Mexican Drug Violence and Our Ministry

I was recently asked to participate in a blog interview concerning To Every Tribe.  I was asked specifically about what’s going on in Mexico with the drug war and whether or not things have gotten more dangerous in areas where we work.  I prepared a short answer for the interview and a longer version for this blog.  Here’s the scoop.

The drug war is most certainly escalating and things have definitely gotten more dangerous in Mexico.  What’s going on?  Well, because Mexico stands between the U.S. and South America, it’s estimated that over 70% of the drug flow into the U.S. each year is controlled by Mexican drug traffickers.  These traffickers, organized into alliances called “cartels” have developed into powerful, dangerous criminal organizations that aggressively protect their territory and seek to expand their control of the lucrative narcotics industry.  The “drug war” that we hear so much about is essentially the battle between rival drug cartels for control of drug trafficking routes through Mexico into the United States, as well as the battle between the cartels and the Mexican government and military.

This “drug war” in Mexico has been going on for a long time, especially since the ‘90s when the major Columbian cartels lost power and control of the narcotics industry shifted to Mexico.  But in 2006 things began to escalade when Mexico’s current president, Felipe Calderon, took office and began an all-out war on the cartels.  The result has been a bloody battle stretching from Tijuana (northwestern Mexico) to Matamoros (northeastern Mexico) and claiming over 23,000 lives.  In addition, shifting alliances and power struggles within and between the cartels have exacerbated the problem by increasing the violence and instability in northern Mexico.

Up until the last few months, most of the drug-related violence has kept to the west of where To Every Tribe works in the extreme north-eastern corner of Mexico.  But a recent turf war between two cartels has brought the war closer to home.   The Gulf Cartel, based in Matamoros, Mexico, just a few miles from the To Every Tribe headquarters in south Texas, has controlled the drug trafficking routes along the Mexican gulf coast for over a decade.   But in recent months, the Zetas, a mercenary army made up of former elite military commandos has begun to encroach upon the Gulf Cartel’s territory. The Zetas are “the most technologically advanced, sophisticated and dangerous cartel operating in Mexico” and have “assumed the role of being the No. 1 organization responsible for the majority of the homicides, the narcotic-related homicides, the beheadings, the kidnappings, the extortions that take place in Mexico” (CNN.com).   As the war between the Gulf Cartel and the Zetas has escalated, the battle has drawn nearer to the Gulf Cartel’s home city of Matamoros—the city that we at To Every Tribe pass through every time we enter Mexico.  Shootouts between the Mexican military and the cartels as well as between members of the two cartels have made this area increasingly dangerous and unstable.  Road blockades, kidnappings, and execution-style murders have become increasingly common.  In the last month there have been several major shootouts along the highway that we travel to access the villages where we’re church planting.  Just two weeks ago an ambush was set up by the Zetas for the Gulf cartel at an intersection that we pass through on a regular basis.  The result was a major gun and grenade battle just a few miles from the little fishing village where we do much of our work.  When I passed through two days after the battle, I could see clear evidence of the fight—like a pickup riddled with bullet holes.  The next week (last week) 11 bodies with t-shirts with large Zs (for  ”Zetas”) were dumped alongside of the same highway—apparently from a cartel execution.

As a result of the increased violence the U.S. State Department recently issued a new travel warning urging American citizens to avoid unnecessary travel in northern Mexico.  The warning states:

It is imperative that U.S. citizens understand the risks involved in travel to Mexico, how best to avoid dangerous situations, and who to contact if one becomes a victim of crime or violence. Common-sense precautions such as visiting only legitimate business and tourist areas during daylight hours, and avoiding areas where criminal activity might occur, can help ensure that travel to Mexico is safe and enjoyable.

The warning specifically mentions Matamoros as one of the cities of danger here in Northern Mexico.  At this point we haven’t decreased our activity here in northern Mexico, primarily because the cartels haven’t yet primarily been targeting civilians in the areas where we work.  But things have certainly become much more dangerous and we’ve been forced to be more cautions as we travel and work south of the border.

Unfortunately the violence in Mexico is not limited to the drug wars, nor is it limited to northern Mexico.  Local and regional gangs and criminal organizations involved in all kinds of extortion-related crime have run rampant throughout all of Mexico for decades—even centuries.  And it seems that the increased activity of the drug cartels has served to embolden these other smaller gangs and organizations.  Kidnappings, assassinations, robbery, police corruption, and many other kinds of violent criminal activity is a normal part of life for almost the whole country.  When my family and I lived in Monterrey, Mexico, we had several close friends and many friends-of-friends who were victims of kidnappings and robberies.  This kind of violence will always be a threat for missionaries in Mexico.  And it’s not limited to northern Mexico.  A couple of months ago international news organizations reported an ambush and assault on a caravan of human rights observes on a major highway in the state of Oaxaca, just a few miles south of where To Every Tribe bases its southern Mexico church planting operations.  The caravan of journalists and activists was headed to a nearby village that had been held hostage and terrorized by a local crime organization.  That organization made sure the rescuers never reached the village.

In the State Department report I mentioned above, the following warning was issued: “U.S. citizens traveling to towns and villages with large indigenous communities located predominantly but not exclusively in southern Mexico, should be aware that land disputes between residents and between residents and local authorities have led to violence.”   Well, we’d certainly qualify as “U.S. citizens traveling to towns and villages with large indigenous communities.”  That’s what we do!

So how do we react to all of this?  Well, we certainly don’t stop our mission.  We take precautions (like avoiding travel at night and keeping away from known centers of violence), but at the end of the day we continue to make disciples of Mexico’s unreached people groups while leaving our safety in the hands of God.  Jesus promised, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” That’s our great comfort.  Please pray for us.

For more on what’s been happening in Mexico, check out the whole State Department report.