San Antonio Current
Four people are kidnapped and beaten, possibly tortured. They are bound, gagged and taken out to a remote rural area where they are executed with a bullet to the head. Then they're left to rot in the elements.
No one would fault you for thinking this is likely a scene right out of the war-torn Middle East, where the fundamentalist terrorist group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, has run roughshod over the land. As it takes over huge swaths of territory, the well-funded organization commits barbaric atrocities on a daily basis, even beheading American journalists.
But we're not talking Syria or Iraq—actually, much closer to home. Mostly gone from the headlines though just as brutal and even deadlier in nature, the bloody drug war in Mexico just a few hours' drive from San Antonio drags on, producing a staggering estimated death toll of 70,000 over the last decade.
Many critics accuse the United States of turning a blind eye to its neighbor's suffering, despite direct U.S. involvement since the high demand for drugs north of the border has not abated.
Just south of the Texas-Mexico border, ruthless drug cartels like Los Zetas and Cartel del Golfo operate with impunity, often in close collaboration with corrupt government officials. These transnational criminal organizations have unleashed deadly violence on innocent people, including decapitation, mass murder, kidnappings, torture and other horrible crimes against humanity.
One case that briefly captured the attention of American media outlets was that of three siblings from Progreso, a small U.S. border town nestled between Harlingen and McAllen in the Rio Grande Valley, the southernmost tip of Texas.
The siblings were reportedly kidnapped by a government official's military-style bodyguard unit. The victims—U.S. citizens Erica Alvarado, 26, and her brothers, Alex, 22, and José Ángel, 21, as well as her boyfriend, Mexican citizen José Guadalupe Castañeda Benítez, 32—were later found bound, gagged and badly decomposed. They were all shot in the head. Sadly, their story is not uncommon in the volatile Texas-Mexico border region.
"This is not an isolated event. This has been repeated," notes Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera, a professor at University of Texas at Brownsville and a border violence expert.
MEXICO'S DRUG WAR BY THE NUMBERS
2013: 81 Americans murdered.
2014: As of December 24, 85 Americans murdered.
2014: At least 130 kidnappings of Americans reported to consuls and the U.S. Embassy in Mexico between January and November 2014.
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4 comments:
What can be done..what can USA do for people that still decide to go to Mexico..USA continually ask Americans to AVOID going to Mexico..what else can we do?? close the Bridges so they will not cross to Mexico.??? .please find a solution..
Part of the problem is that local officials along the border (such as Brownsville ) continue to deny that there is a problem in Mexico/on the border to protect economic interests of their friends and communities. As long as we, along the border, continue to deny the problem, then the US Government is not likely to respond. We complain, but we don't want to stop illegal entry into the US....a "family issue" not a crime issue. These horrific acts will continue in Mexico as long as Mexican and US officials have their heads in the sand and fail to take action on both sides of the border. Inaction by authorities can only cause the cartels and other bad guys to continue to threaten honest citizens.
what about the US media they hide the favts too. foe example anyone hear ANYTHING about the registered nurse murdered on South Padre? of course not that would create a loss of revenue for the island. KRGV ran the story on their web page for like half a day tyen it was gone... youn lady was killes in October 19, 2014 right when winter texans start arriving here. RIP.
http://utbcollegian.com/index.php/news/obituaries/item/3284-melissa-alexis-ortiz-25
If you don't have any business there, stay on the U.S. Side Of the Río Bravo. If you wish to get arrested on a traffic charge, get rolled, shot at. Your auto swiped, bogus criminal charges, then go and enjoy the View from the Calabooze.
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