BajaNomad

Mexico deploys 860 more soldiers to Tijuana

BajaNews - 1-17-2010 at 02:13 PM

http://www.freep.com/article/20100117/NEWS07/1170730/1001/ne...

TIJUANA, Mexico -- The Mexican government stepped up its fight against the drug cartels that are ravaging Tijuana, sending 860 more soldiers Saturday to the border city where violence has exploded in recent months.

The deployment comes just a day after 2,000 federal police were sent to Ciudad Juarez to bolster the 6,000 federal troops already there in the fight against drug traffickers.

In both cities, soldiers and police will work together to operate checkpoints and set up anonymous complaint centers, designed to allow residents to report crimes without fear of retaliation, the Defense Secretary's office said.

Tijuana, just south of San Diego, and Ciudad Juarez, bordering El Paso, Texas, are plagued with drug violence as rival gangs battle for control of trafficking corridors.

More than 15,000 people have been killed since Mexican President Felipe Calderon launched a crackdown on cartels three years ago, including more than 2,500 people in Ciudad Juarez last year alone. Since Dec. 1, 2009, nearly 200 people have been killed in Tijuana. Last week's arrest of Teodoro Simental, Tijuana's notorious cartel boss, has raised concerns about retaliation and other attacks as cartels try to fill the leadership void.

As troops deployed to Tijuana on Saturday, the country learned that another fiercely anti-cartel journalist had been brutally killed and dumped on a highway near the northwestern coastal city of Los Mochis.

Jose Luis Romero, a reporter for a radio station known for his broadcasts about drug trafficking, was forced at gunpoint out of a restaurant in Los Mochis on Dec. 30. On Saturday, his body was found on a highway a few miles from the city.

Last week, in the northern city of Saltillo, a major regional newspaper announced it would stop covering drug violence altogether after the body of reporter Valentin Valdes was found with a threatening message. Valdes had reported the arrests of suspected drug traffickers.

arrowhead - 1-17-2010 at 11:41 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by audiobaja
I like how they blame the murder rate on Calderon. As though Mexico hasn't always had a high murder rate.

I could also say that 50,000 Americans have been murdered in the US since Calderon began his drug war.


"Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see." -- John Lennon

People don't understand how Mexico reports its murder statistics. They report murder under two categories:

1) Homicidios intencionales por cada 100 mil habitantes, and
2) Ejecuciones por cada 100 mil habitantes

They use #1 to report the homicides not linked to the drug cartel war, and #2 exclusively for the drug-related murders. When you read something like, "More than 15,000 people have been killed since Mexican President Felipe Calderon launched a crackdown on cartels three years ago..." that is only a reporting of the Category 2 homicides.

The combined homicide rate in Mexico is 10.6 per 100,000. The combined homicide rate in the US is 4.9 per 100,000.

You can massage those numbesr any way you want, but the murder rate in Mexico is over twice that of the US. Let's just deal with the realities.

k-rico - 1-18-2010 at 08:15 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by arrowhead

"Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see." -- John Lennon

People don't understand how Mexico reports its murder statistics. They report murder under two categories:

1) Homicidios intencionales por cada 100 mil habitantes, and
2) Ejecuciones por cada 100 mil habitantes

They use #1 to report the homicides not linked to the drug cartel war, and #2 exclusively for the drug-related murders. When you read something like, "More than 15,000 people have been killed since Mexican President Felipe Calderon launched a crackdown on cartels three years ago..." that is only a reporting of the Category 2 homicides.

The combined homicide rate in Mexico is 10.6 per 100,000. The combined homicide rate in the US is 4.9 per 100,000.

You can massage those numbesr any way you want, but the murder rate in Mexico is over twice that of the US. Let's just deal with the realities.


Interesting info. Can you provide a link for the latest Homicidios intencionales por cada 100 mil habitantes ratio?

Wouldn't that number be more pertinent to non-narco business blue-eyed folks and their unfortunate brown -eyed brethern?

[Edited on 1-18-2010 by k-rico]

arrowhead - 1-18-2010 at 11:47 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by audiobaja
Mebbe, though if you were to take out the drug trade murders in both countries, it would likely be less than the US.


Nope. The breakdown is:
#1 5.9 "regular" homicides
#2 4.9 "drug" killings

Either one is greater than the combined US rate of 4.9.By the way, the total crime rate per 100,000 is 10348.8 in Mexico. The total crime rate per 100,000 is 6,879.6 in the US. But only 20% - 30% of non-homicide crimes are reported in Mexico. Rape is almost never reported in Mexico. You need to deal with the realities, not make up excuses. Those people doing all those drug killings? They'e all Mexicans, too.

Here is the link for k-rico:
http://www.cidac.org/vnm/pdf/pdf/IncidenciaDelictivaViolenci...
page 4 at the bottom

Bajahowodd - 1-18-2010 at 01:33 PM

Except that the US has little to crow over.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intentiona...

Bajahowodd - 1-18-2010 at 02:07 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by audiobaja
Pretty close though. The US media is pretty quick to judge. Want to talk incarceration rates? The US has 4 times the incarceration rate. And hardly anything to show for it.

Just sayin'.


The reason that the US incarceration rate compares as so high is we mete out much longer sentences than do other countries. A primary reason for the longer sentences is the vast number of crimes committed with guns. Automatically lengthens sentences. So, while many countries, especially those that have strict gun control, may actually have more people sentenced to prison, their terms are usually much shorter. hence, at any given time, we are just about at the top in the list of number of prisoners.