美国国家公共电台 NPR Massive Gun Battle Erupts In Mexico Over Son Of Drug Kingpin 'El Chapo'

 

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Mexican security forces are facing criticism for freeing the son of imprisoned¹ drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman. They let him go after cartel hitmen led an hours-long siege on the capital of Sinaloa state. Critics say the government is giving the green light to drug traffickers operating in Mexico. NPR's Carrie Kahn reports.

CARRIE KAHN, BYLINE²: Authorities say they were trying to capture one of "Chapo" Guzman's sons in the city of Culiacan yesterday. When some 30 officers arrived at a house in an upscale neighborhood to execute an arrest warrant, they came under fire. Eventually, the troops were able to enter the house and capture Guzman's son, 28-year-old Ovidio Guzman Lopez. But soon after, cartel reinforcements arrived, and the federal forces were quickly outnumbered. Head of Mexico's public security ministry³ Alfonso Durazo says the officers did not prepare enough for the operation.

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ALFONSO DURAZO: (Speaking Spanish).

KAHN: "To take what happened and to conclude that the Mexican state has failed or the system failed is wrong. What failed was the operation," he says. Military officials at a press conference in Sinaloa say the federal forces, many members of the newly formed National Guard, went in to capture the younger Guzman without approval from their superiors or sufficient backup. Not only did the cartel send in reinforcements to rescue Ovidio Guzman, the gunmen unleashed⁴ hours of terror and firepower on the capital city of nearly a million people.

Heavily armed gunmen sent a barrage⁵ of bullets down major thoroughfares, sending residents fleeing for cover. Vehicles were set on fire at strategic points in the city to prevent military reinforcements from arriving. And one video circulating on social media showed a man operating a .50 caliber⁶ machine gun mounted in the back of a truck. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador says, with such violence raging throughout the city and federal forces outgunned, the military troops did what they had to to reduce the risk of more bloodshed. They let Guzman go. The capture of one criminal cannot be worth more than the lives of people, he says.

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PRESIDENT ANDRES MANUEL LOPEZ OBRADOR: (Speaking Spanish).

KAHN: "We have no doubt that this was the best decision," says Lopez Obrador. The president, too, dismissed criticism of the military's handling of Guzman's capture. Lopez Obrador has long stated his opposition⁷ to combating drug trafficking with a strong military force. He says, instead, the root causes of violence must be tackled - wiping out corruption⁸ and alleviating⁹ poverty. He says he believes in hugs not bullets.

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LOPEZ OBRADOR: (Speaking Spanish).

KAHN: "The use of force, violence, massacres¹⁰ hasn't brought results," he says, "and we're not going to change our policy." And he calls his critics conservatives and enemies. Mexico's murder rate has hit historic levels. The homicide rate is on track to top last year's with more than 30,000 killed. Carlos Bravo Regidor, a Mexico City-based political analyst¹¹, says the president is in denial and needs to deal with this unprecedented¹² violence.

CARLOS BRAVO REGIDOR: The president seems to believe that a long-term solution is enough to deal with an urgent, immediate¹³ problem. He has no policy to deal with the emergency that we're dealing¹⁴ with today.

KAHN: It's unclear where Ovidio Guzman Lopez is now. A family lawyer has told local media he's safe and with his family. The U.S. wants him, however, to stand trial. Early this year, an indictment¹⁵ was unsealed in Washington charging Guzman with cocaine¹⁶ and methamphetamine trafficking.

Carrie Kahn, NPR News, Mexico City.

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1 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

4 unleashed   

v.把（感情、力量等）释放出来，发泄( unleash的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The government's proposals unleashed a storm of protest in the press. 政府的提案引发了新闻界的抗议浪潮。
• The full force of his rage was unleashed against me. 他把所有的怒气都发泄在我身上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 barrage   

n.火力网，弹幕

参考例句：

• The attack jumped off under cover of a barrage.进攻在炮火的掩护下开始了。
• The fierce artillery barrage destroyed the most part of the city in a few minutes.猛烈的炮火几分钟内便毁灭了这座城市的大部分地区。

6 caliber   

n.能力；水准

参考例句：

• They ought to win with players of such high caliber.他们选手的能力这样高,应该获胜。
• We are always trying to improve the caliber of our schools.我们一直在想方设法提高我们学校的水平。

7 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

8 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

9 alleviating   

减轻，缓解，缓和( alleviate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• If it's alleviating pain,who knows what else it's doing? 如果它减轻了疼痛，天知道还影响什么？
• Measuring poverty is not the same as alleviating it, of course. 当然，衡量贫困和减轻贫困是截然不同的。

10 massacres   

大屠杀( massacre的名词复数 )； 惨败

参考例句：

• The time is past for guns and killings and massacres. 动不动就用枪、动不动就杀、大规模屠杀的时代已经过去了。 来自教父部分
• Numberless recent massacres were still vivid in their recollection. 近来那些不可胜数的屠杀，在他们的头脑中记忆犹新。

11 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

12 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

13 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

14 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

15 indictment   

n.起诉；诉状

参考例句：

• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
• They issued an indictment against them.他们起诉了他们。

16 cocaine   

n.可卡因，古柯碱（用作局部麻醉剂）

参考例句：

• That young man is a cocaine addict.那个年轻人吸食可卡因成瘾。
• Don't have cocaine abusively.不可滥服古柯碱。