Americas press review
In the spotlight: violence in Mexico
People pray outside the pizzeria in Ciudad Juarez where assailants killed four local radio workers, including a presenter, while attending a promotional event August 12, 2022. REUTERS - JOSE LUIS GONZALEZ
Text by: Stefanie Schüler Follow
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Drug cartels and other organized crime groups plunged the country into chaos for several days, reports
El Pais
.
“
At least 11 people were killed, including a 4-year-old child in Ciudad Juárez, across from El Paso, in a series of attacks that targeted gas stations and a pizzeria.
In the states of Jalisco and Guanajuaro, the cartels set fire to dozens of shops, buses and cars, and blocked major highways.
In Tijuana, Baja California, criminals have declared a curfew, bringing the entire city to a standstill
", lists the
Los Angeles Times
, which specifies that "
the authorities have not yet been able to establish a direct link between these different assaults
.
“
The government has sent thousands of soldiers and members of the National Guard to the affected towns to support local police and restore order
,” writes
El Pais
.
But it is clear, believes the daily, that the violence of recent "days"
worries a country which always assumed that violence was played almost exclusively between criminals
.
As evidenced by the remarks this weekend by the mayor of Tijuana quoted by the newspaper
Excelsior
.
The elected official asked the cartels to attack "
those with whom they have accounts to settle instead of attacking working citizens
".
Mexican President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador looked equally stunned by the turn the violence is taking in his country.
During a press conference, the Head of State explained that for the first time, it was indeed “
the innocent civilian population who was targeted by the cartels in retaliation
”.
These events come as the president signed a decree last week that heralds a change in the fight against cartels and organized crime.
Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador announced "
the transformation of the National Guard into a military body placed under the direction of the Ministry of Defence
", writes
El País
.
A decree which, according to the newspaper, “
raises questions with serious consequences.
Since it will be neither more nor less about the possible militarization of public life, and therefore of the streets of any city.
The advantages, but also the dangers of such militarization in the fight against violence or even against corruption, are still unpredictable
”.
However, replies
Milenio
, "
there is no alternative
": "
The attacks we have witnessed this week are proof that organized crime is so strong that there is no civilian force capable of confront.
There are three reasons for this
:
the first is that the firepower of organized crime, its penetration of local police forces, its control of territory and, above all, the diversification of its portfolio of criminal activities towards extortion, racketeering and the control of production chains, has a magnitude that far exceeds the current capacity of the civilian police forces to deal with it
”, considers the editorialist.
If the Mexican president thus operates a reversal in his security policy, it is because “
he is under pressure from the United States
”.
This is what experts interviewed by
El Universal believe
.
These specialists see in the violence of the past few days a clear message from the cartels to the government: "
Organized crime is not prepared to submit and any attempt to interfere in illicit affairs will have serious consequences, in particular on the people
”.
Ecuador: 5 dead and 17 injured in an explosive attack
Five people died and 17 were injured on Sunday in Guayaquil in an explosion attributed to organized crime.
The Ecuadorian president has declared a state of emergency in this coastal city.
Guillermo Lasso, who took office a year ago, said his government would "
not allow organized crime to try to run the country
".
El Comercio
believes that Ecuador “
is heartbroken.
The national spirit – if it exists, is bruised, wounded and will take years, even decades to heal
,” the newspaper writes.
Gangs and drug traffickers proliferate in the country, because they can easily recruit minors.
These young people “
are already growing up in an environment of structural violence.
They come from families that for generations have not had a job.
Abandoned by the state, organized crime offers these minors not only income, but also a sense of belonging
”.
And
El Comercio
concludes: “
This is how violence is spreading throughout the country
”.
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