The lights of Ciudad Juarez can be seen from the UTEP campus. (Danya Hernandez/Borderzine.com)

Study examines how student writing reflects Mexican drug-war violence

EL PASO – As the drug war continues in Ciudad Juárez, one of the world’s deadliest cities just cross the border from the University of Texas at El Paso, the work of international students here has shown the effect drug-related violence has had on their everyday lives. “In the past few years, violence and conflict have become a constant threat to the lives of many students on the U.S.-Mexico border,” said Alfredo Urzua, assistant professor of languages and linguistics at UTEP. “These students that are directly or indirectly exposed to violent events must find a way to balance their educational goals while living in an unstable and unsafe environment.”

Many of the students at the university come from or have close ties to Juarez. The impact the drug violence has had on the university can be seen since the start of the war. UTEP students have protested against the violence and helped families that have been affected.

View from our car approaching the Paso del Norte Bridge on the way back to El Paso from Juarez. (David Smith-Soto/Borderzine.com)

Women of Juarez tell their stories of death and despair

EL PASO – Cinthia was only 10 years old when they killed her. The little girl, full of life and energy, went out one evening to play in the park just one block away from her home, just like she did so many times. The neighborhood in Cd. Juárez was generally calm, but that one particular day in 1997, Cinthia simply disappeared. After twenty days of distress, her family was notified by the authorities they had found Cinthia’s body in a dumpster.

José Luis González, a photojournalist for El Norte newspaper, risks his life every to cover murder scenes at Ciudad Juárez as do most of journalists in one of the most dangerous cities of the world. (Ivan Pierre Aguirre/Borderzine.com)

Chasing Death

CIUDAD JUÁREZ – Everyday journalists from all over the world make a pilgrimage to one of the most dangerous cities in the world, Ciudad Juárez, to try to document the city’s daily terror on its people. I have gone into Juárez before to try to document that for myself, but this time I wanted to tell the stories of the journalists. Journalists who risk their lives to cover the thousands of murders that happen every year. This was my attempt to try to get a small glimpse into what it takes to cover Juárez in a day’s shift. For one day this past summer, I rode along with two fixers, and met a news crew from Sydney, Australia, a couple of photographers from El Norte newspaper, and visited the local state bureau of investigation.

Members of the Diaz family listen UTEP officials honor the memory of Eder Diaz. (Danya Hernandez/Borderzine.com)

Los nombres de víctimas olvidadas se convierten en números en Juárez

EL PASO —  Miles han muerto y mas siguen muriendo en Cd. Juárez  – 4703 personas en 2010 y en lo que va de 2011 – personas que se convierten en números dentro de los escritorios de funcionarios y los nombres se desvanecen en vaga memoria. El primer aniversario de las muertes de Eder Díaz y Manuel Acosta, dos estudiantes de la Universidad de Texas en El Paso asesinados en Cd. Juárez,  se cumple Noviembre 2. La mayoría de los casos de víctimas en la cuidad de Juárez, terminan como casos desaparecidos.

The devotion to the Holy Death incorporates many elements from Ctaholic Church's iconography even though this is not recognized as legit by the Church. (Luis Hernandez/Borderzine.com)

Some worship the Saint of Death in a city plagued by violence

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Just a few steps from the historic cathedral devoted to the Virgin of Guadalupe in downtown Juárez, the Mercado Cuauhtémoc shopping center houses stores that specialize in the sale of paraphernalia dedicated to a different holy entity they call Santa Muerte. Like any Sunday, the main plaza and its different mercados in the historic heart of the border city of Juárez are rich with activity and flowing with movement. This is in complete contrast to other sectors of the city where businesses are run down or abandoned, lacking clientele, who fear the violence currently plaguing the city. These shops dedicated to the sale of various goods depicting Santa Muerte – the Saint of Death or just Holy Death – are mixed in with other shops that sell everything from produce and clothing, to electronic goods. In these shops you can find statues and amulets adorned with the saint’s image and you also can say a prayer to her in one of the mini-worship spots set aside in the shops to venerate  “La Huesuda” or “the skeletal saint” as it is also known.

