美国国家公共电台 NPR--Violence erupts in Tijuana, Mexico, following the arrest of a drug cartel leader

Violence erupts in Tijuana, Mexico, following the arrest of a drug cartel leader

Transcript¹

A wave of car burnings in the Mexican border city of Tijuana prompted residents to stay home. NPR's A Martinez talked to Mayor Montserrat Caballero Ramírez about the power of organized crime.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Mexico's president plans to address the violence in parts of his country today. This is violence that seemed to be a protest against federal law enforcement. Federal police arrested the head of a drug cartel. And that is when people started setting cars on fire. They also torched businesses. This happened in the state of Jalisco and also in the state of Guanajuato and in Tijuana, the city by the U.S.-Mexico border. They set cars on fire and blocked roads. And somebody claiming to represent the cartel issued an eerie² demand for a curfew. Our colleague A Martinez is in Tijuana. A, good morning.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Good morning, Steve.

INSKEEP: How did this story unfold where you are?

MART?NEZ: Well, we'd already been planning to visit Tijuana this week for the past few months to report on migrants at the busiest border crossing in the U.S. That's San Ysidro in San Diego. And while doing some prep on Friday night, the Friday before, I started to see social media posts of cars being burned in Baja, where the majority were happening in Tijuana. Now, these incidents, as you mentioned, followed a federal arrest of a high-ranking member of the Jalisco drug cartel. There were also posts claiming to be from the cartel, called Jalisco Nueva Generacion, calling for a 10 p.m. curfew Friday, Saturday and Sunday night. The mayor of Tijuana pushed back, declaring there was no curfew, that the city was open and that criminals will not dictate³ what happens in our city.

INSKEEP: Well, she said that. But the cartel said, stay home. So what did people do?

MART?NEZ: They stayed in pretty much all weekend. You see, Tijuana on a warm summer night on the weekends is usually bustling⁴ with people going to bars and restaurants on Revolucion or near Friendship Park. It was really eerie, Steve, to see videos of these areas essentially⁵ closed, hardly anyone on the streets except for police and the National Guard.

INSKEEP: Well, what does that say about who really has power in Mexico?

MART?NEZ: And we asked that exact question to Cecilia Farfan-Mendez. She's head of security research at the Center for U.S.-Mexico Studies at UC San Diego.

CECILIA FARFAN-MENDEZ: The population had to follow rules from criminal groups whether or not these were verified. And I think this aligns⁶ really well with data that we have on the perception that criminal groups have the firepower capacity to effectively confront the state. And so the quick, you know, sheltering in place instead of, like, obeying orders in the midst of that uncertainty⁷ also tells you a lot about how the population perceives the effectiveness of the state, either federal or locally, in terms of their response to what is happening.

MART?NEZ: While Farfan-Mendez goes on to add that this narco narrative⁸ needs to be abandoned, she believes it's important to figure out the structural⁹ causes of violence in Tijuana, which she believes is the responsibility of the mayor, Montserrat Caballero Ramirez. I interviewed her in her office at city hall. And while we spoke¹⁰ about what's been unfolding the past week, Caballero Ramirez touted¹¹ how secure the city of Tijuana is for its residents and tourists.

MONTSERRAT CABALLERO RAMIREZ: (Through interpreter) Burning 10 cars in a city of 2 million people statistically¹² does not make it an act of terrorism. The situation is serious, but it is not dire¹³. Take precautions if you want to come to Tijuana. But know that there were no homicides. And it's not how some media make it out to be. The city remained safe because we contained the situation. The governor of the state has said that those who committed these atrocities¹⁴ have already been captured. We do not have the peace that we would like in the whole country. I would be lying to you if I said that. But we are hoping for stability.

MART?NEZ: We were monitoring social media. We were monitoring what you were saying also. And you were saying, there is no curfew, that it's absolutely fine, right?

CABALLERO RAMIREZ: (Through interpreter) Exactly.

MART?NEZ: But the people that we've spoken to so far, they tended to believe the cartel. They didn't want to take any chances. And they believed the cartel. They took their warnings maybe a little bit more seriously than they took what you said. How do you square that? How do you think of, like, wait, these - my own citizens believe the cartel, and they don't believe me?

CABALLERO RAMIREZ: (Through interpreter) It's an unfortunate question of culture, narcos culture. The media treats cartels in a singular way. And I cannot allow a cartel to rule my citizens. I cannot allow citizens to pay the consequences of these criminal acts.

MART?NEZ: How do you change that? How do you get the people to believe you, the mayor, the leader of this town, over a cartel?

CABALLERO RAMIREZ: (Through interpreter) Well, we need them to trust our police. We have a visit from the president of Mexico. And we're going to ask for a little more support from the federation¹⁵ so that citizens who do not trust can trust again.

MART?NEZ: We've spoken to people that study crime in Mexico. And what they're telling us is that the cartels operate and say the things they say and do the things they do because they feel confident that government is either going to look away or is maybe encouraging their behavior.

CABALLERO RAMIREZ: (Through interpreter) It has happened a lot. Some of their leaders have had these pacts¹⁷. It's very clear and everyone knows it. But in this government, there is no pact¹⁶ with criminals. And I'm going to protect the good citizens who go out to work, the law-abiding citizens.

MART?NEZ: And in the short term, Tijuana is being blanketed with protection. A couple of nights ago, some of my colleagues were on their way back to the hotel. They passed a checkpoint where cars were being inspected close to where one of the vehicles had been set on fire last Friday.

