Monthly Archives: September 2012

36 homicide victims so far in September; massacre in Baborigame, Chihuahua- 5 killed

I looked back at all of the stories I have so far in September. Though there has been only one tally posted in the newspaper (2 as of Sept 9) I also include the 4 people killed and found in the back of the tractor-trailer on the road between Juarez and Chihuahua for 28 as of Sept 9.  On September 10, a body was found inside of a motel and it was reported as a murder victim. On September 11, two decomposed bodies were found at different locations in the city; on September 12 another body was found and 2 other murders were reported; on September 13, two men were killed in a home invasion attack that also injured a 3-yr-old child. These added to the previous 28 for a total of about 36 people so far in September.

Also, yesterday a massacre was reported in Baborigame, a rural town in southern Chihuahua, that left 5 people dead. Apparently, this incident took place on Monday near midnight—two of the victims were children aged 13 and 11. Police were notified about the killings by an 8 yr old who was wounded in the head, but lived and walked to a clinic and was then taken to police. The child told police that he was with 5 other people in the vehicle when it was approached by men in a Jeep Cherokee that shot at them. He was wounded. He said that the sicarios told him to leave the scene, that they would not kill him, but that they were going to kill the others. After the child told this story to the police, they went to the scene and found the bodies of the other 5 people—three men and the two other children.  These dead should eventually be reported in the statistics for Chihuahua state, though it seems likely that some of the killings in rural areas continue to go unreported in the cumulative crime statistics. molly

“Virtual Kidnapping” in Juarez

An 18 yr old in Juarez was victim of a “virtual kidnapping.” He received a call telling him his parents were kidnapped and to go to the central bus station to await instructions. No one met him there, but he was kept on the phone and the kidnappers got his parents’ cell phone number from him. They then called the parents and told them the boy was being held and that they must deposit 250,000 pesos in a bank account in order to have him released. The family did not have the money, but eventually they gathered and deposited 50 thousand pesos. They were given instructions to go to the bus station to recover their son, but then the kidnappers demanded another 50,000 and that is when the parents reported the crime to the Fiscalia.  The boy was found and rescued at the bus station. At no time was there any physical contact with the kidnappers and the calls appear to have come from other states. The spokesman for the Fiscalia warned citizens not to be tricked…that the callers used the telephone directories to find their victims.  A google translation is posted below.  molly

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GOOGLE TRANSLATION
Teen victim of virtual kidnapping is released for 50,000 pesos
Staff
The Journal | 12.09.2012 | 14:24
A man of 18 was kidnapped by a group of criminals over the phone was kept in captivity in the bus station for more than 24 hours.
 
This Wednesday morning, members of the Attorney General’s Office (FGE) conducted an operation to rescue the boy, after making the payment of 50,000 pesos to Bancoppel account.
 
According to the complaint lodged by the family, it all started on Tuesday shortly before noon when the boy received a call at his house in which he said he had kidnapped their parents, so they have to follow the instructions they give .
 
The order was to move to the bus station to make contact with them, so from 10:00 in the morning he went to the place. Throughout this process the hijackers chatted with the young and brought him into confidence, saying he will meet soon with his parents, so he offered to talk to them, but in return they ask for your phone number.
 
Once you have the phone speak to the father to ask 250 thousand pesos. The mother, who for security reasons asked conceal his name, he said he did not have the money, but they would try to get it.
 
In a second call, 20 minutes later, they demanded money, even 50 thousand dollars for releasing his son. Meanwhile the young fielding calls from his captors continue to advise on the premises of the bus station, order obeyed.
 
Once the family was able to get the money they were instructed to deposit it in an account of Bancoppel.
 
The boy’s father said the numbers of those who were marked key one with 883, corresponding to the state of Sonora and a 662-key, number 170-0092, she said.
 
He stated that when they got to talk to your son asked a switch links from your cell phone to him.
 
The young man said that at no time addressed nobody to give you some instruction and everything went through phone calls.
 
The boy’s mom said that after paying the money to the kidnappers asked him to hand over his son, but the man informed them that they would later give them another call for further instructions and pick up your child at the bus station. Minutes after he spoke, but to ask for another 50 thousand dollars, and that was when they chose to go to put the complaint FGE.
 
After informing the officers what had happened went to the bus station to rescue the young and already in place was taken to the premises of the EGF to initiate the investigation. No ministerial agents arrested anyone for the moment because everything was done by phone calls from locations in other states.
 
Figón Arturo Sandoval, a spokesman for the EGF, called on citizens not to be fooled by this type of speakers to houses whose telephone number appears in the directories.
 
Therefore declined to provide any information and warn their children of such cases to avoid becoming victims.

“Presumed Guilty” in Juarez

The film PRESUMED GUILTY tells a true story of how the Mexican justice system actually works. The title expresses it clearly.
Here’s a new “presumed guilty…”  this time from Ciudad Juarez.  A high-profile murder of a municipal bureaucrat from the water and sanitation agency was murdered in May at his place of work.  Last week, police arrested an 18 yr old man who earlier had testified to political candidates about the need for peace in the city… Now, this young man is accused of murder. His supporters have testified in the judicial proceedings and have demonstrated for several days in front of the JMAS agency that employed the murder victim.  It is a hopeful sign that the news media are covering this story.  So far it seems that witnesses testifying say that the young man arrested bears no resemblance to the person seen at the scene of the crime….  stories posted below….  molly
 

Murders rebound…17 victims in first 4 days of September; 4 bodies found today in tractor-trailer

In the first 4 days of September, there were 17 murders–the Diario story says this rebound in murders has caused alarm amongst federal public security commanders, who met yesterday at the military garrison… These 17 deaths equal nearly half of all the murders that occurred in August (38).  Also, 4 bodies were discovered in a tractor-trailer on the road between Juarez and Chihuahua. The trailer is reported to have originated in Juarez and it was hijacked at some point Tuesday night at Km 95 on the highway.  This morning it was found abandoned with the bodies of 3 men and a woman in the vehicle.

