In the last month, 150 people have been killed in the Tijuana area in what is assumed to be a war between rival drug cartels. 150 people in one month! The war has been going on since for at least three years, but this is, by far, the bloodiest month.
The Mexican government deployed troops to help with the situation on the 22nd, but the killings don’t appear to have even slowed down. I can’t help but wonder how you can slow them down. I imagine the police department can’t even begin investigating one homicide before there’s another one.
In the article I linked to, one cartel was said to have “800 to 3,000 gunmen at its disposal”. I have no idea how many cartels there are (anyone know?) but even if there is only one other, the number of people involved is simply overwhelming. How can you possibly fight back?
What I’m particularly curious about are the innocent, law-abiding citizens of Tijuana. Do they live their lives in a constant state of fear, or are they just used to it by now?
I don’t know for sure how many cartels there are–just off hand I can think of about 5 or 6. I’m sure there are more. It is really scary. I used to have family in Juarez, and would go over all the time to shop or eat. My kids grew up going to the clubs over there. It’s never been really safe (at least for the last 15 years or so), with the unsolved murders of all the women, and random shootings. But now–it is unbelievable!! I know Juarez has had well over a thousand murders this year. I’m no longer in El Paso, but I still live along the border. Tourism and commerce have really suffered in the Mexican border towns, because now nobody is going over there. At this point, I would not even go to Cabo or any of the touristy resorts. I won’t go to Monterrey, either.