The city that will be discussed in this article is called Ciudad Juarez. What is special about this Mexican town? What made him famous not only in Latin America?
City location
Ciudad Juarez belongs to the Mexican state of Chihuahua. It is located right on the US border. It is separated from the American city of El Paso by the Rio Grande. By the way, the modern name is translated from Spanish as "the city of Juarez." It is associated with the name of the forty-ninth President Benito, who in Mexico was elevated to the rank of national heroes. From the 17th century until the middle of the last century, its name was consonant with the name of its American neighbor, El Paso del Norte.
What made Ciudad Juarez "famous"?
"World fame" city of Ciudad Juarez deserved due to the high level of crime. It is this city that is considered a fairly large transport hub in terms of organizing the supply of drugs to the neighboring northern country. The struggle for leadership leads to the fact that from time to time there are clashes between local criminal groups.fatal outcome. Two powerful local drug cartels, Sinaloa and Juarez, can't share their criminal power.
1 million 500 thousand people live in the city. The life of most of the townspeople cannot be called easy. Beggars, unemployed and homeless are commonplace in Ciudad Juarez. Not surprisingly, they are the "nutrient medium" from which street gangs draw their resources. Many are forced to engage in activities that are contrary to the law, including joining the ranks of large drug trafficking groups.
Popular riots
Toward the end of 2003, the rampant crime and weak activity of state power so outraged the Mexicans that they took to the streets in an organized protest. Hundreds of women, dozens of those whose relatives died or went missing, expressed dissatisfaction, reminded the leaders of the state of their problems. The inaction of the authorities outraged the inhabitants of Ciudad Juarez. Murders occurred almost every week, but no one wanted to fight it.
In April of the same year, the United Nations commission devoted a special meeting to this issue at the initiative of the International Federation of Human Rights. They even accepted a corresponding petition, which indicated the reason for the passive position of the state leadership. It was inactive, because the least protected people, whom they did not care about, suffered mainly.
Hundreds injured
In 2009, almost two hundred of one hundred thousand citizens became victims ofcrimes. Even in the most criminal American St. Louis, there are 150 fewer such cases. These sad statistics served as a reason to give Ciudad Juarez the status of the absolute world leader in the ranking of the most dangerous cities. Only one of the largest Honduran settlements, San Pedro Sula, could compete with him. In different parts of the world, there are at least three more cities - Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Caracas (Venezuela), Mogadishu (Somalia), which are slightly inferior to Ciudad Juarez in terms of crime. But he surpassed in this indicator even "his compatriots" - Monterrey and Tijuana.
The peculiarity of the murders committed in Ciudad Juarez lies in their brutality. These crimes are also devoid of any meaning. In the city, establishments where people have fun are often attacked with weapons. For many random citizens, such parties turn out to be the last in their lives, thereby replenishing the monthly statistics with dozens of dead. But the authorities are in no hurry to deal with the situation in Ciudad Juarez (Mexico). Crime has reached colossal proportions.
Creepy Stories
Locals love to talk about one terrible crime. One January evening in 2010, teenagers from one of the city's schools gathered to have fun. However, gangsters with firearms suddenly appeared and turned the celebration into a tragedy, shooting 13 party members.
Also love to indulge in deadly toys and some young creaturesin Ciudad Juarez. A year after the said tragedy, Susanna Chavez, a well-known Mexican poet and civil rights activist, was brutally strangled at school. At the same time, the unfortunate woman also cut off her hand. The killers turned out to be three young men from a bandit organization called the Aztecs, which worked closely with the Juarez drug cartel. The human rights activist was sent to the next world because she threatened to complain about teenagers to law enforcement agencies.
Shocking numbers
For unknown reasons, for two years (since 2010), a surge in crime in Ciudad Juarez was observed in winter. During the day on January 10, 2010, 69 murders were committed. This has never happened before in the city! The following year, the February weekend, which fell on the 18th-20th, also turned out to be “fruitful”. Nearly fifty victims included law enforcement officials and school-age children.
On Friday, an attack was made on a car in which there were young men and minors. Unfortunately, a car ride around the city for four passengers and the driver became fatal. The next day, a police officer was riddled with ten bullets by a driver who violated traffic rules. Apparently, the issuance of a fine to the attacker seemed too severe a punishment! Already at the end of the day of the same Saturday, a group of unsuspecting youth of 20-25 years old was shot in cold blood at a party.
On average, eight murders of citizens were recorded every day in 2011. Death tollwomen in Ciudad Juarez (Mexico) reached 24 in three weeks in February, and almost 600 within 20 years. Another 3,000 are considered missing.
Hope for a new government
As a result of the will of the Mexican people in 2006, Felipe Calderon became president. Citizens believed his loud statements: the politician promised to completely eradicate crime. Alas, nothing significant has been done in this direction. The head of state, as they say, signed his own impotence before the drug cartels. In his opinion, to restore order, the cardinal decision was the involvement of 50,000 military personnel. Of these, 5 thousand are located in Ciudad Juarez.
Based on statistical data, we can conclude that such a measure was ineffective. During the period when the country was headed by Calderon, about 35 thousand Mexicans died. Even during the Mexican War of Independence at the beginning of the 19th century and the armed conflict in 1845, the number of victims was lower. Tourists try to bypass the city of Ciudad Juarez. Photos of some areas are a real shock.
Drugs to blame?
Most of the crimes are related to the drug business. And the geographical factor is not the last one here. Located on the border with the United States, the city of Ciudad Juarez is a key point in Latin America. He, like his border brother Tijuana, is assigned the role of a transit point. Using it, citizens of countries with lowlevel of economic development.
The Juarez drug cartel patronizes almost all citizens who are engaged in illegal business. Other cartels, including Sinaloa and Golfo, periodically attempt to take away a tasty morsel. The conflict of interest is transferred to the streets of Ciudad Juarez in the form of bloody clashes. During such skirmishes, hundreds of people who are completely uninvolved in the showdown become targets. And quite often, gaping passers-by are shot deliberately, either to intimidate the police and the opposite side of the conflict, or just in case, deciding that they may belong to a rival group.
US-Mexico issue
On the one hand, the identified problems in Ciudad Juarez and other border cities should unite the efforts of neighboring countries to solve them. On the other hand, this complicates relations between Mexico and the United States. Undoubtedly, it is in the interests of the latter to help in the investigation of crimes. To this end, US operatives periodically make business trips to their Mexican counterparts for joint operations. As a result, several influential leaders of the drug business were eliminated.
Drug wars in Ciudad Juarez cannot stop population growth (of course, at a slow pace). Here, no matter how strange it may sound, the industry is even developing. As for tourism, only lovers of extreme sports can get pleasure. In Mexico, Ciudad Juarez is considered the most unfavorable city. Killing womenis still considered a mystery. The authorities have never been able to find out who kills the fairer sex and why families regularly fail to count their daughters, mothers and sisters.
