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| Courtesy Zeta: Tijuana Executions 2017 |
According to Zeta whose numbers are higher than those of the Mexican authorities and the U.S. corporate media, at the end of the day on 12/27/17 Baja California registered 2,244 executions which is a 83.78 % increase over last years total. By the end of December 2017 there are discrepancies over the actual number of executions in the Municipalities.
Zeta
El Ano Mas violento Del Sexenio
Por, Rosario Mosso Castro
Even if we accepted the official numbers rather than Zeta's, in Tijuana alone with the official count for 2017 at 1,744 executions there was a 90 % increase in the killings compared to 2016:
Frontera
Aumentan en Tijuana 90 % Homicidios en el 2007
Por, Luis Gerardo Andrade
Update/edit - 01/22/18: Today Zeta posted the CCSP Crime Report for Tijuana whose homicide figures are more like Zetas, with much higher number than we are receiving from the Mexican authorities and the US corporate media. In Tijuana, 2017 ended with 1,780 homicides according to the CCSP, a well respected and accurate source. Here is that report :
Zeta - 01/22/2018
En 2017 Aumentaron Robos y Homicidios: CCSP
end edit
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In the United States, we constantly read in the corporate media the same "reasons" for the violence in Mexico however we rarely if ever read proposals to improve social conditions. It would be insane to expect a public discussion of supply and demand during the Trump era, don't ever expect it. In Mexico the social fabric has become unraveled and the prospects for social improvement in the United States which is also in shreds will remain grim.
But we are expected to swallow the cough syrup like good children and resign ourselves to social breakdown. Forinstance, I keep reading reports from the United States that Baja California (Tijuana in particular) is not witnessing the same type of violence which took place here back in 2008; the restaurants are full, Tijuana is busy they say, authorities are not being assassinated, business owners are not being kidnapped (even though others certainly are) - all this in order to dispel any notion of chaos on the border.
According to the US corporate media, 2017 saw few if any bodies hanging from bridges as in 2008. What they did not mention were the burned bodies, the decapitated bodies, the mutilated bodies thrown into the public streets and main highways or stuffed into suitcases and tambos or left in front of schools. Still, the hanging bodies just might be making a comeback:
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| Courtesy Zeta |
01/12/18:
Zeta
Cuelgan Cadaver con Narcomensaje en Puente
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According to the US corporate media, few if any authorities are being attacked. Strange, Lorena Lamas addresses the authorities attacked and killed in Ensenada (aside from those in Tijuana last year) along with the executions and one hundred and eleven "deprivations of liberty" (kidnappings):
Zeta
186 Ejecutados en Ensenada
Por, Lorena Lamas
01/14/18:
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| Courtesy Zeta |
- PEPO patrol attacked by five gunmen driving a Suburban in Playas de Tijuana. Three of the gunmen are captured, one was the owner of the suburban and member of the "Shelltown" gang of San Diego.
Zeta
5 Hombres Atacaron a la PEP en Playas
Por, Isai Lara Bermudez
(Note: Unknown if this was the reason for the huge traffic backup all the way back to Vons on Dennery a couple of days later due to CHP checkpoint checking vehicles going into Mexico at El Chaparral. In the past, we heard a lot about San Diego gang activity here.)
Update/edit - 01/22/2018: Another attack on Municipal Police in Ensenada today, one officer was injured:
Zeta
Disparan Contra Policias en Ensenada; en Trayecto a Hospital Chocan Contra Conductora
Por, Lorena Lamas
end edit.
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According to the the US corporate media, the executions are only taking place in the most impoverished neighborhood communities of Tijuana. But, most of the neighborhoods or communities of Tijuana are poor. 79.8 % of Tijuana's population - an increase of 12.5 % over the previous year consider Tijuana to be an insecure city :
01/10/2018:
Zeta
El Ano Pasado, Empresas Mexicanas Perdieron 42 Mil 210 Millones de Pesos Por La Delincuencia
Por, Carlos Alvarez
"A survey conducted by the firm Sí Consultores, found that companies in Mexico had economic losses of 42 thousand 210 million pesos during 2017, due to robberies, kidnappings of cargo, or of motor transport equipment, as well as extortion, among other criminal acts.
