A TYPICAL DAY IN MONTERREY

Until Mexico’s socioeconomic chasm between the 'haves' and 'haves not' is bridged, it will continue to be plagued by deadly gang warfare, corruption, kidnappings and by the killings of office holders, judges, police officials and news reporters. And, unfortunately, many innocent bystanders will be killed in the crossfire.
　
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH
By Borderland Beat Reporter Gerardo
　
Borderland Beat
October 8, 2010
　
A reader forwarded the following anonymous e-mail from a resident of Monterrey to the Borderland Beat Wednesday night at 7:00 PM, coincidently, at the moment that the tragedy at the Plaza Morelos unfolded:
　
Wednesday was a typical day in Monterrey. At 5:00 AM two men were murdered outside of a "table dance" nightclub by unknown gunmen.

At 12:15 PM military authorities arrested an important Monterrey Zeta lieutenant, 22 year old "subcomandante" José Raymundo López Arellano alias "El Ruso", in the suburb of Guadalupe. In December, 2009, "El Ruso" was arrested and jailed in Escobedo, another Monterrey suburb, and soon after was rescued by a force of gunmen that stormed the Escobedo jail.

Late Wednesday night and into Thursday morning, a violent pursuit of armed criminals by Army troops occurred that zigzagged from Guadalupe through much of central Monterrey. Shots were fired along the route at various locations but there were no reports of injuries or deaths. The gunmen escaped after several Army vehicles involved in the pursuit were heavily damaged.

To whom it may concern:

__We, the citizens of the city of Monterrey, Mexico, are tired of the violence created by the drug cartels and the organized crime. We don’t know where or who to ask for help since our governor and president have failed to protect us.

__We have been living in fear since February this year and until now we have no answer on how to stop this. The drug cartels and the organized crime have taken our peaceful city along with its citizens prisoners; they have kidnapped men, women and children.

__We never asked for this nor support any group or organization that is in connection with them. We never thought that something like this could happen to us and now here we are living a nightmare, our worse nightmare.

__Today we are asking for your help. We know that you have the power to communicate and inform people about our real situation. We as good Mexican citizens are imploring for your valuable help. Please, inform the rest of the world about our current situation and let people know that we are pleading for clemency.

__If there is an organization out there that can help us to find a solution, we are in the best position to accept the help. We don’t trust our government since our government has failed protecting us and there are no warranties for our lives.
　
After holding the customary security meeting with federal and state authorities that serves the purpose of political damage control for murders that cause a public uproar, the youthful, handsome, inexperienced and largely ineffective Governor of Nuevo Leon, Rodrigo Medina, issued a statement condemning the violent incident at the Plaza Morelos.

"We condemn this cowardly murder ... of innocent people that have nothing to do with this fight against organized crime," he said.

Medina noted that law enforcement forces will unite in order to maintain increased security in the city and prevent similar situations.

"We will take advantage of the close cooperation we have between both federal and local authorities in order to deliver our best efforts to prevent such incidents in the future," said Medina.

He added that there will be no rest in the fight against organized crime, which requires the efforts and participation of everyone.

Governor Medina also sent his condolences to the family and friends of the now deceased student of Visual Arts at the UANL, Lucila Qunitanilla.