INSKEEP: A, I appreciated listening to the mayor there, who was arguing, listen; let's focus on the 2 million people whose cars were not set on fire. I guess that's one perspective. But how does it feel to other people in that city?

MART?NEZ: Well, Tijuana hasn't seen this level of open chaos¹⁸ in its streets in over a decade. I've heard from folks this past week, Steve, that brought back awful memories from the mid-2000s, when the Mexican government was trying to crack down on the cartels. Fourteen years later, the increased military presence in Tijuana really doesn't do much to reassure¹⁹ Moses Zazueta Ramirez (ph). He's 23. He's a waiter at a bakery near Friendship Park. That's the beach where the border wall extends into the Pacific Ocean. Moses lives in what he calls a dangerous place next to an area known as a point where drugs are sold. Since last weekend, though, the military has set up camp in a community center right next to the point. When things in Tijuana started to get tense that Friday, he decided²⁰ to stay in. He just said, he didn't want to risk it. And Moses was working at the bakery a couple of days ago. And we spoke about the truckload of Mexican National Guard that was patrolling the area. And I asked him if seeing them made him feel more secure.

MOSES ZAZUETA RAMIREZ: Nah, I don't think I'm really secure. And I don't feel safe at all. But I'm from the hood²¹, so (laughter) - I got to go.

MART?NEZ: Thank you. Thanks.

And today, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador visits and tries to soothe²² concerns. A local politician from a rival party is going to be organizing a protest to highlight what he feels was an ineffective federal and local response.

INSKEEP: Well, A, I'm glad, at least, that you were there to illuminate²³ this story that I think would have missed a lot of Americans' attention. It's good to know what's happening in Tijuana. Can you just tell us a little bit about the purpose that brought you there in the first place? What is some of the reporting you expect to be bringing us in the coming days?

MART?NEZ: Yeah. We're going to be reporting on migration²⁴ policies of the U.S., how that affects the area here in Tijuana. We're going to be visiting shelters and schools. There's going to be a lot coming up about how the residents of Tijuana, how the mayor tried to deal with that and, in some cases, try their best to integrate people that will not be able to make it into the United States.

INSKEEP: Our colleague A Martinez is on the US-Mexico border in Tijuana, Mexico. A, thanks so much.

MART?NEZ: Thanks, Steve.

(SOUNDBITE OF THE BURNING PARIS SONG, "THE SUN ALSO RISES")

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 eerie   

adj.怪诞的；奇异的；可怕的；胆怯的

参考例句：

• It's eerie to walk through a dark wood at night.夜晚在漆黑的森林中行走很是恐怖。
• I walked down the eerie dark path.我走在那条漆黑恐怖的小路上。

3 dictate   

v.口授；(使)听写；指令，指示，命令

参考例句：

• It took him a long time to dictate this letter.口述这封信花了他很长时间。
• What right have you to dictate to others?你有什么资格向别人发号施令？

4 bustling   

adj.喧闹的

参考例句：

• The market was bustling with life. 市场上生机勃勃。
• This district is getting more and more prosperous and bustling. 这一带越来越繁华了。

5 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

6 aligns   

使成一线( align的第三人称单数 )； 排整齐； 校准； 公开支持（某人、集体或观点）

参考例句：

• HASP SRM fully aligns with the software product lifecycle. HASPSRM完全遵循软件产品的生命周期。
• Significant employee aligns the interests of our employees and our shareholders. 员工大量持股可以使员工与股东的利益协调一致。

7 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

8 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

9 structural   

adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的

参考例句：

• The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

10 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

11 touted   

v.兜售( tout的过去式和过去分词 )；招揽；侦查；探听赛马情报

参考例句：

• She's being touted as the next leader of the party. 她被吹捧为该党的下一任领导人。
• People said that he touted for his mother and sister. 据说，他给母亲和姐姐拉生意。 来自辞典例句

12 statistically   

ad.根据统计数据来看，从统计学的观点来看

参考例句：

• The sample of building permits is larger and therefore, statistically satisfying. 建筑许可数的样本比较大，所以统计数据更令人满意。
• The results of each test would have to be statistically independent. 每次试验的结果在统计上必须是独立的。

13 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

14 atrocities   

n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪

参考例句：

• They were guilty of the most barbarous and inhuman atrocities. 他们犯有最野蛮、最灭绝人性的残暴罪行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The enemy's atrocities made one boil with anger. 敌人的暴行令人发指。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

15 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

16 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

17 pacts   

条约( pact的名词复数 )； 协定； 公约

参考例句：

• Vassals can no longer accept one-sided defensive pacts (!). 附庸国不会接受单方面的共同防御协定。
• Well, they are EU members now and have formed solidarity pacts with members such as Poland. 他们现在已经是欧盟的一部分了并且他们和欧盟成员诸如波兰等以签署了合作协议。

18 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

19 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

20 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

21 hood   

n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖

参考例句：

• She is wearing a red cloak with a hood.她穿着一件红色带兜帽的披风。
• The car hood was dented in.汽车的发动机罩已凹了进去。

22 soothe   

v.安慰；使平静；使减轻；缓和；奉承

参考例句：

• I've managed to soothe him down a bit.我想方设法使他平静了一点。
• This medicine should soothe your sore throat.这种药会减轻你的喉痛。

23 illuminate   

vt.照亮，照明；用灯光装饰；说明，阐释

参考例句：

• Dreams kindle a flame to illuminate our dark roads.梦想点燃火炬照亮我们黑暗的道路。
• They use games and drawings to illuminate their subject.他们用游戏和图画来阐明他们的主题。

24 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。