Cartel Threats of Extortion, Kidnapping Force 140 Mexican Schools to Close
- Posted on September 2, 2011 at 7:37pm by
Madeleine Morgenstern
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Facing threats of extortion and kidnapping, about 600 teachers in the Mexican resort city of Acapulco are refusing to come into work out of fear, forcing 140 elementary schools to close just one week into the school year.
According to reports, teachers have received drug cartel threats demanding they turn over half of their salaries or face attack. At least four teachers have reportedly been abducted in the last two weeks.
Mexican newspaper El Universal reported one teacher in charge of handing out pay received a typewritten letter from a drug gang demanding the teacher send a list with “the name, address, cellular phone numbers and copies of every teacher’s voter registration” within 15 days. The gang also demanded the teacher send a copy of the district’s payroll.
“Tell the teachers that beginning Oct. 1, they will pay a 50 percent rent on their salary and holiday bonuses,” the letter read. Those who don’t like the terms can leave, it said, otherwise they know we don’t mess around.
One local elementary school teacher told the Associated Press she had seen men drive by the school with rifles sticking out vehicle windows. Another said dozens of his peers have asked the government to assign more police officers but their calls have been ignored.
“Authorities are turning a deaf ear,” he said.
A state police chief did not return AP phone calls, but had previously said no teachers had reported abductions to police “in recent days.”
Teachers have also faced extortion threats in the northern city of Juarez, along the Mexico-Texas border. Gunmen attacked a group of parents waiting to pick up their children after school on August 25, leaving one dead and five injured.
The school closures also come just days after a massive cartel attack at a Mexican casino when two dozen gunmen doused the building in flammable liquid, locked the doors and lit in on fire, killing more than 50.
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Comments (52)
g.prunty
Posted on September 3, 2011 at 10:14amwell if they want to kill some teachers and dont have enough guns at least all they have to do is ask our atf for some
Report Post »Dadwithallthecoolstuff
Posted on September 3, 2011 at 10:11amMaybe if the teachers were armed they could just have shot the terrorists and taught the kids a valuable lesson…do not rely on the government and a good terrorist is a dead terrorist.
Report Post »bvilleteaman
Posted on September 3, 2011 at 9:08amA friend of ours, her husband was kidnapped 30 days a go in Matamoros MX . The ransom was paid a few days after the kidnaping, the husband has yet to return. Time to pull out of the middle east and redeploy to Mexico in a very big way.
Report Post »Mountain Dew
Posted on September 3, 2011 at 6:57amThough somewhat troubled from its inception, Mexico has been a a decent neighbor for a long time. I’m afraid that not even the most ardent naysayer can ignore the perfect storm that is brewing to our south. That nation as we knew it is gone.
Report Post »4truth2all
Posted on September 3, 2011 at 7:09pmYou got that right. What a mess…and our leaders can’t see this???
Report Post »Merrymix
Posted on September 3, 2011 at 3:51amPlace an AK-47 in every home and you would see the drug cartels falling apart. Those guys are only so powerful because the citizens have been made so weak by the ban on firearms. If there ever was proof right in front of your eyes on why the people need guns, look at Mexico.
Report Post »simply one voice
Posted on September 3, 2011 at 3:39amP.S.
Just yesterday, the Blaze put out an article by the reporter for this article today stating, “Illegal immigrants not authorized to work in the United States received $4.2 billion in tax credits from the IRS last year, almost quadruple the amount five years ago, a government audit found.”
That’s B for Billion!
And, the tax credits for hard working and now unemployed legal Americas? Where are those?
Impeach Obama NOW!
Report Post »4truth2all
Posted on September 3, 2011 at 7:11pmWhere do I sign!!!
Report Post »simply one voice
Posted on September 3, 2011 at 3:16amAcapulco today, California, Arizona or Texas tomorrow. Why not? I don’t hear any uproar in Washington, or across America for that fact, that illegals can’t embezzle and extort anything they want with White House approval over any and all American citizens, let alone teachers.
Who cares about the mafia, the triads or black panthers when anyone (cartel or not) can make a quick and leisurely stroll across the border, commit any crime, steal welfare and social security benefits with the backing of Obama, Congress and the Senate for votes?
When do real Americans get sick and tired of being sick and tired? At Rock Bottom? I’m waiting for an answer.
Report Post »SanDiegoCountyCitizen
Posted on September 3, 2011 at 2:20amGood thing law abiding Mexicans have no right to be armed for self defense… it could turn into a blood bath down there… for the cartel thugs!
Report Post »barber2
Posted on September 3, 2011 at 12:16amAgain: drones please. Can’t think of a better use of my tax money since these guys are already on / in our borders. Time to Wipe them out .
Report Post »theyarenotmeopinion
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 11:31pmjust come to america and get free education. our government is in business with the cartels. didn’t you get the memo?
