Wednesday, June 04, 2008

Juarez drug war news:

A group of armed men attempting to get away after killing someone in the ongoing border drug wars, became ensnared in a traffic jam in Juarez yesterday afternoon.

In a tactic that may warrant further study for people in a hurry, who find themselves surrounded by sheet metal ground to a standstill, and who just happen to have the family AK-47 assault weapon with them, it appears the cartel member's tactic to escape the tie-up may serve as a lesson to benefit other drivers in the future.

Shooting wildly at surrounding motorists while smashing up cars in their way may actually expedite one's exit from such a jam up. We know it works in the movies. Yesterday it worked in Juarez!

Sadly, however, five cars were badly damaged during the escape. And there are conflicting reports on how many were killed. The newspaper confirmed one woman, who happened to be in the area, as killed, and a man critically wounded. Witnesses, however, say as many as four people were killed by the shooters, apparently anxious to "get on down the road."

Of course, what keeps this drug war interesting, keeps you waiting on the edge of your breakfast chair each morning, is learning of the latest episode with the surprise of how different it can be from the day before. Like, today's story of shooting one's way out of a traffic jam after murdering somebody. It followed the weekend story of the discovery of three headless bodies found strewn on Juarez streets.

As a strong advocate for conservation in light of declining resources (and rising prices), I am tenaciously opposed to beheadings. That's because the the bodily remains were found in six, not three, separate plastic bags. This is very disturbing, that someone at the apex of today's 21st Century civilization, with the best Chevy Suburbans and Hummers, the best automatic weapons available, can be so environmentally unaware.

It is Dada's hope these perpetrators might consider packing severed heads in the same bags as their torsos. After all, we live in a New Age of Enlightenment and "Green is in!"

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5 comments:

Utah Savage said...

Dada, this is both dark and comic. Well, perhaps comic isn't the right word. Dark, almost humor? Glad I'm not on a border town. But three nights ago in this nice urban neighborhood with the backyard tennis court, we, my dog and I heard gunshot. Probably a.22. I waited it out. Six shots, a brief pause then six more. No my dog won't go outside without a chaperone. And he's enormous. He weighs as much as I. It's embarrassing to have your guard dog look like a woos. Next time I hear gun fire, I'm calling the cops.

D.K. Raed said...

Jeez, Dada, it goes from bad to worse. Things to do in Juarez when you're stuck in a traffic jam: immediately exit on foot, leave your car in the road, it's only a hunk of junk anyway ... why risk getting shot to hell because you're in the way of some serious shit?

Billie Greenwood said...

Ah, the sweet memories reignite...awakening in the dawning El Paso morning and asking my loving husband (already awake and reading the newspaper), "Honey, what happened yesterday in Juarez?"
The three headless bodies actually made it to Lou Dobbs' program last night, so I was semi-prepared for your post today. If these kind of incidences were happening in El Paso-e.g. hundreds of police officers gunned down gangland-style in broad daylight--the city would grind to a halt. Somehow, Juarez simply chugs along.

eProf2 said...

Unfortunately, due to the endless supply of money for drugs in the United States, Mexican border towns are, indeed, becoming war zones and death traps for those involved in drugs and the innocent. Yeah, let's use fewer body bags and keep the dead "whole" in their bags!

Dada said...

Actually, my cynicism was so close to the surface it boiled over when I wrote this yesterday.

You are right, eprof, I get absolutely beside myself when the media acknowledges the horrendous atrocities being committed just across the border yet fail to mention the cause -- America's tremendous appetite for drugs.

So, as B.E. may have alluded to above, yesterday's episode from across the border was probably the resumption of police "cleansing" as three law enforcement officers were gunned down in daylight. Two of them with the Juarez PD, a woman and her husband, were shot just outside their home. Nice looking couple. I'm amazed at the number of shell casings found at these scenes, like 17-18 rounds for each person. (No one knows if the latest victim's names were on the hit list of police to be exterminiated - left outside a police station this past weekend.)

Utah Savage: Maybe that helps explain the 12 rounds you heard fired - just making sure whoever they were shooting was dead!?

(Actually, I was hoping maybe it was some exuberant kid just graduated from high school letting of steam, or maybe the Utah Jazz had won an NBA championship or something....)

BTW, I can relate to your guard dog. While Sam here is primarily a blog editor, he prefers to have someone go outside with him at night. But if they come to the house, he'll act rage rabid (altho he's never hurt anyone).

But today he worked beautifully when an electric co. employee came to install a wireless meter on the back of the house so they will never have to come inside the backyard again, the entrance of which reads "Beware of Dog!, which is a big joke. Sam scared the daylights out of that man.

D.K. Recent local acclaim is casting praises at the sudden correction of the long traffic lines waiting to cross into the US at ports of entry. Could it be that it's mostly the result of threats of mass violence that has just cleared Mexican streets?

Talking to my mailman today who goes to Juarez every weekend (his wife lives over there)...he told me the traffic has been the best in recent memory, with little or no traffic!

I couldn't help but think, "Wow!, El Paso/Juarez will probably win 'The cities with greatest CO2 reductions' award this year! Drug wars aren't all bad!" (Whoops, my cynicism once more bubbles over again.)