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| 'A new era for Juárez': pope's visit hails optimism for a city ravaged by drug wars | 'A new era for Juárez': pope's visit hails optimism for a city ravaged by drug wars |
| (about 20 hours later) | |
| When Pope Francis visits the drug war crucible known as Ciudad Juárez he will be greeted by whitewashed walls, newly planted shrubs and pink-hued billboards proclaiming “Juárez is love” and “Proud of Juárez”. | When Pope Francis visits the drug war crucible known as Ciudad Juárez he will be greeted by whitewashed walls, newly planted shrubs and pink-hued billboards proclaiming “Juárez is love” and “Proud of Juárez”. |
| Mexico’s gritty border city has pulled out the stops for the 17 February visit, prettifying the papal route and erecting a huge altar for a cross-border mass on a former fairground from which the pontiff will address hundreds of thousands of worshippers. | Mexico’s gritty border city has pulled out the stops for the 17 February visit, prettifying the papal route and erecting a huge altar for a cross-border mass on a former fairground from which the pontiff will address hundreds of thousands of worshippers. |
| “We can show the world things have changed,” said Guillermo Dowell, a spokesman for the governor of Chihuahua state, which encompasses the city. “The pope’s visit marks a new era for Juárez.” | “We can show the world things have changed,” said Guillermo Dowell, a spokesman for the governor of Chihuahua state, which encompasses the city. “The pope’s visit marks a new era for Juárez.” |
| Such optimism may jolt viewers who saw Sicario, Hollywood’s dystopian depiction of this city which borders El Paso, Texas. Is Ciudad Juárez not reeling from narco-fuelled kidnappings, gun battles and explosions? | Such optimism may jolt viewers who saw Sicario, Hollywood’s dystopian depiction of this city which borders El Paso, Texas. Is Ciudad Juárez not reeling from narco-fuelled kidnappings, gun battles and explosions? |
| Actually, no. | Actually, no. |
| Streets once deserted after dark now have shoppers and diners | Streets once deserted after dark now have shoppers and diners |
| Violence has plunged in recent years, relegating what was once considered a world murder capital to number 27, between Kingston and New Orleans, according to one ranking. The city recorded 308 murders last year – still high for a population of 1.3 million, but a dramatic improvement from 2010’s bloody peak of 3,622 murders. | Violence has plunged in recent years, relegating what was once considered a world murder capital to number 27, between Kingston and New Orleans, according to one ranking. The city recorded 308 murders last year – still high for a population of 1.3 million, but a dramatic improvement from 2010’s bloody peak of 3,622 murders. |
| Authorities credit better policing and poverty-combatting social programmes. Analysts say the comparative peace is also partially due to the Sinaloa cartel’s apparent victory over the local Juárez cartel. | Authorities credit better policing and poverty-combatting social programmes. Analysts say the comparative peace is also partially due to the Sinaloa cartel’s apparent victory over the local Juárez cartel. |
| Ciudad Juárez is not just safer, it’s booming: new restaurants, car showrooms and other businesses are sprouting. Streets once deserted after dark now have shoppers and diners. Theatrical productions, including the Vagina Monologues, have revived. | Ciudad Juárez is not just safer, it’s booming: new restaurants, car showrooms and other businesses are sprouting. Streets once deserted after dark now have shoppers and diners. Theatrical productions, including the Vagina Monologues, have revived. |
| Authorities hope Francis’s visit will showcase what they call a transformation. “We have passed from hell to peace in a short time,” said Dowell. | Authorities hope Francis’s visit will showcase what they call a transformation. “We have passed from hell to peace in a short time,” said Dowell. |
| Related: Pope's focus on violence and poor likely to make for 'uncomfortable' Mexico visit | Related: Pope's focus on violence and poor likely to make for 'uncomfortable' Mexico visit |
