Saturday, May 9, 2009

Who Has Been Getting Killed in Juarez? Report from Norte

Herika Martinez Prado, writing for Norte, reports this morning that more than 80 percent of the victims of assassination in Juarez in the past two weeks were former police officers who had been accused at some point in the past of illicit activities, such as selling drugs at picaderos (places where drugs are sold). Many had connections with businesses that are sometimes associated with picaderos, such as workshops or used car lots. The neighborhoods where assassinations were most frequent during the recent spike in killings were the colonias Chaveña, Azteca, Hidalgo, Melchor Ocampo, and Infonavit Casas Grandes. According to the deputy prosecutor of Chihuahua for the Northern Zone, Alejandro Pariente Núñez, the killers are now using handguns and are driving in a wide variety of automobiles. In the past they were using luxury vehicles and long-barreled guns.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Very interesting post. Could you describe the structure and "culture" of the drug cartels? I have a hard time differentiating between fact and hype.

Jose Z. Garcia said...

I dont' know much about this subject, but there is quite a bit out there on the internet.

GSal said...

I think it was the Dec 22, 2008, issue of Forbes magazine that had a map with the breakdown of which cartel controlled what. It also has an interesting article entitled "The Next Disaster" that might be of interest. Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Loera, the head of the Sinoloa cartel is listed as a billionaire in another issue. And who said crime doesn't pay?!