Two Mexican Cities Hugging US Border Among the Country's Most Dangerous Mark Browne - CNSNews.com
go to original December 28, 2016

It's the 10th anniversary of Mexico's 'war on drugs' and for many the city of Ciudad Juarez is emblematic of the violence. Seven years ago, Mexico's Ciudad Juarez was called the world's murder capital. (Al Jazeera English)

Experts are blaming drug cartel violence and the increased use of guns by criminals for a surge in homicides in the Mexican cities of Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez on the U.S. border.

Tijuana sits opposite San Diego, while Ciudad Juarez hugs the border with El Paso. The Mexican cities each have more than one million inhabitants.

The 2016 murder rate in Ciudad Juarez is the highest in four years, said Francisco Rivas, director of the citizens’ group Observatorio Nacional Ciudadano which monitors federal crime statistics.

The homicide rate in Tijuana, Rivas said, is the highest seen in a decade.

According to statistics released by the group, homicide investigations in the state of Chihuahua, where Ciudad Juarez is located, increased by 80.4 percent in October, compared to the average of the previous 12 months.

They increased by 14.8 percent in Baja California, home to Tijuana.

Comparable claims have been made by the online publication Animal Politico. Citing federal and local crime statistics, it reported that there were 386 homicides in Ciudad Juarez from January to October of this year, the highest rate seen since 2012.

The publication also said the homicide rate in Tijuana was the highest in a decade, with 671 homicides during the past 10 months – the highest of any city in the country.

Read the rest at CNSNews.com

Related: Tijuana's Record Body Count Is a Sign That Cartel Warfare Is Returning to Mexico (Business Insider)

Related: Lack of Action Limits Mexico’s War for Reform (Sun Journal)

Related: Guerrero Confirmed as Most Violent State in Mexico (Prensa Latina)

Related: Hundreds of Dead Bodies Awaiting Transfer to State Morgue in Guerrero (Latin Times)

Related: Organized Crime in Mexico Is Heavily Armed (Prensa Latina)

Related: Suicide Journalism on the Crazy-Mean Streets of Tijuana (The Daily Beast)

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