I volunteered in the only regional AIDS outpatient clinic in Baja California - Tijuana - every Thursday for over 20 years. Now I don't set foot on the Mexican side of the border because it is just too dangerous. The conditions described in Tijuana also exist in the other border town near hear - Tecate. In addition to all the killings taking place in those cities the drug gangs are also doing a thriving business in kidnapping people who appear or are believed to have the resources to generate an acceptable ransom. Targets for those kidnappings are wealthy Mexican nationals who haven't yet escaped to safety north of the border, foreign managers of the many maquiladoras along the border and American tourists. I speak Spanish, know the culture intimately and have many powerful and influential friends in Mexico. Even with all that I fear too much for my personal safety to cross the border into Mexico. I know several Mexican families who are my neighbors who moved up here for their own personal safety. They also have stopped crossing the border into Mexico.
Things have gotten so bad in Tijuana, that the killings are now making international news through the BBC.
Fred
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More Mexican 'gang' victims found
The bodies of 10 more murder victims have been found by police in the Mexican city of Tijuana, where gang violence has escalated recently.
Five of the latest victims were found in an abandoned van near a shopping centre and the decapitated bodies of two others were found by a road.
State prosecutors have blamed the killings on a drugs turf war.
More than 50 people have been killed in the past week in Tijuana, a key transit point for drugs trafficked to the US.
It is not just suspected gang members who have been targeted in Mexico's recent spate of killings.
Mayor gunned down
On Saturday, the mayor of Ixtapan de la Sal, a tourist city near the Mexican capital was gunned down as he travelled in a vehicle with other officials.
BBC Americas analyst Warren Bull says the motive for the murder is still unclear, but public officials are major targets for crime gangs, especially if they are perceived to be a threat to illicit business.
Last week, the authorities found 16 bodies in 24 hours, most showing signs of having been trussed-up and tortured.
On Tuesday, President Felipe Calderon sent a series of measures to Congress aimed at fighting a wave of drug-related violence that has killed more than 3,000 people so far this year.
The package includes a proposal to set up a department to monitor and tackle corruption among Mexican police.
President Calderon launched a nationwide battle almost two years ago to reclaim territory controlled by some of the world's most powerful drug gangs.
But the cartels have responded with unprecedented violence - including kidnappings and killings that have sparked public outrage and huge street protests.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/7653118.stm
Published: 2008/10/05 02:04:47 GMT
© BBC MMVIII
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