Pubdate: Sat, 02 Apr 2005
Source: San Antonio Express-News (TX)
Copyright: 2005 San Antonio Express-News
Contact:  http://www.mysanantonio.com/expressnews/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/384
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/prison.htm (Incarceration)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/mexico

MEXICAN PRISON SWEEP YIELDS TVS, FIREARMS

Martha Stewart Had Camp Cupcake.

What is the Mexican equivalent for a prison that is absurdly cushy and
pleasant?

Camp Pan Dulce?

Whatever tag such a prison receives, the facility exists, and it makes
a mockery of the justice system in Mexico.

As part of his push against the powerful drug cartels, President
Vicente Fox ordered a sweep of a federal penitentiary in Nuevo Laredo,
the site of some of the worst violence on the border.

About 200 soldiers and police swept through the cells in the facility
Tuesday, confiscating cell phones, televisions and firearms, including
AK-47s, according to the Houston Chronicle.

The facility is designed to contain 1,200 prisoners, most of them
serving time for drug trafficking.

The operation, which also yielded a pool table and a disco sound
system, followed what were believed to be three gang-related killings
inside the prison.

The raid points out the fears and frustrations experienced by Mexican
citizens, who have long complained that the criminals and the
authorities are virtually indistinguishable, with government officials
abetting the figures they are sworn to track down and prosecute.

"It is pretty difficult to smuggle an AK-47 into a jail unless someone
is taking bribes," state police spokesman Hector Valle told the Chronicle.

The raid, while significant and laudable, reflects the mammoth task in
front of Fox for the remainder of his term. But the challenge does not
rest with Fox alone. It is the responsibility of his successor,
whoever it may be, to keep up the fight, as futile as it may appear.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin