VIGILANTISM: IT'S NO ANSWER FOR JUAREZ VIOLENCE

Unchecked, constant violence in Juarez has driven residents to a new
and frightening level of response -- the threat of vigilantism.

A group calling itself Comando Ciudadano por Juarez is threatening to
kill one criminal every day until order is restored. A news release
from the group said, "Better the death of a bad person, than that bad
person continue contaminating our region."

The fear and frustration that have driven people to this desperate
measure cannot be discounted.

Drug cartel members kill each other in the most gruesome of ways,
including torture, beheading and mutilation. Innocent bystanders,
including children, are in constant danger.

In that sense, people can't be blamed for wanting to take matters
into their own hands.

Trouble is, vigilantism can be as dangerous, even more so, than the
problem it is intended to fix.

For one thing, vigilantism is against the law. We've heard it all our
lives -- don't take the law into your own hands.

There's the frightening specter of gun battles between gangs of
cartel members and vigilantes. That's the kind of violence that could
easily spill into city streets and neighborhoods and put innocent
people in danger. It's what's happening right now with the drug violence.

There's every chance that vigilantism would simply magnify the
problems. That wouldn't be an improvement over current conditions.

Who decides who is "evil" and who should be killed, the business
owners reportedly paying for this vigilante effort?

A vigilante campaign could invite retaliation and escalation by
cartel members out to protect themselves and their assets, an effort
that actually could increase the violence.

As always, responsibility lies squarely on the government -- federal,
state and local -- to put a stop to the violence and clean house.
Trouble is, governmental agencies must clean their own houses before
tackling the drug-cartel problem.

But meanwhile, for a number of reasons, vigilantism is not the answer.