Tijuana: Understanding the impact of violence with 3 killings
Violence is contagious, infectious, like a spiders web, like children playing tag, "freezing" their friends, one after another, until they all sit still, motionless. The violence in Tijuana has devastated families and societies at all the socioeconomic levels, though obviously the lowest are hit the hardest, turning colonias like Sanchez Taboada into killing fields, where no one and nothing is safe, from crystal meth and smoldering shells, ejected onto the ground, lodged in victim's intestines.
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| Scene of the murder |
These three killings underscore the insecurity and relentless executions, beyond the lies, the misleading claims of all the victims being drug dealers and narcos, all guilty.
1) July 8th: Julio Alberto Murillo Barajas, 18, sold pirated discs, DVD's in the Siglo XXI swap meet, a relative had a business there, and he was seen frequently at the swap meet. He was a student of Lazaro Cardenas high school. It was a hot and humid July afternoon, when he was beginning to close up, a man walked up and fired 4 bullets into Julio, two in the chest, and another two in his arms.
His body lay on the pavement, clad in jeans and a t shirt, blood seeping from his wounds. His classmates say he was the cheerful soul of the room, who was so certain of his spot in college, he encouraged his classmates to do the same. He was described as beautiful, a dreamer, and having nothing to do with drugs, or criminal activity.
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| Body of Julio |
He won't see college, he won't see his dreams, he won't remark upon the dreams of others. Retail drug outlets are common at the swap meets, especially where pirated movies are sold, crystal meth, heroin, and marijuana are commonly sold at the tienditas, lin
ked to the larger cells of family run organized crime, whose names grace the comments and headlines. It's very possible Julio was a mistaken target, it's also possible he manned a Swap Meet stand as a favor for a few extra dollars, and handed off a few points of crystal, or marijuana. What isn't in contention is he was brutally murdered for that offense, or for having committed no offense at all.
His killer isn't special, isn't some monster, or demon, because the dynamics of the insecurity breed killers, and breed victims in the same breathe. He was probably paid in crystal meth, or a few thousand pesos. Concentrated poverty, high inequality, and no prospects. You have created a generation of killers, and generation of those who they kill, and will kill.
A society where kids are murdered in daylight, in front of witnesses, terrified to tell the police, who likely are complicit with organized crime. This is insecurity and corruption at it's most devastating, just miles from the United States. Where do you turn? Who do you trust? For the Barajas's family, they have lost a son, for the killings and killers in Tijuana, it is just one of many.
2) July 10th: In a rural area of Tijuana, by the dam, in colonia Maclovio Rojas, bullets tear through a car, killing a 20 year old woman, Mari Carmen, in front of her two children, and an adult male, who was wounded in the attack. Carmen had a record of robbery, and the male had a record of narcotics, vehicle theft, and weapons possession.
This has become more and more common, as the killings escalate each year, executions, where the target is either missed, or killed, while others are killed, or injured in the attack. These are brazen, vicious attacks, and leave children in shock and grief, watching their parents die. Many minor victims are killed in targeted killings, that have become so brutal, so uncontrolled, and depraved, that the gunmen kill children.
Colonias like Sanchez Taboada have seen several of these in recent months, in tit for tat retaliation killings, linked to the sale of drugs in the colonias.
3) July 3rd: The killing of Dr. Alma Angelica Ciani Gonzalez, executed outside her office in Colonia Libertad, where she dedicated herself to the community, offering free medical consultations, and services, for the last 5 years.
The killing devastated, shocked her family, including her brother, an ESPN reporter, who were in disbelief that someone so giving and caring, having nothing to do with anything illegal, could be gunned down, like so many before her. It happens frequently, at least 3 doctors have been murdered recently in similar circumstances.
The killer, Daniel "N", of Colonia Libertad, was detained on Sunday, he is being held on charges of homicide, and been committed to pre trial detention. He claims the killing was an accident, and he was paid 10,000 pesos to execute an unnamed individual, who he has refused to name. The State Prosecutor claims at least 4 others are involved in the killing. Ciani was merely an accident.
This killing underscores several points:
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| Brother of Dr. Ciani, which gained publicity in Mexico |
-People who have nothing to do with narcomunedo are killed, and it's less common, but nowhere near unheard of.
-The killings tend to be "solved" to a degree, when there is an angle, or publicity in the case, which was found on this one, where even Pena Nieto made a statement. This is not to fault or blame the family, they deserve the killer of their loved one to be brought to justice. As do the victims of hundreds of other killings.
-The killer was purchased for 10,000 pesos. Life is cheap, and the killers are cheaper, creating a system of violence and insecurity, which churns out victim after victim, in this relentless cycle of misery, violence, and killing.
So, you have three victims, a 20 year old woman, likely poor, an 18 year old from all accounts a good family, on his way to university, and an older woman, educated, middle class, beloved by her community, who was benevolent and altruistic. The narrative says it's only between the "bad guys" and no one else is impacted.
Think of the children of Mari Carmen, huddled in the back seat, crying, and screaming, broken glass dripping into the seats, from shot out windows. Carmen's children weren't given a chance, or a choice, when their mother was executed in front of them. Think about these killings when you hear that repeated in parties, at dinner, in casual conversation, remember their names, their faces, and tell the truth that needs to be heard.
Sources: AFN Tijuana, Zeta Tijuana, El Universal, El Debate