VOA标准英语2008年-Mexico Cracks Down on Drug Cartels

By Greg Flakus
Houston
22 January 2008

Mexico's federal police raided two mansions¹ in the capital and arrested 11 alleged² gunmen for the powerful Sinaloa drug cartel. At the same time, Mexican soldiers carried out operations to disarm³ local police in the state of Tamaulipas, which borders the U.S. state of Texas. As VOA's Greg Flakus reports from Houston, these actions, along with the arrest of a major drug trafficking figure on Monday, are part of a major crackdown on organized crime.

Heavily armed Mexican federal police conducted the raids in Mexico City before sunrise, capturing eight men at one house and three at another.

Federal police commissioner⁴ Edgar Millan Gomez provided details on the results of the raids.

He said that the men arrested in the raids were all part of major drug trafficking organizations and that in the raids police had also seized large quantities of automatic weapons, grenades and other weapons that are illegal for private citizens to own in Mexico.

The raids followed the arrest on Monday of Alfredo Beltran Leyva, allegedly the key figure in the so-called Sinaloa cartel, which is considered the biggest and most powerful organized criminal group in Mexico. He was captured by the Mexican army in the state of Sinaloa, which is on Mexico's Pacific coast.

The arrest drew immediate⁵ praise from US Ambassador to Mexico Tony Garza, who said that when Mexico takes such criminals off the streets it also benefits the United States.

US law enforcement officials say the Mexican drug trafficking organizations are responsible for most of the cocaine⁶, marijuana and other illicit⁷ drugs that come into the United States. President Bush has asked the US Congress to provide Mexico with close to one and a half billion dollars in assistance to help fight the drug cartels.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon began a major offensive against the criminal organizations shortly after taking office in December 2006. The going has been tough for both the law enforcement groups and the general public as rival gangs fight the police and each other. Drug violence claimed more than 2,500 lives in Mexico last year. Most of the violence has been in the border region, where both drug and human smuggling⁸ gangs operate, often with the protection of local police.

In an effort to crack down on violence and police corruption⁹, Mexican military units went into the border cities of Nuevo Laredo, Reynosa and Matamoros Tuesday, disarming¹⁰ local police and carrying out investigations¹¹.

The Mexican army carried out operations last week on the western end of the border, in the city of Tijuana, where soldiers and federal police engaged in a three-hour gun battle last Thursday that ended with the death of one gunman and the wounding of four police officers. Police detained five alleged drug cartel gunmen in the raid.

1 mansions   

n.宅第，公馆，大厦( mansion的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Fifth Avenue was boarded up where the rich had deserted their mansions. 第五大道上的富翁们已经出去避暑，空出的宅第都已锁好了门窗，钉上了木板。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Oh, the mansions, the lights, the perfume, the loaded boudoirs and tables! 啊，那些高楼大厦、华灯、香水、藏金收银的闺房还有摆满山珍海味的餐桌！ 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

2 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

3 disarm   

v.解除武装，回复平常的编制，缓和

参考例句：

• The world has waited 12 years for Iraq to disarm. 全世界等待伊拉克解除武装已有12年之久。
• He has rejected every peaceful opportunity offered to him to disarm.他已经拒绝了所有能和平缴械的机会。

4 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

5 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。

6 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。

7 illicit   

adj.非法的，禁止的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He had an illicit association with Jane.他和简曾有过不正当关系。
• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year.今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。

8 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

9 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。

10 disarming   

adj.消除敌意的，使人消气的v.裁军( disarm的现在分词 )；使息怒

参考例句：

• He flashed her a disarming smile. 他朝她笑了一下，让她消消气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We will agree to disarming troops and leaving their weapons at military positions. 我们将同意解除军队的武装并把武器留在军事阵地。 来自辞典例句

11 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。