PUERTO VALLARTA (PVDN) - Juarez, a city already infamous for its high crime rates, has experienced a grim uptick in violence in the past two days with 16 lives claimed. A wave of homicides initiated late on Sunday night has experts suggesting that there is no end in sight to the city's plight. Clearly, Mexico's 'Hugs, not bullets' policy is a huge failure.
The series of killings began when a man was shot dead in his sleep during a home invasion. This was followed by a deadly shootout at a gas station in the city's southern tip, leaving three men dead and two others wounded. On Tuesday, a body swathed in a blanket was found discarded on a sidewalk in the Aztecas neighborhood.
Juarez police remain tight-lipped about the motive behind these killings, which brings the total number of homicides for the year to 600. In most cases, these deaths are eventually classified as drug-related. This pattern is not specific to Juarez; drug-related violence is becoming an increasingly common occurrence across the country as cartels operate with seeming impunity, according to security experts.
Victor M. Manjarrez Jr., director of the Center for Law and Human Behavior at the University of Texas at El Paso, likened the situation to a deadly trade-off. The Mexican government's policy of non-interference with cartel activities is a strategic appeasement aimed at protecting the general population. This approach starkly contrasts with Mexico's previous hardline stance, which saw an aggressive crackdown on cartel kingpins, but resulted in surges of violence.
However, the silent understanding between cartels and the government is proving brittle, as the increasing violence begins to impact bystanders in border cities and tourist hotspots like Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, and Tulum.
The 'hugs, not bullets' approach of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has seen a surge in homicides, surpassing the violent legacy of former President Felipe Calderon's 'kingpin' strategy, as per the Mexican government's data.
The expansion of cartels beyond drug trafficking is now encompassing crimes such as extortion, large-scale gasoline theft, illegal logging, migrant smuggling, and kidnapping. They are also developing a domestic drug-consumer market, posing significant threats to locals and tourists alike.
These dangerous developments have led Virginia-based security consultancy firm, Global Guardian, to classify Mexico as one of the world's most dangerous countries. Alongside Haiti and Venezuela, Mexico is among three nations in the Western Hemisphere that the firm has labeled as 'high risk' due to criminal activity or civil unrest.
"In Mexico, drug cartels have taken over rural areas in states like Michoacan, Guerrero, and Sinaloa, and are waging wars over smuggling routes into the United States," said Michael Ballard, Director of Intelligence for Global Guardian. "Most of the violence is driven by competition for those drug revenues."
Increasingly, the areas previously deemed off-limits to organized criminals are being violated, with Ballard pointing out instances of violence breaking out in popular tourist destinations like Cancun and Tulum. The cartels' foray into domestic drug sales is escalating risks for tourists.
"We are not saying don't go to Mexico; we are saying, be careful if you do," warned Ballard, stressing the critical need for caution in a rapidly worsening scenario.
