BajaNomad

Beheadings, hangings plague Tijuana amid festival

BajaNews - 10-16-2010 at 02:16 AM

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gMi5B2USfJ...

By MARIANA MARTINEZ (AP)
October 14, 2010

TIJUANA, Mexico — A rash of decapitations and other gruesome killings have hit Tijuana since Mexican President Felipe Calderon visited the border city last week and called it a success in his drug war.

The most recent killing occurred just before midnight Tuesday when motorists found a decapitated body underneath a bridge on a road leading to the beachside neighborhood of Playas de Tijuana, according to a police report Wednesday.

Reporters at the scene saw a rope hanging from the bridge, suggesting the man had been hung from his feet but was too heavy and plunged into oncoming traffic.

The discovery came a day after two other beheaded bodies were found hanging from their feet in Tijuana.

Police said they were still conducting forensic tests on the body found Tuesday and had no immediate comment on the identity of the man or the circumstances of his death.

Earlier Tuesday, police found a human head inside a bag in another Tijuana neighborhood, but it did not belong to the body found underneath the bridge.

According to police reports, at least 16 people have been killed in the city since Sunday — a surge from the normal rate of about two homicides a day.

Some resident feared the cartels were trying to send a message just as the city is trying to promote itself to the outside world. Calderon last week inaugurated "Innovative Tijuana," a two-week festival featuring discussions on aerospace, auotomotives and other industries that drive the city's economy. Former Vice President Al Gore is scheduled to give a speech about the environment as part of the festival Thursday.

"Obviously, they don't want it to seem like we are a society of good people. That's why they are doing these things again," said Victoria Perez Bernal, a retired dentist who along with 2,000 others attended the inauguration of the festival last week. "But what they don't know is that people are tired of this and we are starting to get organized."

Violence peaked in Tijuana in 2008 amid a showdown between two crime bosses — Fernando "The Engineer" Sanchez Arellano and Teodoro "El Teo" Garcia Simental, a renegade lieutenant who rose through the ranks by dissolving bodies in vats of lye.

Garcia was arrested last January. While killings have continued, the most gruesome displays of cartel violence — decapitations, hangings and daylight shootouts — had subsided. That sort of violence has continued to plague other cities in Mexico's northern states of Chihuahua, Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas.

"These hangings from bridges, heads, shootouts ... it hadn't happened for a long time," said Hector Elizaga, 40, who works at a Tijuana company that imports cars. "It seems like they are telling the president: 'What control? We are still in charge here.'"

At a news conference Tuesday, Baja California state Deputy Attorney General Fermin Gomez attributed the killings this week to internal disputes among the remnants of Garcia's gang.

In an interview with the AP last week, Calderon agreed that crime continues in Tijuana and said it was likely murders will fluctuate as long as cartels continue to war over drug markets and routes to the United States.

But he said other crimes, such as kidnapping and extortion, are down, and he stood by his claim that Tijuana is a success story in his war against organized crime.

"Crime has dropped dramatically since its peak in 2008," Calderon said. "Tijuana went from being a city seized by terror and focused only on questions of crime to a city motivated by hope and focused on pursuing a competitive edge in the region."

In Chihuahua state Wednesday, six prison guards were killed while driving to work in Chihuahua city, the state's capital, authorities reported.

In the northern state of Sinaloa, two police officers were killed when gunmen ambushed their patrol in Mazatlan. It was the second ambush of police in Sinaloa this week — eight officers were killed Monday when gunmen opened fire on their patrol cars.

Donjulio - 10-16-2010 at 07:02 AM

See, and who said TJ would never get ahead?

Cypress - 10-16-2010 at 07:46 AM

Is Mexico turning into another Lebanon with the violence fueled by drugs rather than religion? Thank goodness that Baja has been spared so far.

Donjulio - 10-16-2010 at 07:50 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Cypress
Is Mexico turning into another Lebanon with the violence fueled by drugs rather than religion? Thank goodness that Baja has been spared so far.


When did they move TJ out of Baja? Missed that announcement.

DENNIS - 10-16-2010 at 07:58 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Donjulio
When did they move TJ out of Baja? Missed that announcement.



That's the Department Of Tourism official line.
"Whatever happens in TJ has nothing to do with Baja."

Cypress - 10-16-2010 at 08:15 AM

Was expecting that.:lol:

bajalearner - 10-16-2010 at 08:49 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Cypress
Is Mexico turning into another Lebanon with the violence fueled by drugs rather than religion? Thank goodness that Baja has been spared so far.


It is helpful to understand the larger picture if you keep things like this incident in perspective.

