Mountaineer Mt. San Antonio College
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Multiculture
13
Jose De Castro/MOUNTAINEER Cosme Hernandez, 25, Portuguese and Spanish major discusses the influence of the drug cartels in his home state of Michoacan, Mexico on Thursday, March 13.
Violence, drugs, murder continue despite El Chapo’s capture Innocent families extorted and harrassed Samantha Romero Staff Writer Murder, rape, and violent extortions are now synonymous with the Mexican states of Sinaloa and Michoacan. Once known for their lush vegetation and surrounding views of mountain tops, the perception of these touristic states has been tainted by their reputation as major hubs for drug trafficking. Cosme Hernandez, 25, Spanish and Portuguese major, recently visited his family and realized that life is different in Apazingan, Michoacan. “The Federalistas pulled over some guy, and they had machine guns and M16s with grenade launchers,” Hernandez said. “They pass up in front of you, and they aim their gun at you to check your ID and ask a bunch of questions.” According to Hernandez, the military sets up these outposts regularly as a precautionary measure to prevent cartels from rampaging the towns. Regardless of the increased security procedures, people continue to live in fear. “They are more cautious and vigilant of everything,” Hernandez said. “They make sure to not go to certain areas at certain times and to not make association with certain people.” Drug related violence and crime continue to persist throughout these states and have a powerful impact on Mexican culture and families alike. “I do not see what the point is
in threatening and killing so many innocent people and tearing families apart,” said prospective Mt. SAC student, Nancy Castaneda, 18. “So many deaths and tragedies are heard of every week about what is happening in Mexico as a result of these drug cartels fighting for the control over the country’s drug industry.” Castaneda’s family has been affected by the violence from the drug cartel. Two weeks ago, her 26-year-old cousin Samuel Cuevas was a victim of extortion. He was selling hot dogs on a Sunday night in the rural town square of Jahuara, Sinaloa when a car crashed into his stand. The following morning, hit men known as sicarios threatened him. They demanded he pay the damages they had inflicted, if he did not comply, they would return for him within three days.
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I do not see what the point is in threatening and killing so many innocent people and tearing families apart.” - Nancy Castaneda
“It reached the point to which there was practically no law enforcement in my grandma’s village, meaning it was a free for all and the people could do as they pleased,” Castaneda said. Dayna Meza, 18, biology major, said that her relative who worked as a doctor in Sinaloa was caught in the middle of a fatal crossfire as an innocent bystander. These are only a few of thousands of accounts that have inflicted fear and terror into the lives of Mexican citizens and relatives alike. According to Human Rights Watch, the drug wars have claimed the lives of more than 60,000 people between 2006 and 2012. The drug related violence has also helped fuel the narco culture, which continues to infiltrate the Mexican music scene through the emerging popularity of narco corridos, or Mexican folk songs. Narco Cultura, a documentary directed by Shaul Schwarz, goes behind the growing movement. According to the film’s website, “these bloodthirsty and explicit odes to the exploits of narco traffickers and drug lords of Mexico openly glorify violence, narcotics and money.” Mexico faces other problems as drug trafficking has had an overreaching influence on the economy and reputation of the country. A close family relative of Hernandez has personally experienced the economic tension in the state of Michoacan. As a teacher for the Instituto
Technologico Superior de Apazingan, drug battles translate into school shut downs, which means no work for teachers and faculty. “It’s been a negative thing for them because it gives a lot of people in the U.S. a bad view of Mexico,” said Hernandez. “Sometimes they blow things out of proportion.” Some family members choose not to visit their Mexican relatives when they learn about the tragic kidnaps and deaths. “Being that my immediate family and I are over here in the U.S., we are now scared to visit them,” said Castaneda. “We feel that going over there would also pull us into the situation, thus threatening our own lives.” Recently, Joaquin Guzman better known as “El Chapo”, CEO of one of the most powerful drug operations in Sinaloa, was arrested on February 22. According to Forbes, the Sinaloan cartel’s annual revenue raked more than $3 billion. The Cartel was also responsible for more than 25 percent of the illegal narcotics entering the U.S. Listed as one of Forbes most powerful people of 2013 to his designation as Chicago’s No.1 Public Enemy, Guzman had a strong presence. Meza said she believes El Chapo’s capture might negatively affect the people of Sinaloa. “He somewhat protected Sinaloa from other drug cartels coming and taking over,” said Meza. “Now that he’s gone other cartels can come and claim Sinaloa.”