DATE=7/14/99
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
NUMBER=2-251782
TITLE=MEXICO SECURITY (L-ONLY)
BYLINE=GREG FLAKUS
DATELINE=MEXICO CITY
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: AUTHORITIES IN MEXICO'S STATE OF SINALOA (SEEN NAH LOH'
AH) ARE INVESTIGATING THE MURDER OF SEVEN MEN IN WHAT APPEARS TO
BE A NARCOTICS-RELATED MASSACRE. AS VOA'S GREG FLAKUS REPORTS
FROM MEXICO CITY, THIS LATEST VIOLENT CRIME COMES JUST ONE DAY
AFTER MEXICO'S CLASSIFICATION AS ONE OF THE INDUSTRIAL WORLD'S
LEAST SECURE COUNTRIES.
TEXT: THE BODIES OF THE SEVEN MEN WERE FOUND IN A FIELD ABOUT
8O KILOMETERS SOUTH OF THE CITY OF CULIACAN (KOOLEE AH KAHN'),
WHERE INVESTIGATORS SAY THEY WERE APPARENTLY LINED UP AND MOWED
DOWN WITH AUTOMATIC WEAPONS. IN ADDITION TO MULTIPLE WOUNDS IN
THEIR BODIES, EACH MAN HAD RECEIVED A BULLET TO THE HEAD.
DETECTIVES FOUND SPENT SHELLS AND MARIJUANA SEEDS ON THE SCENE,
LEADING THEM TO CONCLUDE THAT THE MULTIPLE MURDER WAS RELATED TO
DRUG TRAFFICKING. AUTHORITIES SAY THE MEN HAD BEEN CONTRACTED TO
DO SOME AGRICULTURAL WORK TWO DAYS EARLIER AND NEVER RETURNED TO
THEIR VILLAGE. DETECTIVES FROM THE FEDERAL ATTORNEY GENERAL'S
OFFICE AND THE STATE OF SINALOA ARE COOPERATING IN THE
INVESTIGATION. SO FAR THIS YEAR, 315 PEOPLE HAVE BEEN MURDERED
IN THE STATE OF SINALOA.
THE GRISLY DISCOVERY IN THE SINALOA COUNTRYSIDE CAME ON THE SAME
DAY THAT MEXICO NEWSPAPERS REPORTED THAT THE WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM
HAS CLASSIFIED MEXICO AS ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS NATIONS AMONG
THE WORLD'S 59 LARGEST ECONOMIES. IN OVERALL INSECURITY, WITH
THE WORST COUNTRIES RANKED LAST, MEXICO RANKED 52, JUST BEHIND
COLOMBIA, WHICH MANY MEXICANS VIEW AS A MUCH MORE VIOLENT
NATION. IN TERMS OF ORGANIZED CRIME, MEXICO RANKED 55, WITH
COLOMBIA IN LAST PLACE, AT 59.
IN RECENT YEARS, MEXICO HAS BEEN SWEPT BY A CRIME WAVE THAT HAS
BEEN LINKED TO BOTH ECONOMIC ILLS AND THE RISE OF NARCOTICS
TRAFFICKING. EXPERTS SAY LACK OF LEGAL REFORM AND OFFICIAL
CORRUPTION HAVE ALSO PLAYED A ROLE IN THE RISING WAVE OF
DELINQUENCY. STATISTICS SHOW THAT 90 PERCENT OF REPORTED CRIMES
GO UNPUNISHED AND THAT LESS THAN HALF OF CRIME VICTIMS IN MEXICO
EVEN BOTHER TO REPORT CRIMES TO THE POLICE, WHO ARE GENERALLY
CONSIDERED CORRUPT OR INCOMPETENT. THE WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM,
WHICH IS HEADQUARTERED IN DAVOS, SWITZERLAND, RANKED MEXICO 51
FOR OFFICIAL CORRUPTION.
/// REST OPT ///
IN ADDITION TO THE DRUG-RELATED CRIMES AND COMMON CRIMINAL
ACTIVITY, MEXICO HAS ALSO SEEN AN INCREASE IN POLITICAL VIOLENCE
IN RECENT YEARS. A SPECIAL ENVOY FROM THE UNITED NATIONS IS
CURRENTLY IN MEXICO INVESTIGATING VARIOUS POLITICAL KILLINGS AND
THE UNSETTLED CONFLICT IN THE SOUTHERN STATE OF CHIAPAS. ASMA
JAHANGIR, A SUPREME COURT MAGISTRATE IN PAKISTAN AS WELL AS THE
HEAD OF THAT NATION'S HUMAN RIGHT COMMISSION, WILL SPEND THE
NEXT WEEK IN MEXICO CARRYING OUT THE U-N INQUIRY. MEXICAN
FOREIGN MINISTER ROSARIO GREEN MET WITH HER ON MONDAY TO PRESENT
MEXICAN GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS RELATED TO HUMAN RIGHTS AND TO
EXPRESS MEXICAN PRESIDENT ERNESTO ZEDILLO'S COMMITMENT TO THE
DEFENSE OF HUMAN RIGHTS. (SIGNED).
NEB/PT
14-Jul-99 7:06 PM EDT (2306 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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