Woooosh - 10-16-2010 at 09:14 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by DENNIS
Quote:
Originally posted by Donjulio
When did they move TJ out of Baja? Missed that announcement.



That's the Department Of Tourism official line.
"Whatever happens in TJ has nothing to do with Baja."


LA TIMES: Southern California travel agents say U.S. tourists don't seem too concerned about drug violence because they know to stay far from the border. "As long as you stay in the resort areas, you'll have no problem," McConnell said.

bajajazz - 10-16-2010 at 09:30 AM

Let's see . . . ten cops killed by ambush in Mazatlan in the last two weeks but tourists are okay as long as they're in resort areas?

When did Mazatlan become a border town? The San Andreas Fault must be moving north faster than predicted.

DENNIS - 10-16-2010 at 09:32 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by bajajazz
Let's see . . . ten cops killed by ambush in Mazatlan in the last two weeks but tourists are okay as long as they're in resort areas?



They're supposed to stay by the pool. :cool:

Here's a Different Perspective

Bajahowodd - 10-16-2010 at 01:19 PM

From today's LA Times. Some may think that it's just more spin. But, as is mentioned in the article, an event such as this would have been unthinkable a year or two ago, let alone, having it held in a place other than TJ, like Juarez.

"Tijuana throws festival for a break from drug violence
Days after big names launched the Tijuana Innovadora, grisly slayings provided a reminder of Mexico's drug war. Still, the city is determined to shrug off the violence and enjoy its moment in the sun.
Tijuana festival

By Richard Marosi, Los Angeles Times

October 15, 2010|4:29 p.m.

Reporting from Tijuana —
Look who's coming to Tijuana. The world's richest man. Three Nobel Prize winners (including Al Gore!). A pair of Mexican film stars. An astronaut.

This border city is throwing itself a grand festival, the Tijuana Innovadora, and the star-studded cast is the kind of publicity muscle the city is hoping will knock Mexico's drug wars from the headlines.

"It's a happening," said Alejandro Bustamante, a prominent businessman and one of the organizers of the event. "We want to show the world what this city is capable of."

But a few days after the Oct. 7 kickoff, as if on cue, three beheaded bodies were hung from overpasses, a severed head was left tossed on the side of a freeway, and at least 10 other people were killed — all over a three-day span. They were the grisliest slayings in Tijuana in almost a year.

Still, this show must go on, and much of the city seems determined to shrug off the violence in favor of enjoying a rare moment of civic pride. Mounted by civic and business leaders, the Innovadora is part conference, part convention, part musical and dance event, meant to showcase Tijuana as a center of manufacturing, art and innovation.

The fact that Tijuana can stage an undertaking of such scale while other border cities seem paralyzed from drug war violence is seen by many as a positive sign.

"It's reflective of a civil society which is not rolling over and giving up. They are fighting back to reclaim the city," said Jim Gerber, director of the International Business Program at San Diego State University. "Will it work? I don't know, but it certainly gets everybody's attention."

Tijuana's cultural center is filled with slickly produced exhibits from some of the city's 500 or more manufacturing centers and companies. Tijuana produces many of the television sets sold in the U.S. market, manufactures headsets used by astronauts, medical devices and pacemakers, as well as thousands of thermometers, Toyota cars and solar panels.

That manufacturing muscle has been the central feature of past efforts to repair the city's image. This time, organizers felt they needed a bolder approach to lend prestige to the event. When Wikipedia cofounder Jimmy Wales and Twitter founder Biz Stone met in a dressing room, it was hailed as the first meeting of "two giants of Internet innovation." Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim is scheduled to speak next week.

Gore was greeted with a rock star-like welcome when he appeared in front of a standing room-only audience at the cultural center for his speech capping Thursday's seminars on sustainable energy.

"The people of Tijuana have felt a surge in pride at how much progress is taking place here," Gore said, using the occasion to praise Baja California for proposing one of Mexico's largest wind energy developments.

Other participants used the occasion for good news announcements. Welch Allyn, a leading maker of thermometers for the U.S. market, said it would add 100 jobs to its Tijuana factory. San Diego-based telecoms giant Qualcomm announced a project to keep better track of diabetes patients through its wireless technology.

The smorgasbord-quality of the event is bold — some say quixotic — and the inclusion of those guests with seemingly little connection to Tijuana have left more than a few people scratching their heads. CNN's Larry King was invited to give a speech because organizers hope he can spread the word about Tijuana's recovery, from a gruesome venue for drug war mayhem to a city where cartel violence has receded to a low-level rumble in the background.

