- Title: MEXICO: More troops arrive to reinforce besieged Mexican border city
- Date: 4th March 2009
- Summary: VICTOR VALENCIA, A SPOKESPERSON FOR THE GOVERNOR OF CHIHUAHUA, SPEAKING WITH REPORTER (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) VICTOR VALENCIA, A SPOKESPERSON FOR THE GOVERNOR OF CHIHUAHUA, SAYING: "The solution, among other things, is military. But one must remember that when confronting organised crime, regretfully it is not envisaged that most of the police forces are infiltrated by organised crime. There is, and there still exists on all levels --federal, state and municipal -- people from organised crime that have infiltrated. So how do we confront or get rid of this problem or how are we going to fight a war or a battle when we don't have proper soldiers, or a proper army?" ENRIQUE TORRES, A SPOKESMAN FOR THE ANTI-DRUG TRAFFICKING GROUP, "OPERATIVO CONJUNTO CHIHUAHUA" SPEAKING WITH REPORTER (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) ENRIQUE TORRES, A SPOKESMAN FOR THE ANTI-DRUG TRAFFICKING GROUP, "OPERATIVO CONJUNTO CHIHUAHUA", SAYING: "We are fighting all of these groups, we do not differentiate on who is who. The work we do is to ensure the safety of the general population and to improve living conditions here at the border so that people can continue to work and live together in a city that we want to be peaceful." GENERAL VIEW OF CIUDAD JUAREZ MAIN SQUARE PEOPLE WALKING IN THE STREET (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) CIUDAD JUAREZ RESIDENT, VALENTE ALONSO, SAYING. "This is already out of control. The drug traffickers, they are already sending in the assassins. They are above the law. All they have to say is kill such a person and they kill him. There is already no control. They have already killed two police officials." MORE OF FEDERAL POLICE PATROLLING THE STREETS OF CIUDAD JUAREZ
- Embargoed: 19th March 2009 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Mexico
- Country: Mexico
- Topics: Defence / Military
- Reuters ID: LVADKF32Y3EF6BDI63GS4VL0JBOB
- Story Text: More reinforcements arrive in Ciudad Juarez as part of a contingent 5,000 troops and federal police that are attempting to bring law and order to Mexico's most violent city.
More soldiers and federal police flew into the besieged border city of Ciudad Juarez on Monday (March 2) in an attempt to restore law and order to the country's most violent city, which has been ravaged by drug gangs.
This month hitmen fighting for lucrative smuggling routes killed 250 people in the city, which is across the U.S. border from El Paso, Texas.
Victor Valencia, a spokesperson for the governor of the state of Chihuahua, where Ciudad Juarez lies, said he was unsure if the latest deployments would help solve the embattled city's problems with violence.
"The solution, among other things, is military. But one must remember that when confronting organised crime, regretfully it is not envisaged that most of the police forces are infiltrated by organised crime.
There is, and there still exists on all levels --federal, state and municipal -- people from organised crime that have infiltrated. So how do we confront or get rid of this problem or how are we going to fight a war or a battle when we don't have proper soldiers, or a proper army?" asked Valencia.
The soldiers and federal police that arrived on Monday are part of a contingent of as many as 5,000 that are being sent to Juarez.
Almost 2,500 soldiers and federal police have been there for nearly a year, but they have failed to curb the violence plaguing the city of about 1.6 million people.
Enrique Torres, a spokesperson for the anti-drug trafficking group, "Operativo Conjunto Chihuahua", said his organisation was working for a safer Juarez.
"We are fighting all of these groups, we do not differentiate on who is who. The work we do is to ensure the safety of the general population and to improve living conditions here at the border so that people can continue to work and live together in a city that we want to be peaceful," he said.
President Felipe Calderon's military operation is supported by the United States, which is concerned the violence could destabilize Mexico, a key trading partner, and spill over the border.
Mexico has deployed some 45,000 troops across the country to try to crush drug gangs, but clashes between rival cartels and security forces killed around 6,000 people last year.
Violence between rival drug cartels has transformed some Mexican cities along the U.S. border into virtual war zones where criminals act with impunity and the annual body count is in the thousands.
"This is already out of control. The drug traffickers, they are already sending in the assassins. They are above the law. All they have to say is kill such a person and they kill him. There is already no control. They have already killed two police officials," said one Juarez resident, Valente Alonso.
Mexican traffickers have always been violent, but the death toll has soared since President Felipe Calderon took office in late 2006 and sent tens of thousands of troops to fight the country's powerful cocaine cartels.
Soldiers have fought pitched battles with drug gangs in several Mexican towns and overwhelmed police officers have fled municipal forces the length of the border. In many cases, police officers have been paid off by the drug gangs or even joined them.
Aside from killing 250 people in Ciudad Juarez in the past month, the drug cartels have forced the police chief to resign, and shut down the airport with bomb threats. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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