JUAREZ VIOLENCE: DRUG-WAR BRUTALITY PERSISTS DESPITE PRESENCE OF
MILITARY

EL PASO -- They came by the thousands to intimidate feuding drug
cartels in Juarez and bring them to their knees.

At first, it was an impressive show of force -- soldiers armed with
assault rifles and wearing ski masks and flak jackets swarmed the city.

Squads patrolled the streets in trucks and heavily armored military
vehicles while other soldiers manned checkpoints.

Their almost two-year presence, however, has had little or no affect
on the drug war in Juarez, experts said.

Rival drug gangs, reportedly the Juarez and the Sinaloa cartels,
continue their savage and unrelenting war for control of the area's
drug trade.

The death toll in Juarez has rapidly risen from 1,600 killings last
year to a little more than 2,200 so far this year. Drug-related
killings average about 300 a month -- the total of all the killings in
Juarez in 2007.

They are brutal, bloody, sudden and many times public.

Paramilitary fighters armed with assault rifles massacre large groups
at drug rehab centers and bars. Shooting sprees erupt in mass transit
areas. Bullet-riddled bodies are dumped along streets, and dismembered
bodies with terroristic messages are left out in the open.

Though the killings continue even with the military presence, Juarez
Mayor Jose Reyes Ferriz will petition the army to remain in the city
longer.

About 5,000 soldiers are scheduled to stay until late December. Reyes
will then ask the military to continue its efforts and remain in what
has become the deadliest city in North America.

Juarez, he said, is in a unique situation that requires law
enforcement help from the military and federal agents.

But some experts, Juarez groups and people living in the combat zone
do not believe the military is the answer to the city's problems.

Recently, two Juarez groups -- one representing the twin-plant
industry and the other the retail industry -- announced they would
submit a request to the United Nations for peacekeepers for their
city. The groups believe the peacekeepers are one of their last
remaining options to curb the mounting violence.

Juan Martin, 35, has lived in Juarez all his life. He believes it is
time for the military to leave, and said soldiers are not doing
anything to help ease the carnage.

Innocent people, he said, have to fend for themselves and must lead
uneasy lives as they try to avoid the crossfire.

"People are getting frustrated. But more than frustrated, they are
getting used to all the violence. It's becoming a norm for us," he
said.

"We see all this violence and we're not scared. It's a horrible way to
live. We can't live comfortably."

Martin said the military presence is visible, and he sees more
soldiers patrolling the streets now than last year.

But, he said, even with all the government's efforts, he sees no
results. The number of murders continues to climb.

He said that though there was violence before the military arrived in
Juarez, it appeared to be more restrained than it is today.

"Since (the soldiers) arrived nothing has been fixed, it's worse," he
said. "I think if they left, crime would decrease."

Irazema Hernandez, 29, is the mother of a 6-year-old girl and
5-year-old boy. She said she is indifferent about the military staying
in the city where she was born and raised.

"Even though they're here, nothing is getting better in the city. I
think things will remain the same if they stay or leave. Crime and
violence will remain the same," she said.

She said the soldiers are visible as they patrol the streets, but they
never seem to be there when violence occurs.

"We never see them around when these crimes happen," she
said.

Hernandez said she preferred living in Juarez just a few years ago,
when she could walk along the city's streets without fearing for her
life.

"When I was young, we could go out, roam around with friends and stay
out late. No one was worried about what would happen. Now by 8 p.m.
you don't want to leave your house," she said. "It's sad we can't go
out on the streets. We can't trust anyone.

"Even with the soldiers around, I still do not feel safe ... You can't
even enjoy eating out because you're susceptible to everything --
robberies, assaults and witness killings."

The city's mayor and other Mexican officials, however, say despite the
continued murders, the military has helped in the fight against the
warring drug cartels.

Jaime Torres, a city spokesman, said Reyes believes organized
criminals would murder at will without the presence of the soldiers.

"The objective is for the military to prevent more killings," he said.
"What would happen if the military left tomorrow and those murders
doubled or tripled?"

The army, he said, has made 2,150 arrests in the last two years.
Forty-five of these suspects have reportedly confessed to at least 700
cartel-related murders, he said. The soldiers also have seized 2,532
firearms and 100 hand grenades.

"Military intelligence and their patrolling actions have given results
because numbers could be larger," Torres said. "Logically, Joint
Operation Chihuahua has its strategies and they have been put to use,
but the criminals also have their strategies. It goes round and round.

"But there will be a point when our officials' strategy will function
and the problem will disappear or diminish."

For now, he said, no one can predict when the slaughter will end.
Warring drug cartels remain strong in the city.

Dr. Tony Payan, a Mexico expert and political science professor at the
University of Texas at El Paso, said violence in the city remains
fierce. This drug war, he said, has been the longest and deadliest in
all of Mexican history.

"This, obviously, is unprecedented. We're looking at the eye of the
storm. In that sense, Juarez is a particularly difficult place and no
one has been able to get a hold of this problem," he said. "So
bloodshed continues."

Payan said he doesn't believe keeping soldiers in the city for much
longer will be the answer to stopping the brutality.

He said Reyes' request to keep the military in Juarez is an
acknowledgement that the city's police force is "still undertrained,
undermanned, underfunded and they need additional help."

Reyes and other Juarez leaders, he said, believe a continued military
presence would prevent even more murders because the cartels would be
cautious of committing crimes too openly.

Payan said they also believe the military helps prevent corruption in
local law enforcement because soldiers patrol side-by-side with
police. The close conditions, he said, can make officers less likely
to accept bribes and extort people or participate in drug
trafficking.

In the past two years, Juarez has cracked down on police corruption
and fired 800 people from the police force. Of these, a little more
than 330 were fired for lack of trust or confidence. There are
currently 3,500 police officers in Juarez.

If anything, the sight of the military patrolling the street puts
those living among the bloodshed at ease, Payan said.

But, he said, even that comfort is slipping away because people think
the military has not helped the situation.

In the end, keeping soldiers around longer could put the military's
credibility at risk, Payan said.

"The people in Juarez are getting wary. They're getting angry and
they're getting tired -- not only of the cartels and the violence, but
of the military," he said. "They may see that, simply, the military
has to go.

"I think the patience is running out for the military. In order not to
damage the institution and not to damage their presence, it's better
for the mayor to ask them to stay a little longer, then to leave and
send the military back to the barracks."