A resident of Lomas de Poleo talks to Borderzine reporter Armando Segovia in January 2009. (©Borderzine.com)

Comunidades de El Paso y Las Cruces apoyan reclamos de moradores de Lomas de Poleo

EL PASO – Alrededor de mil estadounidenses firmaron un documento a través del cual se solicita la intervención del Gobierno Federal de México para neutralizar las transgresiones a los derechos humanos, la violencia e intimidación que sufren los moradores de la comunidad Lomas de Poleo, en Ciudad Juárez. El pergamino se entregó –a las once de la mañana de este miércoles por una representación integrada por dos ciudadanos norteamericanos y algunos líderes religiosos de El Paso, al Cónsul de México en El Paso, Roberto Rodríguez Hernández, para que interceda ante el gobierno de su país. Y es que, los locales aprovecharon que –un poco antes de esa hora– algunos colonos de Lomas de Poleo e integrantes de esa comunidad se personaron en las instalaciones de la sede consular y suplicaron la intervención del Embajador en esa problemática. “Nuestro principal reclamo está relacionado con garantizar la seguridad niños y adultos, luego que grupos ‘de choque’ se encargaron de destruir la única escuela que existe en el lugar rompiendo ventanas, puertas y cercas”, dijo la historiadora, Selfa Chew. Actualmente los estudiantes y la comunidad de Lomas de Poleo se encuentran en su cuarta semana de protesta frente a la Secretaría de Educación Pública (SEP) en Ciudad Juárez donde reclaman el cese de los abusos que están sufriendo.

Paisano Valley Water Project In El Paso. (William Blackburn/Borderzine.com)

Bi-national projects lead to health benefits for border residents

EL PASO — The bi-national project Border 2012 aims to improve the environment of the border region and the health of nearly 12 million people through a partnership between the United States and México. The goals of Border 2012 are to reduce water contamination, reduce air pollution, reduce land contamination, improve environmental health, and emergency preparedness and response. Paving miles of highways in Sonora, México using asphalt pavement will reduce particulate matter in the air that leads to respiratory diseases. Protecting and preserving the U.S.-México border region by identifying, developing, implementing and overseeing these environmental infrastructure projects is the job of the Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC) headquartered in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico. Since 2005 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has authorized the BECC to manage $7.4 million for 144 Border 2012 projects.

Ambassador of Mexico Arturo Sarukhan, left, and Carlos Chavira, president of the new initiative “Juarez Competitiva” introduce the project in Washington on Monday. They hope to unite the border region against drug wars and improve the economy.(Danya Hernandez/SHFWire)

Border leaders unveil plan to restore reputation of Ciudad Juarez

WASHINGTON – The violence and crime that have stained the name of the U.S.-Mexico border region is uniting its residents, who want to regain a clean status. The innumerable reports of murder, kidnappings and extortions brought by drug trafficking to Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, just across the Rio Grande from El Paso, Texas, are the main factor contributing to the exodus of about 230,000 middle class families and more than 10,000 businesses since 2006. Residents of the region created a new initiative called “Juárez Competitiva” to advertize the city’s assets and cultural value to create economic growth. Officials at the Embassy of Mexico announced the project’s launch at a news conference Monday. “It’s an effort to understand that not only by confronting organized crime will you be able to push back.

