Arrested Development - Ex-Pats Mexico

Thanks Rolly, I enjoy reading your updates. I was reading on The News.mx last night that about 6 candidates from a few political parties have been killed or wounded within the past few months. I guess there are mid term elections coming up. Sounds like being an aspiring politician is risky business as well.

Sorry to hear that, Rolly. I guess those poor folks are doing the right thing under the circumstances. Before long la gente might just take matters into their own hands. If and when that happens I expect there will be hell to pay. Lizzy

Several folks have asked for an update of what’s going on in my area. So, here goes…

The drug wars are still with us, but the violence has been considerably tamped down by the presence of 2,000+ soldiers in the tri-city area. Most are deployed in Torreón where the local police force has been decimated by the firing of 300+ officers for various forms of malfeasance.

In another near-by town, the army has replaced the entire police force. In an act of total humiliation of the local cops, the army had the door to the police station welded shut. But now the local folks are complaining that the army is not keeping them safe – robberies, burglaries and car thefts are way up.

The army was called upon to quell a riot at the state prison in Gomez Palacio last week. 20 inmates were killed. The army discovered a large number of knives, hand guns, long guns, bomb making material and drugs. A few months ago, the warden and several guards were arrested and charged with corruption after the escape of several high-value drugers. Obviously, they didn’t get rid of all the bad guards. Now, the new warden and several guards have resigned saying they fear for their lives. The situation continues to be tense.

One of the people killed in the prison riot was the man who murdered my friend Johnny, the long-time English teacher here in Lerdo. I wrote about that tragedy a while ago.

Well, well, well – I just got interrupted by a knock on my door. Four army guys with big ugly guns had come to search my house looking for guns and drugs. They did a pretty thorough job. They looked in every cabinet, pulled out every draw, etc. I was surprise that they ignored the suit cases in the closet.

These searches have been going on for the past few weeks. My friend at the police department tells me that several large weapons cachés have be found as well as a lot of drugs. Several bad guys have been arrested.

For years, I was a card carrying member of the ACLU. If such a warrantless search took place at my house in the USA, I’d be pretty bent out of shape. But when you live in the middle of a drug war, priorities change. I’m damn glad to see the guys.

Bank robberies, car thefts, and other non-drug related crime has increased as the economy has soured. But that is no different than the rest of México and the USA.

Life goes on…

Not to change the topic or the location but we drove by the police station in Patzcuaro that was shot up a couple of weeks ago. Bullet holes are still there! Would have taken a foto but it was raining hard and the traffic was heavy. Will take a foto in the next day or so and post it in the appropriate section.

For the second year in a row, there was no Independence Day parade. The safety authorities decided, for unannounced reasons, that it was unsafe, that the Zetas might attack.

To add to the local anxiety, the state water folks announced that there has been so much rain the mountain watershed of the Rio Nazas that it may be necessary to release water from the dams again this year. A possibility of a repeat of last year's flood is not welcome news.

It is somewhat amazing to me that while Lerdo had the foresight to cancel their parade, the City of Juarez apparently took few precautions:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/world/6622610.html

Once again, there isn't enough money to get me to travel through Juarez!