| The pope, however, may evoke something closer to purgatory during his five-day trip to Mexico, which culminates in Juárez. “The Mexico of violence, the Mexico of corruption, the Mexico of drug trafficking, the Mexico of cartels, is not the Mexico our Mother wants,” he said, referring to the Virgin Mary, in a video message before leaving Rome. | The pope, however, may evoke something closer to purgatory during his five-day trip to Mexico, which culminates in Juárez. “The Mexico of violence, the Mexico of corruption, the Mexico of drug trafficking, the Mexico of cartels, is not the Mexico our Mother wants,” he said, referring to the Virgin Mary, in a video message before leaving Rome. |
| With nationwide homicide rates rising 8% last year to 18,650, reversing three years of decline, and President Enrique Peña Nieto’s popularity ratings near historic lows, many Mexicans share Francis’s bleak assessment. | With nationwide homicide rates rising 8% last year to 18,650, reversing three years of decline, and President Enrique Peña Nieto’s popularity ratings near historic lows, many Mexicans share Francis’s bleak assessment. |
| And Juárez retains a dark side – especially in Juárez valley, a 50-mile rural strip of hamlets and villages to the east which offers a desolate, if lucrative, narco-gateway to the US. | And Juárez retains a dark side – especially in Juárez valley, a 50-mile rural strip of hamlets and villages to the east which offers a desolate, if lucrative, narco-gateway to the US. |
| An hour’s drive on federal highway 2 takes you past factories and urban sprawl and into a landscape of derelict farms and destroyed, abandoned homes. | An hour’s drive on federal highway 2 takes you past factories and urban sprawl and into a landscape of derelict farms and destroyed, abandoned homes. |
| Residents speak of abductions, gun battles, clandestine graves and death squads. “People are frightened,” said Eliseo Ramírez Soto, a parish priest in the town of Guadalupe. “Just in the past week we had five or six kidnappings. It makes everyone nervous.” | Residents speak of abductions, gun battles, clandestine graves and death squads. “People are frightened,” said Eliseo Ramírez Soto, a parish priest in the town of Guadalupe. “Just in the past week we had five or six kidnappings. It makes everyone nervous.” |
| How is it that the city can host the pope, and boast of turnaround, while terror still reigns in its rural hinterland? It is as if the wild desert winds and temperature swings of “febrero loco”, when winter howls before yielding to summer, have produced two parallel realities. | How is it that the city can host the pope, and boast of turnaround, while terror still reigns in its rural hinterland? It is as if the wild desert winds and temperature swings of “febrero loco”, when winter howls before yielding to summer, have produced two parallel realities. |
| The riddle raises a question: which is more representative of Mexico? In his message from Rome Pope Francis emphasised the darker version. “I exhort you to fight every day against corruption, against trafficking, against war, against division, against organised crime, against human smuggling.” | The riddle raises a question: which is more representative of Mexico? In his message from Rome Pope Francis emphasised the darker version. “I exhort you to fight every day against corruption, against trafficking, against war, against division, against organised crime, against human smuggling.” |
| Violence is hardly new in the valley. Billy the Kid followed a venerable line of outlaws who used this route. But after 2006, when the then president Felipe Calderón declared war against cartels, competition escalated and violence exploded, here and across much of Mexico. | Violence is hardly new in the valley. Billy the Kid followed a venerable line of outlaws who used this route. But after 2006, when the then president Felipe Calderón declared war against cartels, competition escalated and violence exploded, here and across much of Mexico. |
| Shadowy groups torched homes and slaughtered hundreds of residents – a remote front in a national bloodletting which claimed more than 100,000 lives. Most of the valley’s estimated 60,000 population fled, leaving behind ghost towns – San Agustín, San Isidro, San Martín, Guadalupe, Práxedis. | Shadowy groups torched homes and slaughtered hundreds of residents – a remote front in a national bloodletting which claimed more than 100,000 lives. Most of the valley’s estimated 60,000 population fled, leaving behind ghost towns – San Agustín, San Isidro, San Martín, Guadalupe, Práxedis. |
