VOA标准英语2008年-Mexican Citizens Alarmed as Drug Violence Escal

By Greg Flakus
Houston, Texas
12 May 2008

Thousands of Mexicans dressed in white marched silently Sunday through the streets of Juarez, Mexico, just across the border from El Paso, Texas to protest drug-related violence. that killed more than 100 people, including about 20 police officers, during the past week in Mexico. VOA's Greg Flakus has been following the situation from our Houston bureau.

Ordinary citizens in Mexico are reacting with alarm as the war between rival drug smuggling¹ groups erupts in city centers and residential² neighborhoods. Law enforcement experts say drug gangs are reacting violently to efforts by police and the army to break up their operations.

Death threats sent to many police departments have provoked at least some police officials to resign. Those who do not resign often pay a heavy price for their devotion to duty.

Saturday, gunmen killed Municipal Police Chief Juan Antonio Roman in front of his house in Ciudad Juarez. He fired back at his assailants, but was outnumbered and outgunned. Investigators³ say his assassins fired more than 60 shots. His was the third murder of a senior police official in Juarez last week.

At least nine federal agents have been killed during the past two weeks as well. In Mexico City, on Thursday, gunmen killed Edgar Millan, commander of the Federal Preventive Police, one of the key agencies involved in the national offensive against organized crime. President Felipe Calderon started the war on crime shortly after he took office in December, 2006.

While some political observers and many citizens worry that the drug cartels may be winning the fight, Calderon is calling for his countrymen to stand firm against the criminals. He says society must unite with the government to repudiate⁴ the violence of criminal gangs, which he says are trying to terrorize the nation. Calderon says Mexico cannot surrender any part of its territory to these violent criminals.

The Mexican leader has put about 30,000 armed troops into the field, mostly in border areas.

There is little indication that this has slowed the flow of cocaine⁵, marijuana, heroin⁶ and other drugs across the U.S. border, but the capture of some important gang members has left gaps that other criminals have been only too eager to fill. By some counts, the resulting battle over the lucrative⁷ trade routes has led to as many as 3,000 deaths.

While President Bush has praised Calderon's offensive against the drug-trafficking gangs, some Mexican political analysts⁸ and human rights groups question the effectiveness of the strategy. One area of concern is the use of soldiers to carry out police work, which human rights groups say can lead to abuses.

But some crime experts say the military is needed because there is so much corruption⁹ within Mexico's law enforcement agencies and local police forces. Investigators suspect the murderers of Edgar Millan, for example, were aided by someone within his own agency. Most rank-and-file police officers in Mexico are underpaid, under-trained and under-supported in equipment and arms.

President Bush has asked Congress to help Mexico with its fight against the criminal gangs by approving a $500 million aid package that includes helicopters and other equipment, and also training for Mexican forces on how to fight smuggling and corruption in police forces.

1 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。

2 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

3 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 repudiate   

v.拒绝，拒付，拒绝履行

参考例句：

• He will indignantly repudiate the suggestion.他会气愤地拒绝接受这一意见。
• He repudiate all debts incurred by his son.他拒绝偿还他儿子的一切债务。

5 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。

6 heroin   

n.海洛因

参考例句：

• Customs have made their biggest ever seizure of heroin.海关查获了有史以来最大的一批海洛因。
• Heroin has been smuggled out by sea.海洛因已从海上偷运出境。

7 lucrative   

adj.赚钱的，可获利的

参考例句：

• He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
• It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。

8 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

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。