Some Juarez locals assume that most of the senseless violence that has ruined the reputation of their city through out the years may be because of a combination of polluted Rio Grande water and the scorching desert sun. More reasonable thinkers believe that the madness may have come as a result of the several thousands of new people, a lot of them gang members, who migrate into Juarez from towns and cities across Mexico and Latin America each year.
The fact is Ciudad Juarez, whose current population is 1,801,452, has grown rapidly, and so have the murders. At least 23 people died in violent attacks in the last three days, all over a drug trafficking dispute between rival cartels. Innocent bystanders shot, police offers gunned down and young women raped and murdered.
Since 1993, over 450 girls and women have been brutally murdered in Ciudad Juarez Mexico. The murders have yet to be solved. The Juarez economy has also taken a hit. Tourist no longer attempt to go to Juarez to shop, and shops and restaurants through out this battered city are now being forced to close down.
In 2004 36 bodies were found buried in the backyard of a house. The murders were believed to be a result of drug trafficking violence. In 2005 prisoners at the Cereso prison in Juarez were beaten and stabbed to death in a gang related riot that left 15 prisoners dead. 8 more prisoners were murdered during the following 3 months.
Another interesting fact is that El Paso, TX which sits only yards away (right across the Rio Grande) from Juarez, is the 2nd safest city in the United States. There were only 14 homicides in 2007. Thats amazing considering the population of El Paso is 734,669.
So is the polluted water of the Rio Grande really to blame over Juarez’s Murder and Mayhem? We think not. A great, yet far fetched solution to the problem would be to send a squad of El Paso Police officers into Juarez to teach incompetent Juarez officials the art of successful law enforcement.
