KPCC, Air Talk, 8/21/12
Once the epicenter of violent spillover from Mexico’s drug wars, Ciudad Juarez has seen a precipitous drop in the number of homicides.
Officials in Mexico’s federal government are proudly touting the improved crime statistics. But, as a long analysis in the Washington Post points out, that may not all be thanks to massive deployment of money and troops. The Sinaloa cartel has secured the region surrounding Juarez as its territory, causing many fewer conflicts between rival drug gangs. As with every development in Mexico’s shadow economy, it’s hard to know what exactly accounts for the change.
The Mexico Institute’s Eric Olson comments; to listen to the program click here