The data obtained in the study were obtained through a survey of 30 thousand businesses in 58 cities affiliated with organizations such as the National Association of Self-Service Stores (ANTAD), the Confederation of Industrial Chambers (Concamin), the Chamber of the Transformation Industry (Canacintra), the National Chamber of Cargo Autotransport (Canacar) and the National Confederation of Mexican Transporters (Conatram), among others.
The survey showed that the highest losses for Mexican companies for acts of organized crime were reported in Mexico City, the State of Mexico, Guerrero, Guanajuato, Tamaulipas, Chihuahua, Baja California, Nuevo Leon, San Luis Potosi and Michoacán.
The greatest economic losses from crime for businessmen were reported in Mexico City, with 5 thousand 700 million pesos; the State of Mexico, with 4,800 million; Guerrero, with 2 thousand 800 million; Guanajuato, with 2 thousand 500 million; and Tamaulipas, with 2 thousand 400 million pesos.
In addition, the study by Sí Consultores showed that the expenses of Mexican companies in terms of security have also increased, reaching 120 billion pesos. Only ANTAD reported having allocated 30 billion pesos in prevention measures against acts of organized crime during the past year."
01/18/2018:
Frontera
Percepcion de Inseguridad Aumenta 12.5 % Durante 2017
Por, Angel F. Gonzalez
Most importantly is the formation of citizen "neighborhood safety committees" which have received no US corporate media attention. I suppose if the US corporate media actually reported on this social development they would be in essence admitting there is a huge problem here:
01/08/2018:
Zeta
Vecinos Organizados Contra Inseguridad y Violencia
Por, Manuel Ayala
Pasted so you don't miss it:
"Urged to generate harmony in the face of the growing wave of violence and homicides that left a historic figure in Tijuana in 2017, and given the lack of effectiveness of the police bodies, residents of different colonies have chosen to form community groups organized to overthrow the criminal indices autonomously, even putting their lives at risk. Given the situation, municipal authorities have responded by institutionalizing these groups. There are 60 registered vigilance committees
After the end of 2016, with the highest number of homicides -909 cases- until then registered in Tijuana, residents of different neighborhoods and subdivisions began to form autonomous citizen groups to protect their safety, with the activation of rondines to monitor their own homes and those of your neighbors.
Some formed communication strategies on social networking platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp , and even undertook tactical strategies and actions with rotations and established schedules to monitor the streets of their neighborhoods and colonies, whether they were places with a certain socio-economic status or in areas that were somewhat marginalized as the East Zone, where these groups acquired certain popularity and began to replicate.
As the thefts of businesses and bystanders increased, as well as the murders in the city, these groups began to attract the attention of the media for their repeated interest in changing the ways of doing surveillance in their colonies, which also called attention of the municipal authority and of Public Security. They began to co-opt the citizen groups through campaigns such as "Neighbor Vigilante" to institutionalize them and formalize them as Citizen Security Committees.
Although in the Municipal Public Security Secretariat (SSPM) and representatives of the Public Safety Citizen Committee of Tijuana (CCSPT) agree that this has been showing some positive results, neighbors of the committees see reticence with these authorities, because although they work hand in hand with them, they believe that there is still some control on their part, which does not allow them to implement strategies for better results.
"A WAVE OF EQUAL VIOLENCE HAD NEVER BEEN SEEN"
The civil association La Cacho Comunidad was created with the purpose of legal and social representation for the settlers, its president, Juan Carlos Fernández Pavón, explained to ZETA that the people in that colony began to take an interest in the issue of insecurity when at the beginning of the The current administration, led by Mayor Juan Manuel Gastélum, between December 2016 and January 2017, uncovered insecurity in a way never seen before.
They report that there were intruders stealing houses at two or three in the afternoon, cars waiting for the delinquents, women attacked while on their way to their homes and above all armed robbery in the homes; The terrible situation of insecurity and violence led them to seek alternatives for their safety in the face of the deficient work of the Municipal Police, after they continually called 911 and did not attend them, or the patrol arrived half an hour later.
