Murder City: Ciudad Juarez and the Global Economy's New Killing Fields
Page 26
La Polaka, Ciudad Juárez, January 5, 2008
FIRST LITTLE DEATH OF THE DAY
A homeless man was found this morning with his head destroyed by a large rock next to a wall in the Colonia Hidalgo. The first murder this Saturday occurred at 9:00 in the morning. . . . The body was thrown into some abandoned ruins near the corner of Costa Rica and Tepeyac . . . causing alarm to the neighbors who said they were fed up with the crime in the zone and the lack of police protection.
El Diario, Ciudad Juárez, January 10, 2008
TUESDAY’S MURDER VICTIM WAS A JUNKMAN
The man executed by gunfire in front of a dozen workers at a construction site Tuesday afternoon in the ejido Salvárcar was identified yesterday by his family. The victim, Rodolfo Martinez Vazquez, 32, was apparently the owner of a junkyard.
La Polaka, Ciudad Juárez, January 12, 2008
JUST 16 THIS MONTH
This morning the mutilated body of another executed man was found along with two other gang members murdered during the night. The 16th homicide victim of the month was found this morning about 1:30 in a field near the intersection of Sabino Hinostrosa and Ejercito Nacional.
El Diario, Ciudad Juárez, January 14, 2008
18 INTENTIONAL HOMICIDES IN 13 DAYS; TWO KILLED YESTERDAY Two men were killed in separate incidents yesterday. The first victim died from several bullet wounds, presumably from a group of gangsters, and the other person was stabbed to death apparently during a robbery attempt. These crimes bring to 18 the total intentional homicides committed in Ciudad Juárez in the first 13 days of 2008.
El Diario, Ciudad Juárez, January 17, 2008
385 ARREST WARRANTS FOR HOMICIDE UNSERVED
More than 200 arrest orders remain pending under the old penal justice system, according to a report from the State Prosecutor’s Office. Of the total historic backlog of judicial orders issued in the last 14 years, 385 are for intentional homicide. In addition, from 1995 through December 31, 2007, 844 murder cases remain unresolved and continue to be investigated under the traditional justice system, according to official reports.
El Diario, Ciudad Juárez, January 18, 2008
WOMAN BEATEN TO DEATH
Last night a woman was found dead, apparently from a beating, inside her home located in the Colonia Anahuac. The body was found around 11:00 at night in a house located in Churubusco Street near the corner of Melchor Muzquiz, according to reports from the Secretary of Public Security. The first agents who arrived at the scene reported that the victim was severely beaten. Family members of the victim arrived at the house and identified her as María Guadalupe Esparza Zavala, 34. They added that their relative lived alone and they did not know who could have killed her.
El Diario, Ciudad Juárez, January 21, 2008
14 POLICE MURDERED IN 13 MONTHS
The municipal policeman murdered yesterday morning is the 14th police homicide victim in the past 13 months, according to media reports. . . . Yesterday, the agent killed Sunday was officially identified as Captain Julián Cháirez Hernández, 37, who worked in the Aldama district. Before this murder, another 13 agents had died in similar circumstances since January 2007. Of the 14 victims, 13 were killed by gunfire while one was intentionally run over by a car.
El Diario, Ciudad Juárez, January 22, 2008
AS OF TODAY NO ARRESTS
The State Prosecutor’s Office reported that as of today, no arrests have been made in the murder of a 10-year-old girl in her house located in Parajes de San Juan in the southeastern part of the city. The victim, Mirna Yesenia Muñoz
Ledo Marín, was alone at the time of the murder. Her stepfather was at work and her mother had gone out to take another of her children to the doctor.
El Diario, Ciudad Juárez, January 23, 2008
AT THE GRAVESITE, SEEKING JUSTICE FOR MIRNA YESENIA
The body of Mirna Yesenia Muñoz Ledo Marín lies in a white casket in the center of a room in a small adobe house in Colonia Mexico 68, watched over by her family and friends. The house belongs to Celia Moreno Portillo, grandmother of the 10-year-old girl, where she and her family lived for the past year. . . . Pain and anger provoked demands for justice, that the authorities find the person who took the life of the innocent little girl. “We want to find who is responsible; the authorities must do their work,” said Faustino and Mayra Luisa Marín, half-brother and sister of the child. They indicated that their mother and stepfather had gone to live in Parajes de San Juan in order to find a better life and never imagined that they would lose Mirna Yesenia, the youngest of 7 children.
