Pubdate: Sat, 18 Aug 2012
Source: Monitor, The (McAllen, TX)
Copyright: 2012 The Monitor
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/qsOVHygd
Website: http://www.themonitor.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1250
Author: Ildefonso Ortiz
Cited: Caravan for Peace: http://www.caravanforpeace.org/caravan/

CARAVAN FOR PEACE, MARCH AGAINST DRUG WAR, TO VISIT RGV

ALAMO - A movement looking to end Mexico's drug war is set to arrive
here in an effort to raise awareness to that country's rising death
toll.

On Thursday, Javier Sicilia's Caravan for Peace is scheduled to make a
pit stop in Alamo for a day of events and personal testimonies related
to Mexico's ongoing cartel violence, which has produced more than
60,000 deaths and 10,000 disappearances.

Group organizers claim that drug prohibition has failed.

The war on drugs has produced painful consequences in both Mexico and
the United States, leaving a trail of death, pain and corruption in
its path, the group's news release states.

The group's founder, Javier Sicilia, a renowned poet and author in
Mexico, became a national headline March 28, when his son Juan
Francisco and six other men were killed by cartel gunmen.

Since then, the poet became one of the leading opponents of Mexican
President Felipe Calderon's drug war blaming him for the rising death
toll.

According to the caravan core manifesto listed in the news release,
they ask for a different approach to drug policies that places
individuals, their welfare and their dignity at the center of the
policy calling for alternatives to prohibition. The group also takes a
hard line against weapons calling for the U.S. to take stronger
measures to stop weapons smuggling into Mexico. The group asks for
both the U.S. and Mexico to hold financial institutions accountable
for the prevention of money laundering through increased surveillance
investigations, fines and criminal charges.

The group's event is set to begin at 4 p.m. Thursday at the Arise
center, 1417 South Tower Road, Alamo, where testimonies of drug war
victims and musical performances which will be followed by a dinner.

While the Caravan for Peace has garnered international attention,
Reynosa resident Mario Ramirez is not a fan of the group's ideals. The
businessman voiced his opinions Sunday while having a coffee at a
local shopping center.

"The only thing protecting the citizens from members of organized
crime is the military," he said in Spanish. "If they end the war and
send the troops back like these hippies ask, who's going to protect
us. The police are a joke and the manosos (tricky criminals) are not
going to suddenly turn humanitarians if the soldiers leave. "
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