Mexico President Felipe Calderon Seeks To Cement Legacy In Last Address–AP

President Calderon gave his final INFORME today…a “state of the union” speech. Note this interesting sentence in the AP story:
“Government statistics show 21,500 homicides in the first half of 2012, compared to about 25,000 for the entire year of 2007, Calderon’s first full year in office.”
 
According to the latest releases from INEGI, there were 8,867 murders in 2007… So, I’m not sure what statistics AP is using… 

If there were indeed 21,500 homicides in the first 6 months of 2012, then my estimate of about 116,000 dead for Calderon’s term would be much higher…

I’ll try to gather more information and analysis on the President’s speech and post tomorrow…molly

Response to: On Drug War Violence Along Texas Border…. via Huffington Post

I wish that the people who write these stories would consider the statement from many years ago from Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan:

“Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.”

It is also interesting that the clamor for MORE SPENDING on border security, regardless of the facts that show constant increases in border security spending since 2004 and a steady decrease in violent incidents on the US side of the border, come from the same right-wing citizens and politicians who berate the democratic administration for government spending…

And, even the “facts” provided on the violence in Juarez seem disconnected from reality:

“Juarez has seen well over 2,000 people killed each year in the drug war, he said. In 2009, that figure peaked at 2,754 murders, according to El Diario, the city’s major newspaper. The number of murders in Juarez fell to 2,086 last year, a 24 percent drop.”

Apparently the 3,622 people killed in Juarez in 2010 (by far the most violent year ever in the border city since the Mexican Revolution) don’t count. And the story repeats the old “50,000” number for those killed in Mexican violence. And not a shred of evidence is provided on any people killed on the US side of the border. But, if you would really like to escape reality (without taking drugs), take a look at the readers’ comments on this story… molly

Juarez Murders: Mexico’s Secretary Of State To Unveil Memorial For Slain Women

If there were any doubts about the erasing of the dead and disinformation about Juarez, try this sentence:

Since 1993, the small border town of Juarez has been overcome by waves of murders, most of which have been attacks against women. Human rights activists estimate the number of slain women is in the thousands.

First, Juarez is not a “small border town” but a city of at least 1.2-1.3 million people. About twice as large as its US neighbor, El Paso. Since 1993, using official numbers from the state Attorney General and media reports, the number of PEOPLE killed in Juarez is more than 14,500 and of that total, about 1,250 were women. This does not include the people who have gone missing.  But by ANY count or estimate, we can say with certainty that at least 10 times as many of the murder victims in the city of Juarez for all of these years from 1993–present have been men or boys. A less misleading article from the El Paso Times neglects to mention the actual HUMAN death toll. Notably, in 2012, as we have gratefully seen the homicide toll decrease, the percentage of victims who are women has increased. This is probably due to the fact that as the murders related to gang violence and narco-violence have declined in Juarez, the number of domestic violence murders where the victims are usually women becomes a larger percentage of the total…in 2012, it is about 12.5 %.  Still, the actual NUMBERS of women killed were much higher in 2010-2011 because the numbers of PEOPLE killed were so high overall. The quote from Irma Casas of Casa Amiga is absolutely true and applies to ALL of the victims, not only the women: “Murders are rarely investigated and only 1 percent are even decided upon,” Irma Casas, director of women’s rights group Casa Amiga Esther Chavez Cano, told FOX News Latino.

molly molloy

Murders of women

1993-2007………………427 (3,538) – 12%

2008 ……………………….87   (1,623) – 5.3%

2009……………………….164 (2,754)—5.9%

2010 ………………………304 (3,622) – 8.3%

2011 …………………….. 196  (2,086) – 9.3%

2012 (as of July 31) ………73 (584) – 12.5%

Women…………1,251 ( 14,527 total victims) – 8.6%

Women = 8.6 percent

of total murder victims over the past 18 years

Statistics from El Diario based on official data from the Chihuahua State Attorney General

38 homicide victims in Juarez in August; 625 so far in 2012

El Diario reports today that August sets a record for the lowest number of murders in the past 5 years. There were 34 homicides and 4 bodies were found in hidden graves with no indication of exactly when they were killed.  Though Diario says the total is 34, I will post 38, since the 4 hidden bodies won’t be counted otherwise.  The article quotes authorities being very optimistic and Juarez is now seeing fewer murders than in US cities–specifically New Orleans and Chicago. This is no small accomplishment. Especially since New Orleans is a much smaller city–pop about 400,000.  The article says that these cities often suffer 50+ homicides in a month. That has certainly been true recently in Chicago. Chicago has a population of nearly 3 million people–more than double Juarez. In Chicago this year, more than 300 people have been murdered and the city is projected to surpass last year’s total of 504.  So far this year there have been 128 murders in New Orleans.

Though the Diario article does not give the annual toll so far for Juarez, my numbers show a total of about 625. If the average stays at about 1 murder per day for the rest of the year, Juarez will end 2012 with less than 1000 victims. As a reminder, in 2007, there were a total of about 320 killed. And since 2008, a total of 10,710 people have been murdered in the city.  molly
JUAREZ HOMICIDES 2012
January 122
February 82
March 105
April 107
May 74
June 49
July 48
August 38
625