Violence surge hurts economy and tourism in Nogales, Sonora

While Nogales, Ariz., maintains its sleepy border town image, our sister city in Sonora is enduring one of the worst public safety crises in recent memory. Streets are quieter than usual as folks prefer to stay indoors and hopefully out of harm’s way.

An army of 200 state and federal lawmen has descended upon the city with pick-up trucks and helicopters to help combat violence among drug cartels. As of Monday, there have been 64 murders this year in Nogales, Sonora, a city of more than 300,000.

“It’s eerily quiet,” said a resident of the upscale Colonia Kennedy neighborhood. “Sometimes all we can hear are the helicopters flying overhead.”

The situation has exacerbated the weak local economy, said Raul Carbajal, president of the Nogales, Sonora Chamber of Commerce.

Noting that the tourism season officially starts the day after Thanksgiving, Carbajal said he is confident government and law enforcement will have quelled the problem by then.

Carbajal asked rhetorically, “How can we in good conscience invite tourists or visitors now when we are in the midst of this serious problem?

“It’s not just Nogales. It’s a national crisis,” he said. “That’s why you have people demonstrating and protesting in different cities.”

Indeed, since Felipe Calder—n took over the presidency in 2006 and declared his war on crime, 5,000 victims have been murdered — more than the total U.S. casualties in Iraq throughout the past five years. “Yes, there is a fair amount of sensationalism and yellow journalism,” Carbajal said, “But there exists a problem and we can’t hide it.”

The media makes no attempt. Gruesome photographs of beheaded bodies, news stories about murders, kidnappings and other violent crimes are splattered throughout the local newspapers’ pages. If there isn’t enough fodder locally, they resort to running stories datelined Magdalena, Hermosillo, Caborca and other states such as Baja California, Guerrero, Michoacan, Jalisco, and Mexico City itself.

But what concerns Nogales residents and merchants is the continued escalation of local violence and other crimes. Previously confined to the back streets and among the criminal elements themselves, now killing and kidnappings happen in broad daylight and on the main drags.

It is not just lower echelon thugs involved. On Aug. 24, Jose Guadalupe Peralta Valenzuela survived an assassination attempt by rivals in Nogales, Sonora. His 17-year-old stepdaughter was not so lucky. She died in the attack.

Peralta has been identified by U.S. and Mexico law enforcement as the second-in-command of Marcos Arturo Beltran Leyva’s drug operations in Nogales, Sonora.

President Bush has designated Beltran Leyva and his organization as subject to the sanctions under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act.

Yet, Peralta somehow was allowed into the United States and reportedly treated at a Tucson hospital for his bullet wounds, according to Mexican news reports.

“Beltran Leyva and his organization comprise a major part of Mexico’s Sinaloa drug cartel, with operations on both coasts of Mexico and along its southern and northern borders that move significant quantities of cocaine into the United States,” said Antonio O. Garza, U.S. ambassador to Mexico, in a May 8 statement.

“His hit squads are responsible for scores of deaths and heinous violence,” Garza added.

That type of violence has not spilled over into Nogales, Ariz., said Police Chief William Ybarra.

“That doesn’t mean it won’t happen,” he said, adding that his officers have been issued M-4 rifles, a new take on the AR-15 assault rifles, with a .223-caliber bullet. “We’re seeing the use of long arms by the bad guys and we have to fight force with force.

“Other than heightened alerts from the DEA and the Joint Terrorism Task Force,” it’s been business as usual on this side of the border, Ybarra said.

Lt. Gerry Castillo of the Santa Cruz County Metro Task Force agreed.

“We have no spillover. We are on alert always to the possibility that there may be a spillover. But the violence, so far has remained in Mexico — internal fighting among criminal elements,” he said.

According to a travel alert issued by the U.S. Department of State, “Violent criminal activity fueled by a war between criminal organizations struggling for control of the lucrative narcotics trade continues along the U.S.-Mexico border.

“Attacks are aimed primarily at members of drug trafficking organizations, Mexican police forces, criminal justice officials, and journalists. However, foreign visitors and residents, including Americans, have been among the victims of homicides and kidnappings in the border region.

“Recent Mexican army and police force conflicts with heavily armed narcotics cartels have escalated to levels equivalent to military small-unit combat and have included use of machine guns and fragmentation grenades.

“U.S. citizens are urged to be especially alert to safety and security concerns when visiting the border region,” the alert said.

The alert offered common-sense advice: “It is strongly recommended that travelers avoid areas where prostitution and drug-dealing occur. It is preferable for U.S. citizens to stay in well-known tourist destinations and tourist areas of the cities with more adequate security, and provide an itinerary to a friend or family member not traveling with them. U.S. citizens should avoid traveling alone as a means to better ensure their safety. Refrain from displaying expensive-looking jewelry, large amounts of money, or other valuable items.”

For more information on staying safe in Mexico, go to http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_970.html. For the latest security information, U.S. citizens traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department’s Web site at http://travel.state.gov or call 1-888-407-4747.

Manuel C. Coppola is the Publisher and Managing Editor of the Nogales International.