El culto a la Santa Muerte incorpora muchos elementos de la iconografía de la Iglesia Católica aunque esta última no reconozca su veneración como legítima. (Luis Hernandez/Borderzine.com)

La ‘Santa Muerte’ es venerada en una ciudad castigada por la violencia

A pocos pasos de la histórica catedral dedicada a la Virgen de Guadalupe en el centro de Cd. Juárez se encuentra el Mercado Cuauhtémoc y dentro de éste varios puestos dedicados a vender toda una parafernalia de artículos consagrados al culto de la figura denominada la Santa Muerte. Como en cualquier otro día domingo la plaza principal y los puestos comerciales dentro del Centro Histórico de esta ciudad fronteriza mexicana fluyen abundantes de actividad y movimiento. Ello contrasta con la imagen que mantienen muchos otros sectores de esta ciudad en donde los negocios lucen abandonados y carentes de clientes que no acuden por el miedo a la violencia y crimen que actualmente castigan a esta ciudad. En estos puestos dedicados a la Santa Muerte, mezclados entre locales comerciales que expenden una variedad de frutas y legumbres, artesanías, ropa y artículos de origen extranjero, no sólo se pueden encontrar figuras, amuletos, cuadros y otras iconografías de “La Huesuda”, hay también espacios específicos para rendirle culto.

Ciudad Juárez walls full of colors, late 90's. (Courtesy of Cheryl Howard)

La frontera de mi memoria

Traducido por César Silva Santisteban

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EL PASO – Deseo escribir sobre la frontera. Deseo escribir sobre ella sin llorar, pero eso no parece posible. Si todas nuestras lágrimas juntas cayeran sobre el Río Grande/Bravo irrigarían de nuevo su torrente. La edición «Mexodus» de Borderzine justo acaba de salir, y yo deseo leer y escribir acerca de todo esto sin llorar, pero no es posible. Mi amiga Georgina publicó un enlace hacia un artículo de El Diario que dice que 300 mil viviendas en Ciudad Juárez han sido abandonadas.

Inseguridad aumenta número de migrantes a Estados Unidos

CHIHUAHUA — El ultimo censo realizado por el Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (INEGI), mostró que un total de 1 millón 112 mil 273 mexicanos viven en Estados Unidos, cifra que representa el 89.4 por ciento de los migrantes que dejan el país, en su mayoría de entre 14 y 24 años de edad. Según datos del Consejo Nacional de población, hay más 500 mil chihuahuenses residiendo en Estados Unidos. Entre las principales causas de la migración, históricamente se encuentra la búsqueda de empleo, a la que, en los últimos tres años, se suma la inseguridad. A pesar de los esfuerzos que las autoridades federales y estatales realizan en materia de seguridad, son muchas las personas que han tenido que abandonar el estado debido a problemas de esta índole, desde funcionarios públicos, como Marisol Valles García, ex directora de la policía de Práxedis G. Guerrero, quien recientemente solicitó asilo político al vecino del norte ante amenazas del crimen organizado, hasta familias de la localidad que están alejadas del ámbito político. Tal es el caso de Iván Zaldívar, un estudiante de 19 años de edad, ex alumno del Tecnológico de Monterrey Campus Chihuahua.

El Centro Comercial San Lorenzo cerró su estacionamiento e instaló casetas para evitar los robos de autos y facilitar la detención de algún delincuente. (Gilda Moriel/Borderzine.com)

Surviving Juárez: Besieged residents and businesses devise strategies to stay safe in the violence-plagued city

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CIUDAD JUÁREZ – María, a mother of four children and business owner, says her family has had to adopt “survival” measures to protect itself from the crushing daily violence plaguing her city. “We had to install a system of cameras that we monitor from home through the Internet,” said María, 54, who requested that her last name, details of her family and name of her businesses not be disclosed. This was after her family had to pay a “quota” when several of its businesses were targets of extortion, one family member was victim of an “express kidnapping,” and they realized their businesses were under constant surveillance by criminals. Subsequently, the family has contracted a security guard and installed alarms. By early afternoon, they lock the doors of their businesses and, as soon it starts to get dark, open the door only for known customers. They also removed business ads from the telephone directory and switched business and private telephone numbers to unlisted numbers.