El Diario, Ciudad Juárez, January 24, 2008
OFFICIALS SEEK GENETIC PROFILE OF THE YOUNG GIRL’S MURDERER
The State Prosecutor’s Office is processing the fluid found on the girl’s body.
DNA will be compared with a series of suspects. Last Tuesday, the state authority confirmed that Mirna Yesenia Muñoz Ledo Marín was sexually assaulted. The child died from a laceration to the heart after being stabbed in the chest with a sharp object.
El Diario, Ciudad Juárez, January 25, 2008
CORNER PEANUT VENDOR MURDERED
According to witnesses, a peanut and pumpkin seed vendor was shot yesterday at midday by a man traveling in a car similar to those driven by the State
Investigative Agency. . . . The crime took place at 2:30 in the afternoon when the man, identified only by his nickname, “Freckles,” was selling peanuts at an intersection in the eastern area of the city.
El Diario, Ciudad Juárez, January 25, 2008
CHURCH PLEADS FOR PRAYER TO STOP THE VIOLENCE IN JUÁREZ
Catholic church leaders in Ciudad Juárez asked the community and priests to join in prayer for justice and reconciliation.
El Diario, Ciudad Juárez, January 26, 2001
IDENTIFY AUTHORS OF POLICE AGENTS’ MURDERS
CHIHUAHUA—The State Prosecutor’s Office has identified the presumed authors of the recent murders of the ministerial agents and the attack on Commander Fernando Lozano and is ready to issue arrest warrants, informed the State Attorney General, Patricia Gonzalez Rodriguez.
El Diario, Ciudad Juárez, January 27, 2008
“ . . . FOR THOSE WHO CONTINUE NOT BELIEVING”
A cardboard sign with the names of 4 elements of the Secretariat of
Municipal Public Security recently assassinated, of another who is presumed to have been abducted, and of 17 active agents, was placed at the Police Monument located at the intersection of Juan Gabriel and Sanders Avenue. This death threat was registered a few days after a series of attacks began against police chiefs of the different corporations. The list was placed in a funeral wreath on the wall where memorial plaques honor agents killed in action. The message, similar to those found on the bodies of assassinated persons, read: “For those who did not believe: Cháirez, Romo, Vaca, Cháirez and Ledezma.” It also warned 17 active agents, identified by surname, code and district: “For those who continue not believing.”
El Diario de El Paso, El Paso, Tx., January 28, 2008
U.S. APATHY TOWARD NARCO-TRAFFICKING CREATES MORE VIOLENCE IN MEXICO
The U.S. government has not stopped drug traffic to the interior of the country and this has generated an increase in violence in Mexico, especially along the border, said Charles Bowden, author of Down by the River, a book about the drug trade.
Norte de Ciudad Juárez, January 28, 2008
TRAVEL TO JUÁREZ PROHIBITED FOR U.S. MILITARY PERSONNEL
Commanders at Fort Bliss announced that military personnel stationed in El Paso are prohibited from traveling to Juárez due to the recent outbreak of violence there related to organized crime. Since last Saturday, the base commanders have suspended issuance of passes to visit Juárez due to the “unacceptable risk to health, security, well-being and morale” of the soldiers.
Norte de Ciudad Juárez, January 28, 2008
SIX MORE MURDERS OVER THE WEEKEND
This weekend, police reported finding the bodi
es of six murder victims in separate incidents; four were shot.
