Besieged
by guns, drugs and crime, Mexico President Calderón
has
a message for the people of the United States - and he has
put it on
a huge sign within sight of the U.S. border.
El Universal, Mexico
President Calderon
Implores the U.S.: 'No More Weapons!'
"We Mexicans
have asked for this in many ways and many tones of voice. Today, our presence
here, in this mournful Ciudad Juárez, demands that we make a new and respectful
call to the government, Congress and people of the United States. We need their
help to stop this violence. … That is why we say: no more weapons to Mexico, no
more weapons!"
Jose Antonio Torres Marrufo, aka 'Marrufo': The suspected leader of 'Gente Nueva', an armed wing of the Sinaloa Cartel situated in the border city of Ciudad Juarez, is presented to the press after his arrest, Feb. 4.
Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua: One
hundred sixty five yards from the border, President Felipe Calderón unveiled a
spectacular new sign. Positioned so it can be read from U.S. territory, and constructed
by the military out of three tons of weapons seized from criminals, the sign
demands: "No more weapons!” Calderón himself called for "no more
weapons,” and in English he asserted: "Mexico needs your help ... no more
weapons to Mexico.” It is the same call he made in the Capitol, the seat of the
U.S. Congress, and on visits to the American Union. But now his call is in form
of a sign that is 26 feet by 72 feet. "Brilliant!" exclaimed Margarita
Zavala, the president's wife. Everybody rushed to take a picture with the sign
behind them.
Facing the United States and
with the sign in the background, Calderón launched a new appeal: "We Mexicans
have asked for this in many ways and many tones of voice. Today, our presence
here, in this mournful Ciudad Juárez, demands that we make a new and respectful
call to the government, Congress and people of the United States. We need their
help to stop this violence.”
In our neighboring country, guns
can be purchased "several meters from here,” indiscriminately and with the
same ease as one buys a toolbox.
He raised more than a
dramatic cut the consumption of drugs and the flow of money. "Beyond the
drug issue, the best way for you, the American people, to help reduce violence
in Mexico is through legislation that used to be in force (the ban on assault weapons
expired in 2004), and by stopping the inhumane trafficking of weapons into our
country. That is why we say: no more weapons to Mexico, no more weapons!” the president
stressed.
"Powerful entrenched interests,
particularly in the arms industry, which dominate public opinion and the
Congress of the United States, prevented the re-introduction of the needed ban
on the sale of assault and high-powered weapons. This has allowed criminals easy
access to the rifles, machine guns, grenades and rocket-propelled grenade
launchers with which they wage war on the Army, and which they haven't
hesitated to use against innocent, unarmed civilians. It is completely unjust, it
is offensive that lives are lost because of this market, whose only reason to
be is profit and the out-of-hand greed of that industry, which doesn't care very
much for human life."
He added that during his six
years in office, "an entire arsenal of war” has been confiscated: 140,000
weapons that could have supplied the armies of Guatemala, Nicaragua, El
Salvador and Honduras combined. Our message to criminals is clear: "We
will oppose you and confiscate your weapons.”
The 14 million rounds of
ammunition and 11,000 grenades seized during his term in office is 36 times more
than was seized during the previous two presidential terms. The unbounded greed
of the U.S. weapons industry seems to suggest a lack of concern for the cost in
human lives, Calderón repeated.
While acknowledging U.S. President
Barack Obama's actions, such as the requirement of checks on gun buyers in border
states, he considers them insufficient.
Upon arriving in Ciudad
Juárez, Calderón presided over the destruction of thousands of weapons, cartridges
and magazines.