That turnaround made the latest spasm of violence unexpected. Tijuana security forces have been credited with chasing out drug cartel gang members and Gen. Alfonso Duarte Mugica, who heads military operations in the city, was given a standing ovation on the event's opening night. That followed a speech by President Felipe Calderon, who hailed the city as one of the few in Mexico that has shown progress in the drug war.

Organizers have fought to keep attention off the violence and on the exhibition, which has drawn more than 50,000 visitors so far. The festival's grand finale Wednesday will feature a mass dance event to the music of Grammy-award winner and hometown performer Julieta Venegas. Thousands of people are scheduled to do a choreographed routine at shopping malls, schools and factories.

"This event gives me great pride," said Ramon Bojorquez, a 20-year-old student of architecture who attended the Innovadora and signed a board filled with I Love You Tijuana comments from appreciative youngsters. "The narcos want to extinguish all the good things in the city.

"But there are more good people than bad."

richard.marosi@latimes.com

Copyright © 2010, Los Angeles Times

DENNIS - 10-16-2010 at 01:27 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Bajahowodd


"But there are more good people than bad."




How would anybody know that? Is somebody keeping track??

Cypress - 10-16-2010 at 01:50 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by bajalearner
Quote:
Originally posted by Cypress
Is Mexico turning into another Lebanon with the violence fueled by drugs rather than religion? Thank goodness that Baja has been spared so far.


It is helpful to understand the larger picture if you keep things like this incident in perspective.

OK?

JoeJustJoe - 10-16-2010 at 02:09 PM

I really liked it when Gore said, ( quote below)
----------

Tijuana is “engaged in one of the greatest battles ever waged between hope and fear,” Gore said, adding that the same spirit is needed in the fight against climate change."
---------------------------------------------
Gore sure had that right and not only in Tijuana, but on these forums and blogs where writers and readers line on different sides of the aisle where one side you have the optimistic people that believe things are going to get better, and most of the violence is isolated to certain parts of Mexico and certain type of victims who are usually involved in the drug trade themselves.

And then you have the "alarmists, haters, and pessimistic people claiming that Mexico is nothing but a cesspool and it's only going to get worst, and that anybody that thinks of traveling to Mexico let alone living there is just insane and they are going to end up a victim. It's interesting to see how people line up espeically if you read the SDUT's comment sections.
-------------------------
I was reading the "AFN' the other day when they had the 13 or 15 killings in a short period of time, and the AFN broke down the killings and talked about four of these guys, and if you ask me the cartels almost did Mexico a favor because these were all criminals and involved with the drug cartels. But since I oppose the death penalty I won't thank the drug cartels.


According to the "AFN' most of these victims were deported from the US with extensive criminal records for car theft, violence, possession of banned weapons, assault, burglary and the list goes on. Another guy had no criminal record, no job, but owned four taxi cabs.( how do you own four taxi's with no job or income?)

So if you ask me I think the drug cartels were trying to embarrass Calderon since he was in Tijuana claiming his administration was winning the "war on drugs" and pointing to Tijuana as a success story.

I also think the cartel violence is still isolated somewhat and I'm not concerned traveling to Tijuana or Mexico at all, and feel perfectly safe when I visit.

[Edited on 10-16-2010 by JoeJustJoe]

Bajahowodd - 10-16-2010 at 04:41 PM

I'm right there with you, Joe!

tjBill - 10-16-2010 at 07:39 PM

I agree too.

The purpose of the Tijuana Innovations Conference is show that Tijuana is an optimistic city. Despite of all the problems they hope it will envolve into a center of innovations, like San Francisco or New York City.

Woooosh - 10-16-2010 at 11:31 PM

exactly what did those two cities innovate?

Bajahowodd - 10-17-2010 at 12:36 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Woooosh
exactly what did those two cities innovate?


If you look at more in a regional sense, one could easily cite New York for its media, and SF for Silicon Valley.

Woooosh - 10-17-2010 at 01:17 PM

by that measure the TJ innovation week was an economic promotion for Tecate.

Cypress - 10-17-2010 at 03:03 PM

We're supposed to place anything Gore says as being"factual"?:spingrin:

tjBill - 10-18-2010 at 11:39 PM

I think Tijuana is trying to get American media and high-tech industries to set up operations in Tijuuana. Like Fox studios in Rosarito and the Aerospace companies in Mexicali; Honeywell, Gulfstream and Lockheed Martin.

measomsan - 10-19-2010 at 06:52 AM

If that happened then more could see what is going on. I don't think the bad guys would be none to happy to see any additional coverage. It would be hard to kill all the reporters, they would try to at first. Not a job I would jump on. Not unarmed....