The neighbors of this colony, as well as those of La Juárez and Gabilondo, agree that when they decided to meet, they initiated the actions to protect themselves. The first thing was to create a group of young people to carry out rondines in the streets, to show a vigilant presence in the streets, a dissuasive action.
Fernández Pavón explained: "As soon as we began to take those reins, the miscreants went back and did not show up as before, a situation that began to be taken into account in the media, because insecurity was growing and did not I saw an answer from the authorities, it was something so positive that after the authorities turned to us and started to take us into account ".
FIRST AUTHORITIES QUESTIONED AND THEN SUPPORTED
Beyond the authority fully enter to support and help these groups to achieve security in the colonies, questioned why they did that kind of action and if they were some kind self-defense, to which they replied that they were only groups of neighbors that "they had looked for an alternative to confront the situation before the nil operative police capacity of then".
Pavón stressed that not because of the fact that they had organized and begun to carry out this type of action, they supported them, at least in the Cacho, but in that colony the support also became a result of an amparo and right of petition that they filed with the City Council. Tijuana, in which they requested a recreational park, a police booth and a moratorium for shops and buildings for vertical constructions.
This is how they managed to install the booth and the solidification of the group of rondines, because now it is well established in the social network WhatsApp , with citizen representation that is in charge of being in direct communication with the officer in charge of the colony. which has caused that from that institutionalization the response of the police bodies is much "more immediate and attentive".
CURRENTLY THERE ARE 60 CITIZEN SECURITY COMMITTEES
Marco Antonio Sotomayor, secretary of Municipal Public Security in Tijuana, confirmed to ZETA that in many cases the neighbors were the ones who formed these vigilance committees, which to date are 60 registered and established, and who have direct contact with the supervisor of Police in the area through WhatsApp groups.
The official considers it convenient to carry out this type of correlation with the neighbors because in this way people can also provide information that allows them to react immediately or prior to the occurrence of a criminal event, while working on preventive issues, from the recovery of public spaces, talks to avoid being victims of some crime and that young people fall into addictions, to evade being co-opted by organized crime.
With these strategies, they seek to make communities safer and promote anonymous reporting, which is why the strategy is prioritized in areas with a high incidence of crime such as El Pípila, Mariano Matamoros, Sanchez Taboada, Zona Norte and Playas de Tijuana.
Sotomayor explained that this model of citizen security has to do with having people who want to participate in this, to see how they link them and how they make the operation of the police in the sector more efficient, in addition, that they are more linked to the communities.
THEY ASSURE THERE ARE NO GROUPS "COLLAPSE OF INSECURITY"
Regarding the formation of these groups on their own initiative and before the increasing wave of violence and ineffectiveness of the police forces, Genaro de la Torre Quintanar, president of the Citizen Committee of Public Security of Tijuana (CCSPT), explained to this Weekly that they are indeed groups organized, although there are still some who have not approached, but "are not on the verge of collapse because of insecurity", nor to the extent of what was seen long ago in the Altiplano, where neighbors wanted to organize to lynch the delinquents.
He stressed that such situations are precisely what they are trying to avoid with the action of institutionalizing the committees, to let the police do their work and the population their work of "citizen intelligence", because what is involved is of not putting them at risk. Opinion that also shares the Secretary of Security, who says that without doubt must recognize the solidarity between them, who even often take risks to help a neighbor, but recommended not to do so and let the police do it.
"(Citizens) They have to be aware of the situations, because many are not worth any material loss to put our health and our lives at risk, so we ask them to immediately inform the emergency number in case of an anomalous situation. or crime in flagrante delicto, and leave the part of the police intervention to us, because these are elements that are prepared and, depending on the type of danger, act in such a way, "he explained.
REDUCE THE BLACK FIGHT, ANOTHER PURPOSES
In addition to not exposing citizens, De la Torre Quintanar justifies that one of the objectives is to reduce the black figure that is generated when crimes are not reported to the authorities and, therefore, do not enter the official statistics; Currently, this black figure represents 90 percent of the events and only 10% are being registered, therefore, of the 60 committees registered with the SSPM, they as Citizens Committee are already working with 15 in that situation.
