William R. Brownfield, Ass't. U.S. Secretary of State for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, told a House of Representatives panel this morning that Ciudad Juárez on Mexico's northern frontier is the most dangerous city in the world, and that local and state police throughout the country remain highly infiltrated by cartels and narcotics traffickers.
Juárez, just across the Rio Grande from El Paso, has been rated the world's deadliest city in recent years, exceeding even Baghdad's reputation for terror. But in January a private Mexican group reported that the sprawling metropolis had been bumped to second place by a statistically more dangerous city in Honduras. That fact, coupled with claims that night life and entertainment are beginning to return to some parts of the embattled border town, caused some to suggest that Juárez had finally turned the corner. But Brownfield strongly disagrees, he told representatives today.
Juárez "is not only the most dangerous city in Mexico and the Western Hemisphere, but in the entire world," he told the bi-partisan panel. He also dismissed claims by the Calderón administration that a claimed 57% drop in homicides in the border town had made it a fundamentally safer place. The Juárez Cartel is the dominant group in the city, say police.
Earlier this year the cartel launched brazen daylight attacks against local police and their stations with such frequency that in February, the city ordered all of its municipal officers into fortified hotels, where they could be protected by militarized units. They remain there, but yesterday heavily armed sicarios (assassins) still managed to kill five city officers.
The secretary also testified that local and state police -- which constitute about 90% of all law enforcement in Mexico -- remain heavily corrupted and infiltrated by drug traffickers and organized crime in many regions. President Calderón's National Security Strategy, launched in December 2006, has as its cornerstone the use of federal troops against the cartels, while local police forces are purged, polygraphed and retrained. Despite notable strategic successes it remains a controversial approach, because more than 50,000 drug war deaths have occurred in the past 63 months - a toll which shows no sign of abating.
The topic has considerable significance in a country which will elect its next president in about 100 days. One of the three major party candidates has announced that he'd pull federal troops from the fight and return anti-cartel operations to local police within six months of taking office. Another candidate, the front runner in virtually every recent poll, says he'd follow a "different strategy," but he won't even generally reveal what it is. The only female candidate in the race says she'll stick with Calderón's military plan until local forces are ready to go it alone, which may take several years at least.
On a more encouraging note, Brownfield told House members that Mexico's federal police agencies have been thoroughly cleansed. He also claimed that it's not necessary for the country to defeat all the traffickers operating within the country. The secretary suggested that if even five or ten percent are aggressively confronted, others may choose a path of lesser resistance and "migrate to other regions." There is reliable evidence that such is already happening, as cartel operatives fleeing Mexican troops pour across the nation's southern border into Guatemala and Honduras. Of course, Mexico's victory in that regard spells enormous problems for its desperately poor neighbors, who are even less equipped to resist. More evidence Mexican drug war strategy is working, as violence shifts southward: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2012/02/more-evidence-mexican-drug-war-strategy.html.
Secretary Brownfield has served as U.S. ambassador to Colombia, Venezuela, and Chile. Because of his days in Bogota, Brownfield is well acquainted with the strategic challenges of confronting and defeating international narcotics traffickers. He told representatives today that it's likely to be a very long road, which may or may not mirror that of Colombia.
The fine art of diplomacy
U.S. ambassador to Mexico Earl Anthony Wayne issued a statement this evening emphasizing that the American government recognizes Mexico has gone to extraordinary lengths to deal with the horrible security situation in Ciudad Juárez and Chihuahua state, and that a significant reduction in the city's homicide rate has been the net result - just as president Calderón declared last month. This is somewhat humorous, although I'm sure nobody in the U.S. or Mexican government is laughing.
Brownfield is an assistant secretary of State, and thus considerably outranks ambassador Wayne. But nonetheless, Wayne was probably instructed to "clarify" Brownfield's remarks after complaints from Los Pinos, Mexico's White House, or other high level officials here. The bottom line is that two U.S. officials have spun the issue in rather different ways within 12 hours. Brownfield had the better argument. Yes, homicides in Juárez have been falling for many months, but the city remains a very violent place, far worse than anywhere else in Mexico (followed by Monterrey, 100 miles to the south). Perhaps the order came directly from 1600 Pennsylvania. Barack Obama tries to avoid offending his good friend Felipe Calderón on drug war matters as much as possible.
Mexico home to 5 of 10 most violent cities in the world; Juárez loses 1st place: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.mx/2012/01/mexico-is-home-to-5-of-10-most-violent.html.
In Riviera Maya, Los Zetas tell cops: "Join us, or you and your families will die": http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2012/03/in-lush-riviera-maya-los-zetas-tell.html.
Ciudad Juárez
Juárez police take refuge in fortress hotels: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2012/01/red-alert-forces-juarez-police-to-seek.html.
Police are primary targets in Ciudad Juárez: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2012/01/police-are-now-primary-targets-of.html.
Revenge attack against Juárez police patrol: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2012/01/revenge-attack-against-juarez-police.html.
Juárez killer of pregnant U.S. consulate employee collects 10 life terms: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2012/04/juarez-killer-of-pregnant-us-consulate.html.
Major Juárez crime boss captured - leader of La Linea: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.mx/2011/12/major-juarez-crime-boss-captured-leader.html.
Mexico extradites suspect in brutal Juárez execution of U.S. consulate worker: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.mx/2011/12/mexico-extradites-suspect-in-brutal.html.
Another day of madness in Juárez: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2011/12/cartel-hit-men-execute-ambulance-crew-2.html.
Policing Issues
Federal troops take over police functions in Veracruz - 1,000 local cops fired: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2011/12/federal-troops-take-over-police.html.
Drug war strategies of Mexican political candidates
Weeding out corruption is daunting task in Mexico - polygraphs await 500,000: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2011/10/weeding-out-corrupt-local-cops-remains.html.
López Obrado repeats promise to pull Mexican military forces from drug war: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.mx/2012/02/lopez-obrado-repeats-promise-to-pull.html.
López Obrador says "hug'em, don't shoot'em!": http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2012/02/as-pan-primary-campaign-winds-down.html
Enrique Peña Nieto continues to dodge key drug war issue: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2012/03/pena-nieto-still-avoids-key-drug-war.html.
Memo to Enique Peña Nieto: Mexico is waiting: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.mx/2012/03/memo-to-enique-pena-nieto-mexico-is.html.
Editorial Opinion
Why the Calderón strategy has been the right one: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2011/12/calderon-strategy-has-been-right-one.html.
Why the L.A. Times just doesn't get it: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2011/11/why-la-times-just-doesnt-get-it.html.
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