Report Post »Goldenyears22
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 10:53pmIn many ways we are to blame.. There are so many drug addicted peoplel here in our beloved land and they make it a very rich market for these evil cartel people. I’ve seen pictures on the internet of dollars filling a house, so many dollars we could pay off our debt in short order if the money were spent on legitimate business here in the states. How do you get people to do what is right and stay off drugs. O.K. that said, something has to be done. Mexico is not doing a good job of handling it, but I can never remember in my life that Mexico wasn’t anything but full of graft, corruption and political controling the people. We are being used by our neighbors in very evil ways and our president turns a deaf ear to it. Please, I pray, that we will get a president that will be tough on our border, if he isn’t, we will be more and more over run by these evil people. And people of America don’t you understand that drugs are not the answer to anything but destruction. Don’t tell me marajana is not addictive, it most certainly is and there are pain killers that will take care of pain, but pot heads are addicted and use it as an excuse that it helps their pain.
Report Post »Rayblue
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 10:31pmMexico has SCHOOLS ?
Report Post »mils
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 11:05pm.i thought they actually got mixed up and meant Washington d.c.,
Report Post »Vigilante
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 11:06pm@RAYBLUE
Do you happend to know that High Schools are the largest market in here.
In here, means in here (The US) not in Mexico
Report Post »Vigilante
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 10:22pmIt is not Mexico’s fault, it is america’s fault.
Report Post »Do you know why Mexico has been fighting the cartel’s war?
What the cartels want is controlig the drug that comes to the US.
Over in Mexico, they know who the drug cartels are.
Do you happend to know who the cartels are here in the US… Of course not.
Why the problem is in Mexico and not in Argetina or Chile? because the easiest way to get in here is thru Mexico, and this is the most lucrative market in the world.
Do you happend to know that High Schools are a the largest market in here.
It is time that our goverment take action and of course, seal the borders and declare the war against the American cartels.
I think the American goverment is more corrupted than the Mexican.
In Mexico they are fighting… Here in the US… NOTHING!!!
4truth2all
Posted on September 3, 2011 at 7:13pmA true statement!
Report Post »TRILO
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 9:49pmMexico is out of control Just yesterday armed Mexican police fired shots at Americans and were on our side of the border. I believe this is the 3rd or 4th time this year that armed Mexican military/police illegally crossed our borders. When will this stop!
http://www.kvia.com/news/29053964/detail.html
Here is some info for all of you Rick Perry supporters where he talks about the Texas Dream Act, Bi-National Health Insurance and Open Borders with Mexico. These are his words so open your eyes.
http://governor.state.tx.us/news/speech/10688/
Report Post »NavyVetGreg
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 8:58pmWe “Declared War” on drugs i the 60′s. Billions and billions of $s, thousands and thousands of lives lost from violence, and we have more drugs that are cheaper(pot costs less than it did i the 80s ad 90s), stronger, more available. Drug and alcohol dependence has been around as long as man, but we are more willing to destroy lives, and put up with increasing violence in the name of war and we have not fixed a da#% thing.
Report Post »NavyVetGreg
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 9:02pmDoes the definition of insanity come to mind? The drug cartels have more money, guns, and officials in their pocket than ever before. Do any of you think that we will ever win this war? Just how much money are you wiling to spend and how many lives are you willing to sacrifice?
Report Post »robert
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 9:19pm“According to reports, teachers have received drug cartel threats demanding they turn over half of their salaries or face attack. At least four teachers have reportedly been abducted in the last two weeks.”
Mexico is not experiencing a crime problem so much as it is involved in low intensity insurrection on a national level. When gangs can ignore national law and security forces and act as a tax acquisition entity like the government, they are, in effect, a force that is in competition with the government. They’re in the process of taking over from the existing authority.
Cartel ambushes of the police and military are almost common, and in a few instances the cartels have laid seige to entire military posts and have only retreated when armor was brought in from outlying areas, along with helicopter gun ships.
Mexican newsmen are claiming that, in total, the cartels have about 100,000 well-armed boots on the ground which rivals Mexico’s military of 175,000 infantry and support troops. These same newsmen believe that if the five major drug gangs would declare peace and unite under one banner, Mexico could be taken over completely by the cartels.
The US military issued a statement a while back asserting that of all the nations of the world, Mexico and Pakistan are the two most likely to collapse and erupt into total chaos.
It seems both the US and Mexico are on the verge of civil upheaval.
We are living in interesting times.
Report Post »4truth2all
Posted on September 3, 2011 at 7:17pmRobert… it’s gonna get alot more….
Report Post »progressiveslayer
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 8:53pmWe could construct a mine field and border patrol shoot anyone illegally crossing over, similar to the east germans in the 60′s although they were trying to prevent people from escaping we would be defending our sovereignty.You might think I’m a kook but what is the sovereignty of the U.S worth?
Report Post »It could get that bad and most likely will,we have to save the republic no matter who’s in the white house.
El Pistoffo
Posted on September 3, 2011 at 12:28amI second your motion.
