Mexico has overtaken Colombia and Iraq for the number of kidnappings

Pappassito (☼Travelguide writer) says on Sep 30, 2008, 07:22:

Allen Parker says on Sep 30, 2008, 07:26:

This does not surprise me,the lure of money thru the drug trade can get you killed any where in the world.
As my father said "They call it DOPE for a reason" that´s easy to understand !!

parker13

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jonas says on Sep 30, 2008, 08:38:

bronze medal? Dammit

Mi alma se la dejo al diablo

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miamimike says on Sep 30, 2008, 11:44:

Yet the American Retirees stil flock to Guadalajara, Jalisco state weekly. Friends of mine who live there tell me no big problems in that city.

On Sept 17, 2008: Senator John McCain said, as he had many times before, that he believed the fundamentals of the economy were "strong."Hours later he backpedaled, explaining that he had meant that American workers were Strong.

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chingon says on Sep 30, 2008, 13:04:

Even in mexico city ...I have been there two years now. en lo que buscas, encuentras. I Don't go to certain areas at night , but i would not do that in NYC , chicaco or LA either

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mariacvetanoski says on Sep 30, 2008, 13:33:

http://www.theindiancatholic.com/report.asp?nid=11438

September 30, 2008
Kidnapping, a Colombia problem, spreads in Latin America

By Mike Ceaser
Catholic News Service

BOGOTA, Colombia (CNS) -- Kidnapping is a chronic nightmare in Colombia, one more tragedy of its four-decade civil war. But in recent years, the problem has spread across the region, becoming a growing problem in countries such as Venezuela and Mexico.





In Venezuela, the number of kidnappings soared from 44 in 1999 to 382 last year, according to government figures. But observers believe that most kidnappings are never reported to authorities. The worst-hit areas border Colombia.

Bishop Mario Moronta Rodriguez of the Venezuelan border city of San Cristobal, while wary of speaking by phone, told Catholic News Service he blamed the problem on "anarchy," "generalized violence" and "social decomposition" in the areas of Venezuela near Colombia. But he said that recently the government sent in many more troops, somewhat improving the security situation.

"This requires us to be very, very careful," said Bishop Moronta, adding that the Catholic Church is one of few institutions that has "denounced the kidnapping, the violence and really taken a position."

Many Venezuelans blame the kidnapping epidemic on outlaw groups from neighboring Colombia that for years have operated in the border region, generating income by kidnapping and extorting money from ranchers and businessmen.

The region's insecurity has touched the church. Venezuelan church officials, including Bishop Moronta, have received anonymous phone calls warning them to be quiet about the crimes. The brother of a local priest was kidnapped and later freed after Bishop Moronta's intervention. The bishop said the church has tried to help mediate to resolve kidnapping cases.

Some kidnapping experts argue that, as painful as it is for kidnap victims' relatives, ransom should never be paid because it rewards the kidnappers and leads to more kidnappings. A recent report by the Dutch branch of Pax Christi, the international Catholic peace organization, criticized some European nations for paying ransom.

Venezuela recently passed a controversial law imposing 14-year prison sentences for anyone who pays a ransom. Critics say the law will cause families to keep kidnappings secret. Bishop Moronta declined to comment on the law.

For decades in Colombia, two leftist guerrilla groups have used kidnapping to obtain money and -- by kidnapping politicians, soldiers and police officers -- to pressure the government for political concessions. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, holds some 700 hostages, while the smaller National Liberation Army, or ELN, holds hundreds more. Under President Alvaro Uribe, Colombia's military has driven the guerrillas out of many cities and towns and kidnappings have plummeted -- from thousands annually seven years ago to hundreds today.

Until the last several years, the Catholic Church has played a central role in talks to free hostages and find a peaceful resolution to the nation's conflict. Church leaders also have supported a proposed humanitarian accord, in which the FARC would release hostages in exchange for the liberation of hundreds of imprisoned guerrillas. But the accord has never been implemented due to the guerrillas' demand for a demilitarized zone and questions about whether the freed guerrillas would be able to return to rebel ranks.

The church has "constantly lobbied for the humanitarian accord," said Archbishop Ruben Salazar Gomez of Barranquilla, president of the Colombian bishops' conference. "In a certain moment, Colombia's situation created a great feeling of need for it.

"But things have changed," he added. "Right now, there's less feeling of urgency."

Catholic leaders, hostages' relatives and others have warned against military attempts to rescue hostages, for fear that the guerrillas would kill the hostages when rescuers approached.

In late 2007, the FARC handed over to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez several high-profile hostages, including a vice presidential candidate. Earlier this year, the Colombian military stunned the nation and the world by tricking the FARC into releasing 15 high-profile hostages, including former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt and three American contractors. Many of the freed hostages had been held in the jungle for six or seven years.

In the wake of the government's rescue of the group of prominent hostages, many fear the hundreds of remaining hostages, some of whom have spent a decade in jungle prisons, will be forgotten. But Archbishop Salazar promised that the church will continue working toward their liberation.