| Violence continues weekly if not daily, said one elderly labourer, who like other residents declined to be named. “They found some bodies at the end of that,” he said, indicating a track off the highway. Authorities found two bodies in a grave, along with three stolen cars and an arsenal of assault rifles, handguns, ammunition and body armour. | Violence continues weekly if not daily, said one elderly labourer, who like other residents declined to be named. “They found some bodies at the end of that,” he said, indicating a track off the highway. Authorities found two bodies in a grave, along with three stolen cars and an arsenal of assault rifles, handguns, ammunition and body armour. |
| A wild battle recently raged along the highway, said the labourer. “A lot of shooting.” Was it linked to the bodies? He shrugged. | A wild battle recently raged along the highway, said the labourer. “A lot of shooting.” Was it linked to the bodies? He shrugged. |
| Fr Ramírez, speaking just off Guadalupe’s deserted main street, also said he could not elaborate. “I just know that people are missing and people are frightened.” | Fr Ramírez, speaking just off Guadalupe’s deserted main street, also said he could not elaborate. “I just know that people are missing and people are frightened.” |
| One farmer sighed: 'I don’t want to be rude, but even if you don’t publish my name, if I speak to you they’ll know' | One farmer sighed: 'I don’t want to be rude, but even if you don’t publish my name, if I speak to you they’ll know' |
| The kidnappers reportedly threatened reprisals if anyone spoke out, but there seems little chance of that. Fear is palpable among the few remaining residents. Apart from occasional gunfire the drug war unfolds here largely in silence. Residents barely acknowledge its existence to outsiders, referring instead to vague “eventos” with mystery protagonists and nameless victims. | The kidnappers reportedly threatened reprisals if anyone spoke out, but there seems little chance of that. Fear is palpable among the few remaining residents. Apart from occasional gunfire the drug war unfolds here largely in silence. Residents barely acknowledge its existence to outsiders, referring instead to vague “eventos” with mystery protagonists and nameless victims. |
| The valley’s most precise account of a homicide is a dusty exhibit in the San Isidro museum: sepia newspaper clippings and a replica of the bullet-riddled car Pancho Villa was riding in when assassins ambushed him in 1923. | The valley’s most precise account of a homicide is a dusty exhibit in the San Isidro museum: sepia newspaper clippings and a replica of the bullet-riddled car Pancho Villa was riding in when assassins ambushed him in 1923. |
| Asked about “eventos”, one farmer sighed: “Look, I don’t want to be rude, but even if you don’t publish my name, if I speak to you they’ll know.” | Asked about “eventos”, one farmer sighed: “Look, I don’t want to be rude, but even if you don’t publish my name, if I speak to you they’ll know.” |
| 2 Narco mayhem has left villages largely abandoned + burned out and the few remaining residents too scared to talk. pic.twitter.com/JGUONB0Ytc | 2 Narco mayhem has left villages largely abandoned + burned out and the few remaining residents too scared to talk. pic.twitter.com/JGUONB0Ytc |
| Who “they” are remains murky. Armed men claiming to be members of Los Zetas, a hyper-violent criminal group, recently appeared on the streets of one town and declared allegiance to La Línea, a synonym for the Juárez cartel. | Who “they” are remains murky. Armed men claiming to be members of Los Zetas, a hyper-violent criminal group, recently appeared on the streets of one town and declared allegiance to La Línea, a synonym for the Juárez cartel. |
| Authorities have long attributed the violence to a turf battle between local narcos and Sinaloa cartel interlopers. The police and army play a controversial role. Some local journalists accuse them of committing and facilitating violence for narco paymasters. | Authorities have long attributed the violence to a turf battle between local narcos and Sinaloa cartel interlopers. The police and army play a controversial role. Some local journalists accuse them of committing and facilitating violence for narco paymasters. |
| An Al-Jazeera report last year claimed the purported inter-cartel battle was a smokescreen for a land grab by wealthy, powerful interests who covet oil, gas and infrastructure projects. | An Al-Jazeera report last year claimed the purported inter-cartel battle was a smokescreen for a land grab by wealthy, powerful interests who covet oil, gas and infrastructure projects. |