Sobreviviendo Juárez: Residentes toman medidas ingeniosas para protegerse de la narcoviolencia y la criminalidad

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CIUDAD JUÁREZ — María, madre de cuatro hijos y administradora de varios negocios en Ciudad Juárez, ha tenido que tomar medidas para “sobrevivir” y protegerse de la violencia a su alrededor. “Tuvimos que poner un sistema de cámaras que monitoreamos de casa a través del Internet”, dijo María de 54 años, que pidió no se revelara su apellido o detalles de su familia y negocios. Esto, después de la extorsión de varios de sus negocios, el pago de la ya conocida “cuota”, un “secuestro exprés” de un familiar, y la vigilancia constante por parte de grupos delictivos. Como consecuencia, contrató un guardia de seguridad para uno de los negocios e instaló alarmas. Ahora cierra las puertas de todos los negocios con seguros a media tarde y cuando empieza a obscurecer las abren sólo a clientes conocidos.

A store at Mercado Juárez. (Courtesy of Cheryl Howard)

The border of my memory

I want to write about the border. I want to write about it without crying, but that doesn’t seem possible. If all our collective tears fell into the Rio Grande/Bravo, it would be a raging torrent again. The Mexodus edition of Borderzine just came out, and I want to read and write about it without crying, but that doesn’t seem possible. My friend Georgina posted a link to an article from El Diario that says 300 thousand dwellings in Cd.

Mexodus: A student journalism project that truly crosses fronteras

EL PASO — This Sunday Borderzine goes to press with Mexodus, an unprecedented bilingual student-reporting project that documents the flight of middle class families, professionals and businesses to the U.S. and safer areas of México because of soaring drug cartel violence and widespread petty crime in cities such as Ciudad Juárez. We believe Mexodus sets the bar for future collaborate investigative journalism that builds bridges across academic, national and language borders, in this case English and Spanish, the U.S. and Mexico.  The web and digital technology facilitated the collaboration, as well as expertise from professional trainers from Investigative Reporters and Editors and research by Fundación MEPI in México City. The project received funding from Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation. The result is more than 20 stories in two languages, videos, slideshows, photos, info graphics and charts produced by participation from nearly 100 student journalists from four universities, University of Texas El Paso, California State University Northridge, and Tecnológico de Monterrey in Chihuahua and México City. Although it was difficult for students to quantify the dislocation of México’s middle class due to the violence –– researchers and demographers estimate the Mexodus at about 125,000 –– more empirical studies will likely reveal a larger number of refugees pushed out by growing violence, perhaps twice as many, according to some.

(Raymundo Aguirre/Borderzine.com)

Mexodus: Mucha política y poca investigación

CIUDAD JUÁREZ — Rodolfo Rubio Salas es profesor e investigador de la Dirección Regional Noroeste del Colegio de la Frontera Norte de Ciudad Juárez. Con un postgrado en demografía y 16 años de experiencia en esta institución, Rubio Salas se especializa en cuestiones migratorias en zonas fronterizas y asegura que detrás de las diversas cifras que se han dado a conocer sobre el éxodo de personas de Ciudad Juarez a El Paso hay mucha política y poca investigación. Pregunta: ¿Qué piensa de lo que se dice acerca de la migración fronteriza en esta región? Respuesta: “Mira yo aquí en algunos sectores me convertí en persona non grata. Hubo un momento a principios del 2009 donde se hicieron muchísimas reuniones a las que venía el gobierno federal y uno se sentaba muy seriamente, pues las investigaciones son serias.

Artist Rigoberto A. Gonzalez paints Mexico drug violence baroque-style

El Paso — Dark colors and shadows transform the canvas into excruciatingly vivid scenes – a severed head laying on the ground, soldiers restraining an angry man in front of a crowd – of the bloody drug war raging along the U.S.-Mexico border, illustrating every disturbing emotion on the faces of the subjects while employing the classic beauty of 17th century Baroque-style paintings. Rigoberto A. Gonzalez (http://rigobertogonzalezalonso.com/home) 37, the artist of these deeply disturbing and meticulously painted images, is bringing his exhibition, titled Baroque on the Border/Barocco en la Frontera, to The University of Texas at El Paso at the Stanlee & Gerald Rubin Center for the Visual Art of from May 26 to September 24, 2011. He was born in Reynosa, in the border state of Tamaulipas, Mexico and moved with his family to the border city of San Juan, TX when he was 9 years old. As a child, his mother and older brother inspired him to become an artist. This inspiration led him to obtain a bachelor’s degree in art from The University of Texas-Pan American in 1999 and a Master of Fine Arts degree in painting from the New York Academy of Art in 2004.