"The country wants the liberation of all of those kidnapped, not just a group -- a liberation as soon as possible, a liberation almost without condition from the FARC," he said. "Kidnapping is a crime, therefore (it) cannot serve as a starting point for negotiations."

Despite the fact that leftist priests participated in the guerrilla groups' founding, the guerrillas have also targeted Catholic leaders. In recent decades, at least four bishops and 14 priests have been kidnapped -- in addition to a bishop, an archbishop and some 50 priests who have died in the conflict.

In 1999, ELN guerrillas invaded a church in a wealthy neighborhood of Cali during Mass and kidnapped more than 100 members of the congregation.

Meanwhile, in recent years in Mexico, drug-trafficking gangs have unleashed waves of violence. The recent Pax Christi report ranked Mexico as the world's kidnapping leader -- ahead of Iraq -- with 7,000 cases in 2007. In Mexico, kidnapping has touched all classes, and corrupt police reportedly have helped carry out many kidnappings.

In response, Mexican Catholic leaders have called on politicians to set aside their differences to confront the kidnapping problem. Archbishop Felipe Aguirre Franco of Acapulco recently called on the government to prosecute corrupt officials.

"Authorities must carry out a cleansing of the security forces and courts of justice so that they can be depended on and guarantee a real fight against narcotrafficking and all forms of organized crime," he said.

In Mexico, like Colombia and Venezuela, the same outlaw groups that kidnap people also traffic drugs, say authorities.

But Mexican church leaders have rejected calls to excommunicate kidnappers, explaining that by carrying out the crime the kidnappers automatically excommunicate themselves.

Save the street children of Colombia Now!!

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ColombianoGringo (Moderator) says on Sep 30, 2008, 13:37:

It really pains me to see Mexico in such bad shape. When I was young, my dad had a company that did a lot of business with Pemex. Consequently, we spent a lot of time in Mexico and grew to love it. Also, some of my best friends are from Mexico City and we had some good times there and in Acapulco as rabid teenagers on the loose. I hope they are able to get a handle on these problems.

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BillBigD says on Sep 30, 2008, 16:07:

Ciudad Juárez is basically like military city right now. With curfews, virtual kipnappings, drug dealer slayings. Tough times there right now

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mariacvetanoski says on Oct 2, 2008, 12:07:

MORE ON THE CARTELS IN MEXICO
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,431841,00.html

TIJUANA, Mexico — Nine bodies were found Thursday in the border city of Tijuana while seven alleged Gulf cartel hit men were behind bars in Mexico City.

Eight of the bodies found in Tijuana were dumped face down in an empty lot near a day care center. Their hands were tied and a message nearby read: "Here are your people." The site was littered with shell casings.

The ninth body was found wrapped in a sheet in another section of the city.

An official for the state prosecutor's office said the killings were believed to be tied to drug cartels fighting each other for control of Tijuana.

About 30 people have been killed in drug-related violence in the past week in the border city, including what appeared to be the remains of two people stuffed in a barrel and dissolved with acid. Officials were still running tests on the barrels' contents to confirm them as human.

In Mexico City, an anonymous tip led police to a downtown restaurant where seven alleged members of the Gulf cartel's infamous Zetas hit men were arrested, according to a statement issued late Wednesday by the federal Attorney General's office.

Officials gave no other details, but Mexican media reported the suspects were taken into custody at Los Arcos seafood restaurant in Mexico City's touristy Zona Rosa section.

The Zetas were initially formed by an elite group of Mexican army deserters and have grown to become Mexico's most infamous and feared hit men.

Three other alleged Zetas were recently arrested for throwing grenades that killed eight people at an Independence Day celebration in the western city of Morelia.

Save the street children of Colombia Now!!

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mariacvetanoski says on Oct 2, 2008, 12:11:

bodies in barrels dissolved in acid??? hope they don't start that stuff up in colombia for territory battles of land for the cartels who work there...

Save the street children of Colombia Now!!

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quantum says on Oct 2, 2008, 18:49:

As long as its between cartel members, drug dealers wacking other druggies, they´re doing the world a favor. Its when it involves innocent people that it changes the picture. And to further stretch the imagination, you folks realize that Mexico was considered the #1 retirement destination last year by a consortium of obvious experts. Followed by Panama, which country also has its fair share of drug related killings, mainly in the city, but also here close to the Costa Rican border. But thankfully those doing the deed are very surgical in their executions. Only bad guys getting wacked. never seems to affect the rest of us, unless its in the form of more police cruising around. Its getting difficult to find a place thats immune to the madness.

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Mongo says on Oct 2, 2008, 18:53:

"But thankfully those doing the deed are very surgical in their executions. Only bad guys getting wacked. never seems to affect the rest of us, unless its in the form of more police cruising around. Its getting difficult to find a place thats immune to the madness."

Very true quantum, and well stated!

Beware of dog.

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