Julian Leyzaola Shot Down Like a Dog in the Street

Courtesy Proceso

Okay I am back, so where are the promoters? I would like to know exactly how they are feeling about the over 280K displaced people in Mexico due to the drug war violence, how do they feel about the events which rocked ( and very well may continue to rock) Mexico in Jalisco, Colima, Michoacan, Veracruz, Nayarit, Coahuila, Tamaulipas, Guerrero, and in Sonora our next door neighbor ? How do they feel that Baja California has regained the third place title for violence in Mexico? How do they feel about the surge of killings in Baja California? How do they feel about the Jornaleros and if the Jornaleros succeed in promoting boycotts in the USA and Europe which they are talking about, will the promoters support them? When the Disney Cruise Line pulls into Ensenada in a few days, will they offer tours to the slave fields of San Quintin?


And how do they feel about the shooting yesterday of Julian Leyzaola?  Neither Mayor nor Police Chief of either Tijuana or San Diego has even issued a statement or a condolence. 


Julian Leyzaola had many enemies not only from all sides of organized crime and corrupt polticos and corrupt law enforcement on both sides of the border, but also from Human Rights groups who branded him a torturer.  In his early months as Police Chief of Juarez many accused him of colluding with the Sinaloa Cartel, which was never substantiated in that he was never prosecuted but the accusations of this and being a torturer hung on his neck like an albatross. The arguments against these charges include that in a time of war this type of conduct is permissible, even though most of us would disagree.



But the charges against him does lead one to wonder if this attack was another extended orchestration of the CNJG or from a loyalist section of the Sinaloa cartel...or a leftover grudge from the police of Tijuana he had arrested, and subsequently over the past few years were all released. On the other hand in the last few weeks, he had been expressing possibilities of entering the political arena, not ruling out the possibility that a run was in cards.  At that time I thought, are you crazy?  You Leyzaola know too much about everyone which is not exactly the most secure position to be in.



Several years ago when we were renewing our FM3's - and at that time, there were armed guards at the Palacio in Rosarito, one Mexican woman said to me, "My friend told me that Leyzaola was difficult to work with, that he is incredibly stubborn."  I replied, "...well, he is Military".  And then another Mexican individual said, "But he did get rid of the bastards."



He may have many enemies, but he also has to this day many more admirers who honestly feel that against all odds he released them from the grip of narco crime in Tijuana. What is unclear at this point is if these same admirers realize that no one can really ever release them from the grip of the narco violence, it is a way of life in Mexico.


On edit:  Complete coverage of the Leyzaola affair from Zeta - who as you recall named him "Man of the Year" back in 2009 and thence were accused of being "too cozy" with the Military.


Have to get some sleep, I'll be back.