Tales of kindness, trust and courage give voice to civic pride in Juarez

EL PASO — A passer-by helping out an elderly woman transit a busy avenue, a young man treating a homeless man to lunch, and organizations assisting those in need, are some stories that are told everyday in Crónicas de Héroes. In a city where residents are used to hearing bad news from local media every day about the violence-torn city of Ciudad Juarez, a new project is bringing out untold stories of unsung heroes. Crónicas de Héroes, or Hero Chronicles, reports the stories of Juarenses helping fellow Juarenses in everyday life at www.juarez.heroreports.org, and these examples of human kindness are reported by the citizens themselves. As local media focuses on the unfortunate situation Juarez is suffering through, its residents now have a website where they may report any valiant, or noble act of kindness they may witness. “The campaign attempts to inject positive energy and change from the citizens, and finally recover the civic pride, give rise to optimism and bring back the spirit of courage that has characterized the inhabitants of this city,” said Yesica Guerra, Manager of Crónicas de Héroes.

Juarez/Warez: Why quibble?

EL PASO – It had been a year since I’d last visited Juarez, considered the most dangerous city in the world because of unrelenting drug violence.  After crossing the international bridge from EL Paso, I drove into a city under siege, past armed Mexican soldiers and army trucks lining the principal avenue leading to Juarez’s once-bustling central business district. Later at lunch, at Barrigas restaurant, a friend very much in the know shrugged and put down his fork as he explained, “The city government thought a strong military presence in this area would bring the businesses back,” he said, matter-of-factly. “And?” I asked. “It hasn’t worked,” he said, flashing an ironic smile and returning to his shrimp and steak. While he and the other friends my husband and I had lunch with last week seemed unfazed by this in-your-face show of military force on Juarez streets, the sight of so many soldiers with BIG guns left me feeling uneasy, queasy and anxious about the future of a once booming border city and important gateway to the U.S.

When I saw the soldiers strolling along with their M-16’s, a sign I’d seen on a wall in El Paso flashed across my mind like a news ticker on a TV screen: “Warez,” said the block-letter sign, a reference to Mexico’s ongoing drug war, a battle many politicians insist is not a war or even an insurgency, as Secretary of State Hilary Clinton has called it in public.

La muerte de la noticia: Muchas crónicas quedan sin publicar debido a los asesinatos de periodistas latinoamericanos

Análisis de Tyler Bridges

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Dos vehículos utilitarios interceptaron el automóvil de Valentín Valdés Espinosa en el centro de Saltillo, México. Unos matones armados obligaron al reportero de asignaciones generales de 29 años de edad a entrar en uno de los autos. Sucedió poco antes de la medianoche del 7 de enero de 2010. En los días precedentes, Valdés Espinosa había informado agresivamente sobre el arresto de varios narcotraficantes en esa ciudad norteña de México para su periódico, El Zócalo de Saltillo, y había cometido el pecado cardinal de identificarlos por nombre. En otro artículo, Valdés Espinosa había identificado a un agente policial que fue arrestado por estar en la nómina de los narcotraficantes.

