No! This is not about a trip to "Toys for Us". Violence and corruption has dominated the news in Mexico over the last couple of weeks. Two mayors have been assinated, 72 immigrants were found murdered near the Mexican/US border and yesterday 8 people were killed in a Cancun nightclub when Molotov cocktails were thrown into the bar.
Yesterday, Mexican officials arrested Edgar Valdez Villarreal – known as 'La Barbie'.The TV, radio and papers are constantly updating reports on his arrest. Today, when I was at spanish school, the arrest of "La Barbie" was the hot topic of discussion amongst teachers and students. It seems the goverment is really uping the anti on their war against the drug trade and the drug lords. However there is a lot of skepticism on how successful they will be.
The question of police corruption is common theme in many conversations with locals. There are three different police forces, federal, state and local, none of which work together. Many feel that there is a need to restructure the police force, with less police on better wages. Only on Saturday, I was at a birthday party and one women there told us that she had been away the week before visiting her daughter in another part of Mexico. While she was away, her house was broken into and robbed. Her neighbours rang the police to report the robbery. However, when the police arrived to check the situation the neighbours observed that they also helped themselves to items from the house!!!
I think it will be interesting to follow the news over the coming weeks. Many fear reprisals following the arrest of "La Barbie".
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