A Big Pat On The Back For Mexico National Police

In a story that finally brought some good news in Mexico's civil war (some call it the war on drugs), it seems that the Federales were pursuing two suspected criminals Tuesday in Reynosa, which is only a stone throw (or a gun shot!) south of McAllen, Texas.  In catching the two criminals, the police went inside their residence and found sixty-eight people, most of them illegal immigrants, that were being held hostage by the Gulf Cartel.  The hostages were rescued, and presumably deported to their respective nations. 

Apparently the cartels, no longer content with drug profit and extortion of local business owners, are holding illegal aliens hostage and forcing the families back in the native countries to send money for ransom.  Would they then release the hostages and let them go on their way?  We could only hope...

The rescue of these hostages comes on the heels of a another mass grave discovery in San Fernando, Tamaulipas, Mexico, in which 145 bodies were found.  It was the second massacre uncovered in San Fernando.  Last year 72 bodies were found in a mass grave in the same city.  These were all found to be Mexican citizens or illegal immigrants crossing Mexico to go on to the United States.  Both massacres were believed to have been perpetrated by the Zeta Cartel.  Sadly, sixteen police officers in San Fernando were arrested last week for protecting Zeta operations in the area, including looking the other way as these mass murders were committed, and obstructing the federal investigations into these killings.

It is some measure of the integrity and bravery of the police officers and justice agencies who persist in doing their jobs honestly and in trying to regain control of the cities from the drug cartels.  The Federales still have their work cut out for them, but it is appropriate to acknowledge their successes and also to let the citizens of Mexico know that people outside their nation are praying for them and are concerned with their plight. No doubt the Mexican government still has a long road ahead, but these small successes must be an encouragement to the powers of justice as the war for control of Mexico continues.