Chihuahua official: More than 9,000 drug cartel operatives in Juárez region

By Diana Washington Valdez / El Paso Times
Posted: 06/07/2011 08:03:45 PM MDT

The Chihuahua prosecutor general said Tuesday that within the Juárez region, more than 9,000 drug cartel operatives are active.

It is the first time a Mexican official has quantified the warring drug cartel organizations' membership.

Carlos Manuel Salas, the state¹s chief prosecutor, provided the figures and other information in a statement after a meeting between Chihuahua officials and business leaders and ex-Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, who was invited to Juárez to discuss security issues.

Salas said Chihuahua officials have rejected the manner in which Juárez has become stigmatized by being called the most violent city in the world. "What happened is that the cartels entered into a conflict and then organized crime began to get involved in common crimes. What happened when we confronted this is that the Juárez cartel, which then had 500 people who controlled (their operations) throughout the state, added 5,000 gang members to its force," Duarte said, "and they brought weapons from the United States and began to fight the Sinaloa cartel that got hold of other gangs. In less than 60 days, this (Sinaloa) group had 4,000 armed members, and this is the challenge that the governor was faced with, but we are working each day to restore the peace to our state." Several cities and other geographical regions in Mexico that are considered drug-trafficking corridors are identified with drug cartels. These include Juárez, Tijuana, Sinaloa and the Gulf of Mexico. Colombia had the so-called Medellin and Cali cartels.
Chihuahua Gov. Cesar Duarte said he invited Uribe to share his experiences in fighting the cartels in Colombia.

"The first time I met President Uribe, he told me that we should not permit a city to bear a cartel¹s name because it would give the city a bad name and it would be very hard to get rid of the stigma," Duarte said.

Salas said law officials have reported a 500 percent increase in detentions over the past eight months, and that 150 people alone were detained in the act of breaking the law.

Diana Washington Valdez may be reached at dvaldez@elpasotimes.com; 546-6140.

http://www.elpasotimes.com/newupdated/ci_18225673