Murder Spree in Juarez Staggers The Mind
by Ray Quintanilla
Ciudad Juarez, Mexico (AP)
The murder spree here has been compared to those of America's most infamous serial killers, such as John Wayne Gacy, Richard Speck and even Jeffrey Dahmer.
But the sad fact is you could add up all of their victims and still have only a fraction of the total number of deaths authorities say are linked to a serial killer who has been operating in this Mexican border town since 1993.
In all, 300 young women, most of them in their teens or early 20s, have turned up missing and were later found dead in this sprawling town of 1.2 million people located across the muddy Rio Grande River from El Paso, Texas.
Many of the women were raped and tortured.
Some experts say the crime spree has origins in the shattering of long-standing roles for men and women in this developing nation as the number of women surpasses the number of men in the most desirable factory jobs.
Others say the slayings can be linked to drug cartels or a satanic cult.
About the only consensus one finds on the matter these days, however, is that solving the worst murder spree in this hemisphere is going to take the help of more than just Mexican authorities. And pressure is mounting for Mexican President Vicente Fox to take a lead role as coordinator of an international council to investigate and solve the slayings.
That will be the central theme of a rally of angry mothers and their supporters in Mexico City in November.
"There finally has to be some justice," said Lourdes Portillo, a filmmaker who recently completed a documentary about the murders, "Senorita Extraviada" ("Missing Young Woman").
"All of these women were poor, they have no one with power speaking for them. This gathering is for all of those who want justice," Portillo said, adding that about three women a month are reported missing and many are found dead in the nearby desert.
Portillo said she finished her documentary more convinced than ever that "the deaths of these young women present an enormous income for someone."
But the motive for the slayings of so many women has been mired in controversy from the beginning. Mexican authorities acknowledge they haven't examined every recovered body carefully for clues because they don't have the expertise or the resources. Some crime scenes are spoiled because the bodies are discovered by people walking through the desert.
When the first bodies began turning up nine years ago, one high-ranking Mexican official in Ciudad Juarez told reporters the victims had put themselves in harm's way while leading double lives as housewives during the day and prostitutes at night. The comments managed to focus attention on the city's bustling nightlife, but that was about all.
Then maquiladora workers started missing. Many of them were found in shallow graves along the outskirts of the city.
Some of the victims were found wearing garments that belonged to other missing girls. And in more than one instance, bodies were drained of blood and had satanic carvings on them. Some of them have been mutilated and had organs missing.
Three years ago, Mexican authorities announced they had cracked the case with the arrest of an Egyptian national and a gang of accomplices. But as that investigation progressed, there were more murders.
Shayna Plaut, a human-rights expert with Amnesty International, said the slayings are among the most egregious acts of violence against women in the world.
"The primary way to invoke a resolution is for the government of Mexico City and Juarez to find a way to get this solved." Plaut said. "It's going to take a much bigger effort."
Still, Ciudad Juarez has become an increasingly hostile place for women. Murder is now the second-leading cause of death for females.
Victoria Caraveo, director of an organization in Juarez that represents families of the murdered women, speculated that part of the hostility has its roots in the rapidly changing roles of men and women.
"See, most people come to Juarez from the interior of Mexico, looking for jobs. They have a typical family structure with the man heading his household. What happens when they get here is that the woman finds a job right away_there's more opportunities for her_and the head of the family just can't get work."
But widespread reluctance to accept social change has helped create indifference about crime against women in Juarez, Caraveo added.
"Once the climate is established, then you open the door for these types of things to happen," she said.
It's not unlike racism or sexism in the United States, she said. It thrives when people turn the other way.
The labor pool that powers the maquiladora industry, among Mexico's most desirable factory jobs, has become predominantly female in recent years. Often, banners hanging from factories let applicants know that women are preferred for these $5- to $6-a-day jobs.
University of Texas at El Paso sociologist Cheryl Howard said Juarez is the only Mexican border town with a daunting homicide problem.
She suggests a combination of motives for the slayings, adding that the corrupting influence of drug cartels here has turned the town upside down in recent years. Juarez has become a Wild West town, where laws aren't always enforced and it's hard to discern the good guys from the bad ones. And that includes police.
"It's no secret that corruption in Juarez is rampant," she said. "The cartels wield a lot of influence at all levels down there."
Getting the word out about the murders has not been easy, advocates for the families say, in large part because many families fear reprisals for speaking out.
For instance, Caraveo said, many times when she has organized protests across the city to raise attention to the murders, something mysterious happens. Six months ago, someone broke into her Juarez home and dumped about 10 dead and headless birds in her living room. A few weeks later, she awoke to find dozens of pairs of women's underwear hanging from trees in her front lawn, and near her doorstep.
"Someone apparently doesn't like it that we are speaking out," Caraveo said. "Maybe they are trying to scare us off. But it's not going to work."
Copyright: Chicago Tribune