Murders in Mexico Double in 2008

The New York Times reports that the murder rate in Mexico during 2008 has doubled since the previous year. We recently talked about Tijuana.

Killings linked to Mexico’s drug war have more than doubled this year compared with 2007 and are likely to grow even further before they begin to fall, Attorney General Eduardo Medina-Mora said Monday.

The prosecutor tied the sharp increase in deaths to a battle for control among cartels and a power vacuum created by a series of high-profile arrests and seizures.

The number of gangland killings reached 5,376 from the beginning of the year until Dec. 2, a 117 percent increase over the 2,477 killings in the same period in 2007, Mr. Medina-Mora said in a luncheon meeting with foreign correspondents.

I was especially interested to see the statistics of "Mexico’s overall homicide rate last year, 11 deaths per 100,000 people, was a small fraction of the rates in Colombia, Guatemala, El Salvador and Brazil, he said." That makes the U.S. with 5.5 seem like Disneyland by comparison. Of course, you know how I feel about statistics.

It's not easy for poor Mexico, living in the shadow of its giant neighbor to the north.

Taking on the cartels that supply most of the illegal drugs consumed in the United States has been a frustrating exercise for Mexico. Officials complain that the guns the criminals use are coming from the United States and that the billions of dollars in drug profits have corrupted many institutions in Mexico.

So what does that mean? Not only are the guns in the U.S. flowing into the U.S. black market, they also supply Mexico? This does come as a bit of a shock because I've been told that the illegal guns in America come from countries like Mexico in shipments of drugs. But, suddenly we have a different theory. The incredible abundance and availability of guns in America flows out, in a type of cross-commuting. Drugs come in, guns and money go out.

Something must be done. Do you agree?

Tijuana

World Focus reports that the Tijuana Police Chief has been replaced. We recently discussed the beheadings that have taken place in Mexico. Many people naturally blame the drug cartels or the corrupt police departments. In the video, Prof. Rodolfo de la Garza of Columbia University says the real problem is America's failure to address its problem of drug consumption. I guess it's hard to argue with that.


The Washington Post reports on the same story.

Tijuana's anti-corruption police chief was fired and replaced with an army officer Monday, following three days of violence that left 37 people dead in this border city plagued by warring drug gangs.

Weekend attacks included nine beheadings and the death of four children caught in shootouts. Does that make Tijuana the most dangerous city in the world? What do you think? Some people say that this type of violence only endangers people in the drug business, but apparently it's gotten so out of hand that the peripheral damage is becoming significant.

What do you make of Prof. de la Garza's claim that although there are the problems of police corruption and violent gangsters in Mexico, the real problem is in America? Why isn't something being done about that? Is it not possible to win the war on drugs? Would legalizing drugs like Switzerland be a solution?

Please feel free to comment.

Beheadings in Mexico

Beheadings in Mexico have become the newest means of communicating the old message, "Don't mess with us." The Washington Post reports that not only drug cartels are using this extreme method but also the police. The latest case is a man who shot his mother and killed the three police officers who responded to the shooting.

Fabian Ramirez's head was found at a highway intersection in Iguala, a town southwest of Mexico City, according to a statement from the Guerrero state Public Safety department.

A message was found nearby: "This is what happens to all those who kill a police officer or a soldier."

It was reported that Mr. Ramirez had been arrested but four armed men broke into the jail and took him away by force. The four men were dressed in black and had lettering on their clothes identifying them as agents of Mexico's Federal Investigative Agency, the statement said.

I don't know what's more frightening, the police acting like that or what's happening in Tijuana.

Nine men were found decapitated in Tijuana over the weekend. Six more people were found dead in the border city Tuesday, including a woman stuffed in a suitcase and a man found stabbed to death next to her. That brought Tijuana's homicide toll to 43 over four days.

What do you think? Are the folks down Mexico way so much more violent than we are? It sounds like just over the border it's total chaos. Does this mean that we're not doing so badly after all? Does it mean those wishing to close the borders have a good point?

How does this situation impact upon our never-ending discussions about arming the good guys and thereby minimizing crime? Aren't the people in Mexico armed? Are there gun control laws in Mexico to blame for all this?

Please leave us a comment with your opinion or observations.