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February 27, 2009 [LINK / comment]
Mexican drug war escalates
The dreadful news from Mexico about narco-gang violence drones on and on, numbing the senses of those few Americans who would be inclined to pay attention in the first place. In spite of enormous efforts by President Felipe Calderon to crack down on the drug lords, there are few if any signs of success. Quite the contrary, cities along the U.S. border such as Ciudad Juarez (across the Rio Grande from El Paso) remain under a virtual state of siege. Of the 6,000 drug-related murders in Mexico last year, more than 1,200 of them happened in Ciudad Juarez. The local governments and police authorities are forced to hunker down in fortified headquarters, faced with constant death threats against their family members, thereby leaving the streets wide open to the mafia. Most journalists have been intimidated into staying away or keeping silent.
The Mexican government has tried to regain the psychological edge in this brutal showdown by convening an emergency meeting of top security officials in Ciudad Juarez on Wednesday. The gesture of defiance against the narcotraffickers is an encouraging sign, at least. For more, see CNN.com. Nevertheless, it will take a lot more resources and action to stop drug trafficking and consumption on the northern side of the border before the situation in Mexico turns around. Unfortunately, the drug and border security issue is a low priority for President Obama, who is focusing on preventing financial collapse and stimulating the U.S. economy.
Posted (or last updated or commented upon): 27 Feb 2009, 9: 45 PM
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January 5, 2009 Illegal immigration: no problem
January 10, 2009 Bush's fiscal profligacy: a recap
January 20, 2009 Inauguration Day 2009
March 13, 2009 Tax revolt in Augusta County!
March 14, 2009 Mexican Army counterattacks
March 27, 2009 Facebook: resistance is futile
April 5, 2009 RPV chair Frederick is removed
April 8, 2009 Fujimori is convicted, again
May 3, 2009 (Very) Big Spring Day, 2009
June 12, 2009 Tiger Stadium memorial update
June 16, 2009 Home runs in New Yankee Stadium
June 28, 2009 Obama's health care proposals
June 29, 2009 House votes to regulate climate
July 7, 2009 R.I.P. Michael Jackson, Superstar
July 9, 2009 Conservative defeat in Mexico
August 16, 2009 Great Baseball Road Trip 2009
August 23, 2009 Road Trip 2009: The Birds of August
August 27, 2009 R.I.P. Edward M. Kennedy
September 7, 2009 Two clutch homers end Nats' skid
October 10, 2009 Republicans reunite in Verona
October 16, 2009 Health care polemics heat up
November 4, 2009 Republicans sweep Virginia races
November 5, 2009 Yankees are the 2009 champions
November 21, 2009 Senate votes on health care
December 23, 2009 Musings on health care "reform"
December 30, 2009 Decade of creation, and destruction
December 30, 2009 Whither the Republican soul?
December 31, 2009 A (half) decade of baseball in D.C.
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