Crystal Robert

Crystal A. Robert is an El Paso native, proud of the community that she was raised in and of the culture on both sides of the U.S. and Mexico border that helped form her identity. A “border rat”, she has had the opportunity to experience life along the U.S.-Mexico border in places such as Mexicali, Baja California, Agua Prieta, Sonora, in Mexico, as well as having spent time in the valley of Texas. She is currently pursuing her Masters in Communication at the University of Texas at El Paso.

Bloody

By Crystal Robert | December 4, 2008

A personal note on the writing of Bloody Battles Batter Business. When I first began writing this story in August of this year the body count was a terrorizing 700, now in the early weeks of December that number has since doubled. I hoped that by the time this story was published some of this violence might have subsided. That “they” would have stopped killing the “bad guys”, and everything would go back to what it once was. Some believe these killings are “surgical” and that only those who are guilty of corruption have fallen.

Bloody Battles Batter Business

By Crystal Robert | December 4, 2008

What was once a bustling scene of smiling tourists and eager sales people peddling their wares is now eerily quiet. Smiles have been replaced with drawn faces and eyes full of worry. Courtesy of Minero Magazine. Originally published on Vol. VII, Fall 2008. Since January 2008, there have been more than 1,000 homicides in Ciudad Juárez. The number of murders in El Paso’s close neighbor thus far averages nearly four killings per day. The numbers continue to rise each day and have increased by more than 300 since research into this article began.