| Related: Pope Francis in Mexico: share your photos and stories | |
| Soldiers manned temporary checkpoints outside Guadalupe last week when President Peña Nieto flew in to inaugurate a new border bridge and announce a federal investment package. | Soldiers manned temporary checkpoints outside Guadalupe last week when President Peña Nieto flew in to inaugurate a new border bridge and announce a federal investment package. |
| Dowell, the governor’s spokesman, blamed the continued violence on geography, saying the strip along the Rio Grande was remote and in many places inaccessible. “It’s difficult to control. But even there the violence is a lot less than it used to be.” | Dowell, the governor’s spokesman, blamed the continued violence on geography, saying the strip along the Rio Grande was remote and in many places inaccessible. “It’s difficult to control. But even there the violence is a lot less than it used to be.” |
| Some residents disputed that and blamed the valley’s plight on corrupt state institutions. | Some residents disputed that and blamed the valley’s plight on corrupt state institutions. |
| Suspicion about Mexico’s security forces remains widespread. A trial last year heard that a Juárez gang which kidnapped, enslaved and murdered women made regular payments to corrupt troops and police officers in the city. Last week armed men wearing fatigues kidnapped Anabel Flores Salazar, a reporter who covered the police beat for a newspaper in the southern state of Veracruz. | Suspicion about Mexico’s security forces remains widespread. A trial last year heard that a Juárez gang which kidnapped, enslaved and murdered women made regular payments to corrupt troops and police officers in the city. Last week armed men wearing fatigues kidnapped Anabel Flores Salazar, a reporter who covered the police beat for a newspaper in the southern state of Veracruz. |
| A recent video showed police in Sinaloa running away from a house moments before gunmen arrived and murdered a resident. The mayor called it a “tactical retreat”. The abduction by police of 43 students in Guerrero in 2014, meanwhile, continues to roil the country. Relatives of the students are due to attend the papal mass in Juárez. | A recent video showed police in Sinaloa running away from a house moments before gunmen arrived and murdered a resident. The mayor called it a “tactical retreat”. The abduction by police of 43 students in Guerrero in 2014, meanwhile, continues to roil the country. Relatives of the students are due to attend the papal mass in Juárez. |
| The shrub-planting and “Juárez is love” billboard campaign reflect official boosterism but economic indicators and interviews with ordinary people show genuine optimism. The city created 32,567 jobs last year, a healthy clip, and car dealerships sold a record 7,982 vehicles. | The shrub-planting and “Juárez is love” billboard campaign reflect official boosterism but economic indicators and interviews with ordinary people show genuine optimism. The city created 32,567 jobs last year, a healthy clip, and car dealerships sold a record 7,982 vehicles. |
| “The bad old days really do feel over. It feels like another city,” said Gabriel Perea, a taxi driver. “I feel good about the future.” | “The bad old days really do feel over. It feels like another city,” said Gabriel Perea, a taxi driver. “I feel good about the future.” |
| Like many here, he credited the turnaround to “una limpieza” – a “cleaning” of corrupt police. “They took them out, tac tac tac.” | Like many here, he credited the turnaround to “una limpieza” – a “cleaning” of corrupt police. “They took them out, tac tac tac.” |
| According to this version, outside police commanders took charge and systematically murdered their most egregiously corrupt colleagues, restoring equilibrium to the city. Authorities deny it. | According to this version, outside police commanders took charge and systematically murdered their most egregiously corrupt colleagues, restoring equilibrium to the city. Authorities deny it. |
| Whatever the truth, the fact that many people think honest cops must be murderous cops, and accept it as the price of relative peace, suggests Pope Francis will be visiting not just a city but a moral maze. | Whatever the truth, the fact that many people think honest cops must be murderous cops, and accept it as the price of relative peace, suggests Pope Francis will be visiting not just a city but a moral maze. |