Premiados periodistas de Juárez — escriben sobre la violencia pese a los riesgos

EL PASO, Texas — Sandra Rodríguez reportera de investigación de El Diario de Juárez describe su profesión con la sabiduría que le otorgan los 20 años de esfuerzo y dedicación. “Un periodista es un profesional de la información cuya responsabilidad es reflejar con técnicas específicas los hechos que ocurren en cada comunidad, tratando siempre de acercarse lo más posible a lo que se puede considerar como la verdad de lo sucedido”. A través de su carrera, Rodríguez ha sido testigo de cómo el crimen organizado acapara la nota del día. Simplemente en el año 2010 Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua fue invadido con más de tres mil muertes, donde reporteros formaron parte de esa cifra. Día a día se ve en la redacción de los reporteros cómo la sangre envuelve los casquillos percutidos del victimario.

Killing the news: Stories go untold as Latin American journalists die

Analysis by Tyler Bridges

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Two SUVs intercepted Valentín Valdés Espinosa’s car in downtown Saltillo, Mexico. Gun-wielding thugs forced the 29-year-old general assignment reporter into a vehicle. It was shortly before midnight on Jan. 7, 2010. In the preceding days, Valdés Espinosa had aggressively reported the arrest of several drug traffickers in the northern Mexico city — and had committed the cardinal sin of identifying them by name — for his newspaper, the Zócalo de Saltillo.

Feminicidio – The brazen murder of women continues in Mexico

EL PASO, Texas — More than 500 women have been kidnapped, raped, mutilated, and murdered in Ciudad Juarez since the early 1990’s in what has become known as the feminicidios. Just last week, Marisela Escobedo Ortiz, the mother of one of the victims was gunned down on the sidewalk in front of the Palace of Government in the northern Mexican City of Chihuahua as she asked for justice in the murder of her 17-year-old-daughter Rubi. The Mexican government has yet to bring those responsible for the murders to justice. The family members of the young women who have been murdered, and most Juárenses believe that the Federal Police are behind the killings and the government is covering it up. The majority of the women’s bodies are found in the desert area of Lomas de Poleo in Ciudad Juarez.

UTEP mourns two students shot to death in Juarez

EL PASO, Texas — The University of Texas at El Paso is mourning the death of two students who were gunned down in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico Tuesday evening after they crossed the border on their way home. The UTEP community was invited to a memorial service Monday at 2 p.m. to be held just outside of the College of Business Administration where Manuel Acosta Villalobos, 25, and Eder Diaz Sotero, 23, both studied.  The two students lived in Juarez and commuted to the El Paso campus to attend classes, university officials said. The two were driving at about 8 p.m. when gunmen fired 36 rounds at their car, hitting both men multiple times, Chihuahua state police said. Acosta died at the scene and Diaz at a Juarez hospital Wednesday morning. “Our hearts are heavy today with the news of the deaths of UTEP students Manuel Acosta and Eder Diaz.

Exhibición de fotos capta la violencia de vivir en Ciudad Juárez

EL PASO, Texas — Fotógrafos fronterizos de El Diario de Juárez capturan la batalla de vivir día a día entre caos y temor en la ciudad más violenta de la frontera. Ahora todos podemos ser testigos de ese ambiente de terror. El 30 de Septiembre se inauguró la exhibición fotográfica Las Otras Batallas, presentada por fotógrafos de El Diario en el Centennial Museum de la Universidad de Texas en El Paso (UTEP). “Esta exhibición es un ejemplo de lo que se puede hacer si las dos ciudades unen esfuerzos. Tomó coordinación e interés binacional y con la participación de personas de los dos lados todo salió muy bien”, dijo la Dr. Moira Murphy-Aguilar, profesora de UTEP y del Centro de Estudios Inter-Americanos y Fronterizos.

