Murder Capital
CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico — A seven-year-old boy, three women and a university professor are among 15 people killed in a single day last week in this city across the border from El Paso.
Juarez has become infamous as the murder capital of the world.
The relentless and violent crime have two leading business associations making a desperate plea for help — they want U.N. peacekeepers in Juarez.
"We are living basically in a state of war in Ciudad Juarez," said Oscar Maynez, a criminologist in the border city.
Killings top 2,000 so far this year. Kidnappings and extortion are rampant. Businesses that fail to pay for protection risk having their property reduced to a pile of charred rubble.
All this is despite the presence of thousands of Mexican troops in the border city.
"That was the last resort for the Mexican authorities — use the army. And if the army doesn't work or show any results, what then? What's the next step or level of intervention?" Maynez asked.
Mexican business leaders say it's time to seek outside help. Their concern about excalating drug violence is shared by U.S. companies operating in Mexico.
"We hear it from our multinational clients," said Fred Burton of Stratrod Global Intelligence. "There's not a day that goes by that they're not asking us about the violence level in certain areas, such as Monterrey or Juarez."
The bloodshed is now growing — not just on border streets, but in the boardrooms of both countries.
E-mail akocherga@wfaa.com