El Diario, Ciudad Juárez, January 28, 2008
The secretary of Municipal Public Security, Guillermo Prieto Quintana, ordered the arrest for 36 hours of the agent assigned to guard the Monument to the Fallen Police Officer. The agent was charged with negligence because he was on duty when the funeral wreath and list of 4 murdered policemen and 17 targeted for killing was left at the monument. The officer testified to his superiors that he did not see who left the threat, but unofficial sources say it was left by a group of hooded men in a dark pickup. The agent charged left his post when his replacement arrived but did not tell him or anyone about the threatening note or funeral wreath left at the monument. “It was an act of negligence because the agents assigned to guard duty fall into a routine and think that the job is not important.”
FEBRUARY
El Diario, Ciudad Juárez, February 1, 2008
BODY FOUND IN CAR TRUNK; VICTIM JESUS DURAN HAD BEEN MISSING SINCE JANUARY 19
The body of a man was found yesterday in the trunk of a car abandoned on the street in the southeast area of the city. The victim had been reported missing to the State Investigative Police a week before his body was found. This was the second of four bodies found yesterday in different places in the city.
El Diario, Ciudad Juárez, February 1, 2008
TWO MORE EXECUTED VICTIMS FOUND
The bodies of two men were found yesterday in Rio Champoton Street in the Cordova Americas neighborhood where more than a dozen bodies have been abandoned. Both men were found with their hands tied with adhesive tape, one with hands behind his back and the other with hands in front. The two bodies were found lying a few meters apart and the heads were bloody. Five 9 mm cartridges were found at the scene.
Norte de Ciudad Juárez, February 1, 2008
HOMICIDE RECORD BROKEN; MORE THAN 40 VIOLENT DEATHS DURING THE MONTH OF JANUARY
January broke a record for intentional homicides. According to official statistics from the State Attorney General, the violent deaths registered at the end of January surpassed those registered during any of the previous 12 months.
El Diario, Ciudad Juárez, February 1, 2008
JANUARY BREAKS 1995 HOMICIDE RECORD
Forty-three murders were committed in January 2008, more than in any other month in the history of Ciudad Juárez. The previous record was set 13 years ago in September 1995 with 37 murders reported. Just yesterday, four more murder victims were found, after being captured, bound, shot and left in various places around the city.
Fernando Macias Gonzalez, about 30, was found inside a pickup. . . .
Jesus Duran Uranga, 31, was in the trunk of a car located around midday in the Los Arcos neighborhood.
The third and fourth victims, unidentified, were left in a vacant lot in the Cordova Americas neighborhood. All had been shot.
Four of the January murder victims were women and 39 were men.
Notable murders this month in the city include Municipal Police Captain Julián Cháirez Hernández and a 10-year-old girl, both killed on January 20. The next day, the operational director of the municipal police, Francisco Ledesma Salazar, 34, was shot to death in front of his home as he left for work. . . . On the same day, a woman about 34 weeks pregnant was murdered with an ax by her brother-in-law, who later turned himself in to authorities. The victim, Erika Sonora Trejo, 31, was attacked in the presence of her two children aged 11 and 6. Her unborn child also died.
El Diario, Ciudad Juárez, February 13, 2008
THREE DEAD AND 14 ABDUCTED IN PALOMAS, ASCENSIÓN AND NUEVO CASAS GRANDES; POLICE CORPORATIONS UNDER SIEGE IN THE NORTHWEST AFTER THE ASSASSINATION OF THE SUBDIRECTOR AND TWO OTHER PERSONS
NUEVO CASAS GRANDES—After the violent night in which heavily armed groups left three people dead, one injured, and at least 14 abducted and missing in Nuevo Casas Grandes, Ascensión and Palomas, a psychosis has taken over the Public Security agencies. The towns find themselves besieged by elements of the Army, the Federal Police, and Police Intelligence (CIPOL).
In one of the incidents, Carlos Mario Parra Gutiérrez, Subdirector of Public Security of Nuevo Casas Grandes, was killed after the presumed sicarios set his house on fire. Almost simultaneously, several groups killed another two persons in Ascensión and Palomas, where at least 10 more were abducted; this number could be higher because at an apartment complex, the attackers destroyed the locks on all the doors and captured an unknown number of people.
Parra Gutiérrez had tried to fight the fire when he was struck by a bullet in the head, and though he managed to call for help to get to the hospital, he died while receiving medical treatment. The official’s coworkers said that he had worked for Municipal Public Security for 12 years.