Reservado – Un Juárez sutil

EL PASO, Texas — Seis actores locales y un número considerable de extras podrán formar parte del elenco de un cortometraje que se comenzará a rodar en El Paso el 15 de noviembre y cuyo casting comienza este viernes, informaron sus realizadores. La pieza cinematográfica, titulada “Reservado”, cuenta las peripecias, viscisitudes, concesiones morales que vive un mesero de Ciudad Juárez para reunir suficiente dinero y comprar la sortija de matrimonio para su novia. Tras ese pretexto aflora una verdad excepcional: las ganas de vivir, la pobreza, el amor, el miedo, los riesgos de un submundo rico en matices, dudas, sueños, así como el caudal cultural único de México. “Juárez y El Paso son una misma comunidad, rodaremos aquí porque queremos ofrecer un producto netamente paseño, además aquí hay talento genuinamente mexicano que podemos aprovechar”, dijo, el productor, Christian Moldes. Y agregó: “Nos resultará más cómodo por cuestiones propias de la producción, todo el equipo de trabajo vive aquí, así que optimizaremos tiempo, gastos, locaciones, todo”.

Doctors abandon their professions to flee Juarez

EL PASO, Texas — Dr. Graciela Ruiz’s office phone rang and her receptionist picked it up as usual, but this was not the usual call. The receptionist handed Ruiz the phone and a man’s voice that will terrify her forever roared at her — “I know who you are and where you work, live, and who your family is. If you don’t want to die I am going to need your f—ing money, b—-.”

That was the beginning of her personal terror in Juarez, Mexico. A few months later, Ruiz called her office to check in as she would every day before going to work and on the other end her receptionist’s fear resonated in her ear. “The secretary was crying and she told me not to go to the hospital.

Juarenses cross the border to celebrate “16 de Septiembre”

EL PASO, Texas — Thousands, including many who crossed the border from Juarez, gathered to celebrate “16 de Septiembre” — 200 years of Mexican independence from Spain — at San Jacinto Plaza in downtown El Paso. Festivities here drew more people than usual because public events in Juarez were curtailed due to the current drug-related violence there. Juarez residents were asked to celebrate at home with a televised ceremony. Others opted to celebrate in El Paso at Mexican Consulate sponsored festivities. “We came to celebrate because we heard a big party was going to take place,” said Juarez high school student Diana Mojarro, 17.

In a city full of ghosts Juarez newspaper takes a surprising stand

EL PASO, Texas — A major border news daily published a jaw-dropping front page editorial this week that seems to call on drug cartels, or whichever entities are in control of crime-plagued Ciudad Juarez, to tell them what the newspaper should publish to prevent further attacks against its staff. The September 18 editorial in El Diario de Juarez, prompted by the recent shooting death the paper’s 21-year-old photographer Luis Carlos Santiago Orozco outside a shopping mall, said, in part: “Tell us what you want from us, what you want us to publish or not publish, so we will know what to do?”

In typical knee-jerk fashion, quite a few journalists were quick to condemn the feisty border newspaper for scrapping its journalistic responsibility and caving in to the drug lords, a charge the newspaper denies. It troubles me that the major media, on both sides of the Rio Grande, did not take the time to carefully analyze the fine points of the editorial, but instead focused on the attention grabbing and alarm-raising message to “drug cartels.”

It seems that most missed the point of the long and nuanced editorial statement. Narcos, like ghosts, are unlikely to visit newsrooms or call with an offer to negotiate a public truce. They use subtle tactics instead to get what they want, like threatening to kidnap a Zacatecas editor if she didn’t publish a story about a young man who was killed by the army.

The mayor of Juarez looks back on his achievements

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Chihuahua – When he was elected as Mayor of this border city in 2007, José Reyes Ferriz had no idea that he had won the most difficult municipal job in the world, running a city that had earned the title of the “murder capital of the world.”

The chaos and terror of a war between drug cartels that has killed some 7,000 persons in Juarez since he took office, Reyes Ferriz said in an exclusive interview with Borderzine.com, forced him to focus his efforts on insuring the safety of the citizenry. With that in mind, Reyes Ferriz placed the reconstruction of the city’s police force at the top of his list of priorities. Corruption was ingrained in all branches of the police force bureaucracy, he said. “Part of the police force reconstruction was recruiting and training new officers. The government hired 2200 new officers to bring the total to 3000.