Arrested Development - Ex-Pats Mexico

Zacatecas has long been a corridor for smuggling routes from central Mexico northward, with the trafficking gangs from Sinaloa in control of most activity. Then, several years ago, violence surged as members of the so-called Gulf cartel and their hired guns, Los Zetas, began moving in to challenge their Sinaloa rivals.

Villanueva Mayor de la Torre acknowledged that violence and fear have reached unprecedented levels. "Someone is kidnapped, and everyone says, ´Who´s next?´ " he said. "We can´t continue this way. The town is dying."

Carlos Pinto, the powerful interior secretary for Zacatecas, acknowledged that "criminal groups, every day more violent, are challenging the state."

"Our institutions are not proportionate to the needs," he said. "This problem grabbed us without our police being ready or properly equipped."

Shootings, kidnappings, extortion and threats have shattered the relative peace of Zacatecas. The unrest has disrupted immigration patterns, brought the local economy to its knees, destroyed small-town life and now threatens the upcoming planting season in an area that relies heavily on agriculture

http://www.thenews.com.mx/home/tnArticu ... ont=282439


Of note is this statement from Interior Secretary Fernando Gómez Mont when he told a meeting of business people last Tuesday in Mexico City,--
he said:
"While Mexico's drug cartels don't appear to be targeting foreigners specifically, there is a problem with common criminals taking advantage of the atmosphere of fear created by the drug conflict to extort money or demand protection payments from companies.
Based on the climate of terror that exists, a bunch of smart guys are simulating extortions or saying they have ties to organized crime, to scare people.
In most cases, they don't come from organizations that are capable of inflicting harm, he told the executives. They are using a strategy of taking advantage of disorder."
Companies in Mexico have reported a rising wave of such extortions, but Gómez Mont told executives not to pay such demands.

http://www.thenews.com.mx/home/tnhome.asp?cve_home=1165