as many days.
"In the ambush, they used concentrated fire from these types of weapons, forcing her and her escort to crash into a trailer truck that they had pulled across the road," Montejano said.
The dead included two of Bautista's bodyguards and two bystanders. they were two girls aged 2 and 12

April 23, 2010: Seven people were slain when cartel gunmen ambushed two police vehicles in Ciudad Juarez (Chihuahua state). Five of those killed were federal police officers and one was a city policeman. The other person was a civilian. There are around 5,000 federal police deployed in the Juarez region.

April 22, 2010: Approximately 50 cartel gunmen attacked a hotel in Monterrey (Nuevo Leon state) and kidnapped three people. The attack took place around three a.m. The gunmen drove up to the hotel in a convoy of stolen cars.

April 19, 2010: Government officials and diplomats are asking the U.S. to continue to improve cooperation with Mexican security agencies. Intelligence fusion centers with U.S. and Mexican agents and analysts are key to breaking up cartel operations, especially in the border regions. The Mexican government has come a long way from the days it rejected any overt cooperation with the U.S., calling the offer an attempt to undermine Mexican sovereignty. Mexican diplomats repeatedly point out that their government seeks international cooperation. However, the government riles at what it considers unfair criticism regarding corruption. Responding to charges from the U.S. that corruption in Mexico was hindering counter-drug efforts, Mexican officials argued that the U.S. is not doing enough to stem American demand for illegal narcotics.

April 17, 2010: U.S. Border Patrol agents fired at a vehicle that tried to run through a border checkpoint from Tijuana. The driver was later arrested.

April 15, 2010: U.S. and Mexican authorities confirm that cartel gunmen continue to launch attacks continue in the Juarez Valley area (east of Ciudad Juarez). Several hundred Mexican families have fled the area. Local authorities estimate at least 50 people from the area are now seeking asylum in the U.S.. Many family members have reported the drug gangs threaten to kill them if they stay in their homes. The valley is a major smuggling corridor from Mexico into Texas. At the moment most of the violence appears to be committed by the Sinaloa drug cartel. The Sinaloa cartel is fighting the Juarez cartel for control of smuggling routes in and around Juarez. It appears that the Sinaloa cartel is winning that fight. Most of the drug shipments now passing through the Juarez area are controlled by the Sinaloa cartel. The Sinaloa cartel works with two smaller enforcer gangs in the area, the Killer Artists and the Mexicles. Juarez has its own subsidiary enforcers, La Linea and Azteca.

April 9, 2010: U.S. congressional representatives told the Mexican government that they would try to speed up disbursement of Merida initiative funds. The Mexican government wants more helicopters and aircraft to fight the Cartel War. they will only be getting 300 k in funding, no money for aircraft or military equipment. all funds most be used for anti drug education of their youth.

April 1, 2010: Drug cartel gunmen attacked seven different targets in what authorities described as a coordinated series of assaults. The attacks took place in Tamaulipas and Nuevo Leon states. Two of the attacks targeted Mexican Army garrisons, one in the city of Reynosa. Eighteen of the gunmen were slain by Mexican Army soldiers during those two attacks. A Mexican Army position near a major state highway in Nuevo Leon state was one of the other five sites assaulted. A firefight also occurred between soldiers manning a control point and cartel gunmen along the highway between Reynosa and Monterrey. The gunmen attacked the two garrisons using vehicles with bullet-proof armor, hand grenades, and automatic rifles.


Keep in mind this is only for the month of April 2010 (The month isnt over yet) and only those incidents that were reported...All of us who live along the border know its only a matter of time before those same headlines feature US city names and people.



[edit on 26-4-2010 by DaddyBare]

I have one more small stat to add
Every 48 minutes, a drug war-related death occurs in Mexico, according to El Universal, a national Mexican newspaper.

Maybe this will wake up the pro illegal people, though I doubt it. I feel for you, I really do. These drug cartels are everywhere, even as far as Rhode Island as I have posted on other threads.

Yep...every reason why to build a 50 foot high cement wall across every inch of the border with a 100 foot drop on the other side. Then again ideas like that make too much sense for any politician.

[edit on 26-4-2010 by solarstorm]

Originally posted by Night Star
Maybe this will wake up the pro illegal people, though I doubt it. I feel for you, I really do. These drug cartels are everywhere, even as far as Rhode Island as I have posted on other threads.

There's a fairly easy way to put these boys out of business very quickly.

Decriminalize it. With the vast majority of their money gone, the network will utterly collapse cleaning up a variety of problems.

We don't need to waste money deporting cheap labor to do that fix the problems.

Originally posted by Night Star
Maybe this will wake up the pro illegal people, though I doubt it. I feel for you, I really do. These drug cartels are everywhere, even as far as Rhode Island as I have posted on other threads.

Maybe this will wake up the pro drug war people, though I doubt it. The drug war is big business, and politicians love to give crime an industry, and the people love their indifference. If every state within the Union, and the Congress repealed all prohibition legislation, the violence in Mexico wouldn't stop immediately and there might even be a spike, before finally, deprived of huge source of revenue, the cartels would diminish and ultimately either assimilate into a free market, or retire. Of course, there is not a chance that every state in the Union, and especially the federal government would do such a thing. Instead, they would rather create a situation where the people are clamoring for the destruction of natural rights, to fix a problem that just won't be fixed by destroying rights.

Mexican authorities confirmed a shootout in San Fernando, a murder in Valle Hermoso and a seizure of a weapons cache and police uniforms in Tampico over the weekend.

After receiving intelligence of illegal activities at a house on Universidad Poniente neighborhood, the marines conducted a search where they made the seizure, but didn’t find anyone inside, states a press release from the Mexican navy. The marines seized a Mazda CX-9 and a GMC Acadia in addition to seven assault rifles, two handguns, two fragmentation grenades, one artillery round, 33 ammunition magazines, 832 ammunition rounds, several communication devices and two paddles.

The marines also found 60 hats and 25 uniforms belonging to various law enforcement agencies

and we still have 4 more days in this month...

April 26 2010

"Mexico's government will use everything in its power to defend the rights of Mexicans who are affected by this legislation and we'll spare no effort to ensure the dignity of every fellow compatriot. -Felipe Calderon, Mexican president April 26, 2010

Compatriot?

April 27, 2010 Authorities say a Mexican elementary school principal was found stabbed to death in his home with a threatening drug cartel message.

The state attorney general's office says the body of Jose Luis Perez was found his home. Next to him was a piece of cardboard with the message: 'La Familia does not forgive. This is what happens to snitches.'

Perez taught sixth grade at one elementary school and was the director of another.

[edit on 27-4-2010 by DaddyBare]

Originally posted by DaddyBare
April 28, 2010 Authorities say a Mexican elementary school principal was found stabbed to death in his home with a threatening drug cartel message.

The state attorney general's office says the body of Jose Luis Perez was found his home. Next to him was a piece of cardboard with the message: 'La Familia does not forgive. This is what happens to snitches.'

Perez taught sixth grade at one elementary school and was the director of another.

Uhm...this happened tomorrow?

reply to post by Jean Paul Zodeaux


Thanks for the catch... I have a 2 and a half year old granddaughter bouncing on my lap makes it hard to type... especially when she drumming on my bald spot