Drug cartel arson & shooting kills 11 people in seven days. Mexicans wonder the question why.
Tijuana (Mexico) : Seven days of widespread drug cartel arson & random shootings killing more than 11 people so far have terrorized Mexicans of life & the government of power.
The 11 people killed in the shooting include a young boy & four radio station workers, who were aimed randomly on the streets of Ciudad Juarez, across from El Paso, Texas on Thursday.
Two days earlier more than 24 convenience stores owned by a national chain were torched in the northern state of Guanajuato.
Cars & buses were set on fire in Jalisco state.
In cities on the Californian border, more than two dozen of cars were hijacked & burned last Friday.
Mexican Government’s Reaction
These cold acts of violence led the government to deploy military & National Guard troops to calm the population’s fear.
These outbursts also raised fingers at President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s approach toward criminals. This also made people question the transfer of responsibility from the police to the military.
The attacks were interpreted in many ways, some were quite quick to name the arson & shootings as an act of terrorism, though the government denied it smoothly.
Words from officials
“They are not terrorist attacks, you don’t have to exaggerate the facts,” said Interior Secretary Adán Augusto López.
“I think that the orders that were given to these gunmen were to cause chaos,” said Mexican security analyst Alejandro Hope. “Generate chaos, generate uncertainty, generate fear, shoot at anything that moves. That is something that generates terror.”
Hope added that terrorism mostly implies political goals, & he is not sure of what goals someone has here.
While on Monday the President suggested that the attacks are being carried down as a set-up for political greed.
He accuses the “conservatives” of the acts, and says they have “black propaganda”.
The President also denies any major lapse in security.
Defense Secretary Luis Cresencio Sandoval told the media that the cartels lashed out because of frustration of losing & weakening.
“They want to still feel like they’re strong and they generate violent situations where by way of publicity they send messages that they are still strong,” he said.
The streets of central Tijuana were quite busy after a silent weekend of canceled medical appointments & closed bars & restaurants.
On Monday morning, pedestrians had to wait for hours to go from the United States, Tijuana to San Diego as there was no major security present to ensure safe crossing.
Americans have been advised to avoid travelling in Mexico.
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