Drug War Makes Headlines
Tijuana tries to lure back tourists with birthday campaign and panelist discusses drug war in Mexico
Addressing the Drug War in Mexico
As American college students prepare to head south of the border for some Spring Break fun, the State Department is using the media to issue a dire warning: Be very careful down there!
The State Department issued the new travel alert at the end of February in response to the rise in violence in Mexican cities along the U.S. – Mexico border.
The news media on a national and local level is taking note and rightly so. Since 2007 at least 7,337 people have been killed in violence associated with the drug war, according to the Trans-Border Institute based out of the University of San Diego.
The Los Angeles Times has dedicated a special section to the issue called: “Mexico Under Siege”. The paper has dispatched a team of journalists to the region to document the violence going on there.
We are treating it like a real war, said Richard Marosi, a Staff Writer for the LA Times. He was one of several panelists who appeared at a forum at the University of San Diego recently. Several journalists were there to give their experience covering the drug trade, including Anna Cearley, a former reporter with the San Diego Union Tribune, Tracy Wilkinson, Staff Writer for the L.A. Times, and Don Barletti, a Staff Photographer for the L.A. Times.
Barletti’s photo essay was the most telling of the effects of the violence in the Mexican border towns. Many of the photos were of the aftermath of a cartel hit, with children roaming through the shards of glass, pools of blood and complete carnage. His photos can be seen here: http://projects.latimes.com/mexico-drug-war/#/its-a-war.
Another panelist, Alberto Capella, former police chief for Tijuana, gave his perspective on why the violence has been on the rise over the past years.
He says the violence began to escalate after the transition from one party rule under the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) to the National Action Party (PAN). He maintains there was a balance of power of sorts with the long-ruling PRI party, after the PAN came in, he says, that balance was thrown off.
Capella also addressed the fear of traveling south of the Border to cities such as Tijuana.
“When people ask me if its safe to travel to Tijuana I tell them: ‘I still travel to Los Angeles, I just don’t go to East Los Angeles. I still travel to San Diego, I just don’t go to Barrio Logan,” said Capella.
Each of the panelists echoed the same message: the violence along the U.S – Mexico border is a growing problem and one that requires immediate attention.
Until things improve, Universities across the U.S. are telling their students to rethink their Spring Break plans and avoid our neighbor to the South.
That’s disheartening news for tourism offices along the border, including in Tijuana. The office there is touting their “120 things to do in Tijuana” campaign, counting down to the city’s 120th birthday on July 11th. There’s even a website: www.120thingstodointijuana.org, in hopes of convincing prospective tourists that they can visit the city without fearing for their lives despite the images they see on the 6 o’clock news.
