By: Daniel González
The woman lowered her head and looked away, her shoulder-length dark hair covering her round face.
More than a year had passed since her uncle, a former Mexican state police commander, was kidnapped along with eight soldiers and beheaded by hit men working for a drug cartel. But she still could not bear to look at the gruesome newspaper photos of the killings her lawyer had just spread on a table.
One showed a close-up of the headless corpses lying side by side. Another showed the black plastic bag filled with their heads. Another showed the ominous, handwritten warning from the drug traffickers: "For every one of us you kill, we will kill 10."
Decapitations like this used to be associated with terrorists in the Middle East, but they have become the hallmark of a vicious drug war that has been raging in Mexico since President Felipe Calderón launched a major offensive against drug cartels in 2006. The escalating violence has claimed more than 15,000 lives, including those of hundreds of police officers like the woman's uncle. It also has terrorized the population and led to a dramatic increase in the number of Mexicans seeking a legal safe haven in the United States. Their success, however, hinges on pushing the boundaries of U.S. asylum law...
Full Article: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2010/01/24/20100124asylum0124.html
[Posted by: Evelyn Ramirez]
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