Death Count Rises, Border Drug War Continues

Yeah, Arizonans are just paranoid...

Why has this not been leading the news over the weekend? I would say grenade attacks that close to the US border is a big damn deal ladies and gents. Read that carefully, please. Death toll, 34; a further dozen people hurt. And those figures are merely a portion of much bigger and bloodier picture. This is only part of the reason that people in Arizona, especially those who live along the border, feel it is necessary to pass tough enforcement laws. If the federal government is unwilling to ensure their safety, then they are appealing to their state law makers to do the job. It makes absolutely no sense why the American citizens who are dealing with this kind of violence so close in proximity to their homes are the ones being vilified.

"The bombings in Monterry took place amid a new wave of drug related killings, mostly in northern Mexico, close to the lucrative US drug market that has claimed nearly three dozen lives over the past few days.
In the town of San Jose de la Cruz, in an isolated mountain region in the northern state of Durango, presumed rival gangs clashed in a bloodbath that left 14 people dead, the local prosecutor said Saturday.
In Chihuahua another 20 murders took place, nine of them in Ciudad Juarez. Meanwhile, police intensified their search Sunday for 20 Mexican tourists kidnapped by gunmen last week in the beach resort city of Acapulco."

That is absolutely astonishing! The warnings to American tourists in, or those going to, Mexico have made it into a few news casts. Some colleges and universities have warned students planning trips to not vacation in Mexico. But, I would hazard a guess that Americans are grossly under-informed about exactly what is happening south of the border. I am betting that people are complacent and apathetic... it’s in Mexico, not the US after all. Americans have long ignored the politics and waves of upheaval that rock through Mexico every so often. Frankly, we pay more attention to the region because of Hurricanes and recent land and mudslides. The truth is, however, that we share a hundreds of miles long border with the country, and the fighting is for control of that region. Do you get it yet? These are the people that are trying to find the quickest and most efficient en routes to our country. Do you still think the border is unimportant? It may be just a desert, but to drug trafficking organizations it is some of the most valuable real estate in the entire world. Reports estimate that about 28,000 deaths in Mexico over the last 4 years can be blamed on drug violence (that is more than either Middle East war).

Other articles:

10th Mexican Mayor Gunned Down

21 Dead Near Border in Sonora
Acapulco kidnappings.

More on Acapulco

7 Dead Acapulco Drug Battle

72 Bodies, 1 Mexican Ranch

Mass Grave in Juarez, 51 dead by Drug Violence
14 Dead in Durango

How high does the death count have to get? How many headlines of drug related violence do you need to see?