Report Post »Uechi
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 8:42pmThe Mexican Government is too corrupt and too weak to deal with this. US wake up because if we don’t do something soon all the sheit is coming to a city near you. This doesn’t even address all the Islamic terrorists supported by the Cartels and alive and well in Mexico. Very scary!
Report Post »MHM
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 8:32pmIt’s time to go “Lybia” on the Mexican cartels. Hunt them down, bomb thier compounds, nape their drug fields and put an end to this madness before their really head north!
Report Post »Restored One
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 8:48pmThis Administration and the ones before happily get into the Middle East messes because they are overseas. This stuff is in our back yard, we can’t go after the Mexican Cartels until we have enough troops here, and the fact is we don’t. So what do we demand of a new Administration? There is so much dung going on that I don’t know what we can do. And know for sure, no other Country is going to come here to help take care of the Cartels.
Report Post »progressiveslayer
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 8:26pmMexico is a failed narco state who’s government is just as corrupt as ours.When millions of mexicans can no longer take it they will rush the border en masse and won’t be stopped,about the only thing that will prevent that is the obama depression which is entirely likely,with the marxist in chief we have currently dismantling the capitalist system.
Report Post »geonj
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 8:22pmwhy doesn‘t our military violate mexico’s border and kill these cartels. then perhaps mexicans will stay in mexico.
Report Post »jharper
Posted on September 3, 2011 at 10:38amHa! Think Fast and Furious!!! Our government is actually arming them!
Report Post »The_Almighty_Creestof
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 7:56pmThis is a war…and it is high time the Mexican government acts like it. Time to expand their military and kill all drug cartel members on site. Go on the offensive. Corrupt officials, police, military go to jail for life.
Report Post »ShyLow
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 8:10pmRon Paul wants to take our troops out of other countries,and put them on our borders…How FN nuts is that?…That kooky Ron Paul
Report Post »RepubliCorp
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 8:51pmRon Paul: Voted NO on military border patrols to battle drugs & terrorism. (Sep 2001) so BS!
Report Post »ShyLow
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 11:03pmThings have changed since 2001…We might need them on our northern border in another ten years…
Report Post »Lumen
Posted on September 4, 2011 at 6:41pmAgreed, In 2001, I dont think any of this was a problem. that was a decade ago.
Ron Paul has since ( as have the rest of us ) changed our tunes as Mexico is beginning to be a serious problem. I was enlisted active duty back in 2001 and Mexico wasn’t really on the radar for us because the Mexican govt WAS able to handle it back then, and we let them.
Its just recently (past few years) became obvious that the Mexican govt hasn’t the ability to handle it. This opens up the idea of “help” to us. We would normally seriously consider helping if we weren’t tied up in Libya helping the Muslim brotherhood overthrow Muammar Gaddafi so they can setup for attacking Israel.
I think Obama is just keeping our priorities straight… After all, Once the Muslim Brotherhood attacks and kills Israel, They will proceed to finish off the last of the Zionists, the United States, and then, at that time, we wont care about Mexico at all. Problem solved.
Report Post »barber2
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 7:54pmOk, America, time to start using some well- placed drones on these drug animals. Their behavior has now crossed the line into Taliban/ extortion/ kidnapping / killing behavior. Would think the Mexican government would welcome the technology since they seem unable to stop these animals. Way too close to our Open Borders, Mr. President. Bring on the drones.
Report Post »El Pistoffo
Posted on September 3, 2011 at 12:34am“Way too close to our Open Borders, Mr. President. Bring on the drones.”
Don’t hold your breath. The POS POTUS will never do it.
Report Post »preppymom
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 7:47pmYou know what would make this whole situation better. Lots of guns from the United States which the ATF promises to track with..umm…duh…what were they tracking the guns with?
We definitely want an open border with this peaceful neighbor. What is wrong with you people?
Sarah Palin surprise: Crackingthemalecode.com
Report Post »DagneyT
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 8:01pmHey, Preppy, the whole point of this operation was to make libs like you scream, “more gun laws”, but guess what? It backfired on zero’s administration. Most of America want to be armed so as to protect themselves, a small fact these morons seem to miss at every turn, i.e., “most Americans think like we do”.
Not so much.
Report Post »qpwillie
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 8:23pmDagneyT,
Report Post »I think preppymom was being sarcastic about operation Fast and Furious and 0bama’s statements about our “peaceful neighbor”.
squeaker
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 8:38pmI’m thinking “preppymom” was talking tongue-in-cheek too…
Report Post »Uechi
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 8:44pmWatch the video Innocents Betrayed and tell me it can’t happen here!
Report Post »DagneyT
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 7:44pm48,000 deaths on our own border, which is less deaths than we’ve sustained in Iraq & Afghanistan, and no one is paying attention.
Jesus, we’re ready. Come back, PLEASE! Things down here are desperate!
Report Post »Exrepublisheep
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 7:41pmAnd you were afraid of moooslims.
Report Post »RepubliCorp
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 8:55pmNo kidding…… http://www.ojjpac.org/memorial.asp
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