Another of the victims was identified as Vidal Arámbula Avelar, a storekeeper who owned a wine and liquor store. Vidal Arámbula was violently taken from his home on Puebla Street, and after being handcuffed, he was apparently told to run for his life (la ley fuga) and was then machine-gunned in the street. His body was left lying on Avenida Mexico in front of a taco stand.
As of the close of this edition, the authorities had no leads as to the identities of those responsible nor of those persons who remain missing.
El Diario, Ciudad Juárez, February 14, 2008
Heavily armed men in two vehicles exchanged gunfire as they traveled to different areas of the city. The confrontation left at least one person injured and several were abducted at the scene. After the shoot-out, dozens of agents from the army, the State Investigative Agency, the Center for Police Investigation, federal and municipal police surrounded a luxurious residence in Pradera Dorada. Unofficial sources inside the police agencies said the shooters retreated into this house.
Norte de Ciudad Juárez, February 15, 2008
Jesús Muñoz Fraire said that his family’s home was robbed during a military operation in a neighboring residence. He accused the soldiers of stealing two televisions, a home theater and jewelry belonging to his wife.
El Diario, Ciudad Juárez, February 16, 2008
PRADERA DORADA “BUNKER” FORGOTTEN BY AUTHORITIES
Despite the arsenal found inside the residence in the luxurious Pradera Dorada neighborhood, no investigation has been initiated and the house at 3202 Rancho Las Cabras has not been secured. Neighbors interviewed thought that the house had been abandoned. Military authorities reported the confiscation of 25 rifles, 5 pistols, 7 fragmentation grenades, 3,493 cartridges of various calibers, 142 ammunition clips, 14 bullet-proof vests, 13 mesh vests, 8 radios and 5 vehicles, 3 of them with Sinaloa plates.
El Fronterizo, Ciudad Juárez, February 16, 2008
MILITARY AND FEDERAL FORCES RETURN TO PRADERA DORADA HOUSE
At about 7:00 P.M., military personnel in at least two tanks as well as federal and state agents moved in on the house again and remained for several hours. Soldiers closed the roads and searched all the cars that passed by.
El Paso Times, February 18, 2008
Officer Juan Hernández Sánchez, a 12-year veteran of the force, was last seen Feb. 11, according to his colleagues and his family. His car was still parked at the police station.
Sunday, a homeless man found a bag at Venezuela and Ignacio Zaragoza streets, containing what appeared to be the belongings of Officer Hernández. There were uniform pants and a uniform jacket embroidered “J. Hernández,” and an undershirt with what appeared to be a blood stain. There was also some clear and gray adhesive tape, police said. Another officer, Jesús Enríquez Solís Luévano, also vanished, although the circumstances of his disappearance were not clear Monday. That case is also in the hands of state investigators, city police officials said.
Norte de Ciudad Juárez, February 19, 2008
FOUR MEN EXECUTED IN ASCENSIÓN AND PALOMAS IN 24 HOURS BY ARMED COMMANDOS
Martín Gonzalo Palacios, 35, alias El Cuiltra, and Horacio Ontiveros Muñoz, alias El Carolino, were taken before dawn, their bodie
s found along a dirt road.
In Palomas, the bodies of Javier Ortega Miranda, alias El Boby, and Adán Alonso Pérez Fuentes, alias El Oscuro, were found inside a Cadillac Escalade.
Due to such incidents, army troops now patrol the region searching for killers who have sown terror in these communities.
El Diario, Ciudad Juárez, February 20, 2008
Twenty-one men detained by the army last Saturday in a house in Campestre Arboleda declared that they were beaten by agents they cannot identify since they were blindfolded while being tortured. In their declaration before a judge, they retracted their confession to manufacturing small doses of drugs in the house as they had confessed to while being tortured.
Asrael Govea, one of the detainees, said to the judge: “The officers said to us, ‘Who hit you?’ And I said, ‘The officer.’ And they hit me again and again and kept asking me, ‘Who hit you?’ Until we finally said to them, ‘No one, Sir!’”