War on Crime

Mexican law enforcement is learning that as one gang falls, another will inevitably take its place.

Monterrey, considered the industrial capital of Mexico, has long been controlled by the Gulf Cartel, one of many cartels that exist in Mexico. The marines have been working hard to suppress their power, and other gangs have taken notice. Los Zetas, a rival cartel, has begun moving in on the Gulf Cartel's turf - and the results have been increasingly violent.

"They're well-armed," said Commander Praxedis, who runs one of many nighttime patrols in Monterrey. He said that the illegal firearms cartel members carry are more powerful than their own, and their armored vehicles are capable of tearing apart one of theirs.

Law enforcement officials have not gone without victories here and there. Praxedis said that once he and his men arrested four Gulf Cartel members guilty of kidnapping civilians. Those who witnessed the arrest applauded. "We were just doing our job," said Praxedis.

Praxedis says the conflict began with the killing of a woman identified as "La Pelirroja," a lover of a Gulf Cartel leader. Members of Los Zetas hung her from a bridge. Since then, the violence in Monterrey has escalated.

"We go there to make peace," said Praxedis, speaking of the nightly conflicts between the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas. "Then they both attack us."

Source: http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/778471.html