Mainly through the program "Neighbor Vigilante" in colonies such as Colinas de Agua Caliente, Jardines de Agua Caliente, Lomas de Agua Caliente, Hippodrome, Chapultepec, Cacho, Juárez, Playas de Tijuana, Libertad, Fraccionamiento Las Californias, Magisterial Otay, 10 de May, Lomas Residential Complex, Las Huertas, Las Palmas and Santa Fe.
He added that what they seek is for people to denounce, since it is very important to "shoot down the black figure" and it is necessary that the statistics really come out what is happening, otherwise, the figures are often "incredible" with the reality, and assured, without a doubt these groups "of course" have come to pay to the work against the insecurity, because it is a correspondence task with the Police.
STILL SOME CERTAIN RETICENCY
To conclude, Juan Carlos Fernández Pavón stressed that although they have achieved things and organized well, they know well how to do these things and help against crime, there is still some reluctance on the part of the authorities.
That is to say, "although the groups are amalgamated with the authorities, in the end they do not allow these groups or the citizens to grow ... it seems that these groups are not intended to acquire greater strength or stand out in such a way because it is replicated in other colonies, and it is thought that they can acquire a certain autonomy that can be counterproductive against the authority ".
Criminal incidence in Tijuana on the rise
During 2017, crime incidence figures in Tijuana were on the rise. According to the statistics provided by the Public Security Secretariat of the State (SSPE), which covers up to December 15 of the same year (because the cut of the last month do so until January 15), the total of robberies to houses was 2 334, of which 153 were violent and 2 thousand 181 only taking valuables.This same statistic showed that a total of 2, 283 robberies were committed to passers-by on public roads, of which 1,521 were perpetrated with violence (gun or knife) and 762 without violence; in terms of business robbery, the figure was 3, 566, of which violence was used in 2 thousand 787 and 779 were without violence, which gives a total of 8 thousand 183 robberies in these three areas that permeate directly in the society.
Derived from this situation, businessmen from Tijuana undertook campaigns such as the installation of 26 mobile police booths, also last year, mainly in colonies in the Eastern Zone such as Camino Verde and Mariano Matamoros, where the greatest number of crimes are presented, and others such as Francisco Villa y la Libertad, with the idea of inhibiting criminals, according to ZETA informed the president of the Employers Confederation of the Mexican Republic (Coparmex) in Tijuana, Gilberto Fimbres.
Each of these booths has a municipal police officer in charge and intelligence services such as cameras for monitoring, computers, radio communicators, telephone, information system, transportation, health services, among other things. In addition, they are interconnected with C2, that is, they act as "mini commanders" very close to the community and have an approximate cost of 200 thousand pesos each.
In addition, on Thursday, January 4, the business sector began the campaign " Denúncialos Tijuana ", which will be screened throughout this year with the gradual installation of 33 spectacular in different parts of the city, in which the faces of the people who have committed more than five crimes to businesses and have arrest warrants.
Mario Escobedo Carignan, president of the Chamber of Commerce, Services and Tourism (Canaco-Servytur), explained that it is about inhibiting criminals and involves citizen participation with their complaints, in order to regain confidence in the authorities because they as businessmen they will be vigilant that everything is carried out anonymously and the complaints reach the corresponding instance in order to punish the offender.
According to the head of Canaco Tijuana, they have identified around 130 alleged criminals throughout the city, therefore, they will be sharing the faces of the "delinquents" according to the areas where they usually commit their crimes.
As for the neighborhood safety committees, there is a police officer assigned to each of the 60 that make up this program."
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| Courtesy Frontera |
Frontera
Registra TIJ Mas de 100 Asesinatos en 20 Dias
Por, Luis Gerardo Andrade
Luis Gerardo Andrade puts the number more like 106, but that was early this morning. We'll see how it goes.
You can watch the police reports as they come in:
FRONTERA POLICIACA (@FRONTERA-POL) Twitter
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Everything you need to know about Trump the skunk: (more links on the sidebar)
Democracy Now !
The Intercept
I have more reports, will try to get back here asap, with Paris permitting of course.