SLAYINGS ESCALATE: CLINTON HEADS TO MEXICO CITY TO DISCUSS AID PACKAGE

EL PASO -- Killings in Juarez are occurring at a faster rate this
year than last, when the city had a staggering 2,643 murders.

At least 555 people have been murdered in 2010. In comparison, 449
homicides occurred in the first three months of 2009.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton today leads a
delegation to Mexico City for discussions about revising the Merida
Initiative, a $1.3 billion aid package the U.S. government sent to
Mexico in 2008 to combat organized crime. The U.S. contingent also
will include Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Homeland Security
Secretary Janet Napolitano.

Frustrated and angry Juarez residents said they want results -- and peace.

"We are disappointed in our justice system and tired of seeing the
blood shed and shed," said Brenda Lara, a lawyer with Casa Amiga, a
nonprofit crisis center.

So far, more than 5,100 have died in the city of 1.3 million since
Mexican President Felipe Calderon began to crack down on drug
cartels. The violence in Juarez exploded in 2008, when more than
1,500 people were murdered.

The cartel-related violence regained international attention after
three people with ties to the U.S. Consulate in Juarez were shot to
death March 13.

As the violence worsened, Mexican executives' visits to Juarez have
been disrupted by angry protesters. During last week's visit by
Calderon, the attorney general and public safety secretary said there
had been fewer homicides, more victims rescued from kidnappers and
more federal police officers patrolling the streets.

But Lara said she was not persuaded that the city was safer.

"I do not see anything, not a single improvement," Lara said. "The
lack of safety that we all feel is huge. People cannot have the same
freedom they used to."

A survey of 1,800 people conducted in November by the Autonomous
University of Ciudad Juarez showed that 97 percent of the population
felt unsafe.

Maria del Socorro Velazquez, a researcher at the university, said
people did not feel safe in almost every environment except at home.

In the same survey, 52 percent said they disapproved of and
distrusted all Mexican authorities. "They lost their trust because it
is known that they don't apprehend the criminals," Velazquez said.
"They are experts in sealing off (scenes of crime), but not in detaining."

The U.S. State Department released its 2010 International Narcotics
Control Strategy Report earlier in March. The document said
"corruption remains a significant impediment to counter-narcotics
efforts in Mexico."

The report also said the Calderon administration had only been able
to tackle the problem at the federal level and neglected the
municipal and state law enforcement for lack of money.

Local and state officers account for 90 percent of Mexico's police
force. But Juarez is also patrolled by 7,000 soldiers and 2,000
federal police officers.

"Besides the fact that the president's strategy is not the most
adequate, the problem is the government has not advanced when it
comes to corruption," said Hugo Almada, a member of the recently
formed public safety committee in Juarez.

Agencies need more detectives and more intelligence, Almada said.

Among the urgent matters Juarez residents have asked Calderon to
solve are extortions and kidnappings.

Almada said one of the recent crimes that has the city in a state of
shock was the kidnapping of former Chihuahua gubernatorial candidate
Pablo Cuaron's son. Cuaron lost a bid to represent the National
Action Party, the conservative party of Calderon.

Chihuahua state attorney officials said they had no information about
the kidnapping, or even a report of it.

People fed up with the killings, kidnappings and extortions have
moved away. An exodus is evident in the number of houses abandoned,
businesses closed and jobs lost.

Juarez's planning department said 110,000 houses have been abandoned,
which means about 420,000 people moved out of the city. More than
75,000 people have lost their jobs since December 2007, said the
Mexican social security institute. And the Mexican chamber of
commerce said close to 11,000 businesses were forced to close,
fearing extortions and assaults.

"For the first time, we may see negative numbers in population
change," Velazquez said.

The turmoil in El Paso's sister city has prompted changes of
sentiments among U.S. politicians.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, for instance, said the U.S.
government had not done enough to solve the crisis. Gov. Rick Perry
last week unveiled a spillover strategy to patrol the border in
helicopters. Perry stand drew criticism from U.S. Rep. Silvestre
Reyes, D-Texas, who said the governor was serving as an alarmist.

But El Paso Mayor John Cook told El Pasoans to avoid visiting the
deadliest city in Mexico.

At least 45 U.S. citizens have been killed in Juarez since 2007.
Almost one-fourth of the executions, homicides and drug-related
deaths of Americans in Mexico occurred in Juarez.

Lara said some accounts from people who visit the crisis center
remind her that hope dies last. Two parents recently visited Lara and
told her their daughter was missing after gunmen murdered their son-in-law.

"They are devastated, but they continue to search for their daughter
and look into the son in-law's-case," Lara said.