Drug War Strikes Acuna

Medical Updates Juanita - 5 Years Old

Drug War Strikes Acuña Bob Decker May 17, 2010

We continue to help Juanita, our five year old cancer fighter. Doctors intensified the chemotherapy and hope

Early last week, two warehouses were burned and early Friday morning a state police commandant was assassinated near these warehouses. His bullet ridden chest was covered with a green placard with the words, "This goes to all those who continue to cooperate with the traitor '10' (street name for a cartel member). This also goes out to all law enforcement."

It is said by many in Acuña that the commandant acted on behalf of 'el 10' and was in league with a cartel.

In other parts of Mexico, reporters were murdered for reporting the news and many threatened with their lives and the lives of their children. The Mexican news media remains largely silent in Acuña. Although the Del Rio Herald ran a story about 'rumors' heard by the police chief, the Del Rio Herald also remains silent.

that with three more treatments, Juanita's tumor will be operable.

Giving Hope Worldwide provides generous support to help Juanita and many children with serious medical situations.

Ambar received her prosthetic leg and returned home on Monday. This photo was taken the following day when I visited her in her home.

Although she is leaning against a chair, she ran through the house, limbed on my lap and was full of laughter and giggles.

Some blogs reported the arson and murder in Acuña and several posted information about the situation in Acuña that is completely false. Someone photo-shopped a photo of the arson and added bodies from a photo of another arson in another city. These posts harm the citizens of Acuña as they fan false and alarming rumors.

Last year, Ambar was run over by a bus and her little leg was crushed. Today, she is doing fine.

I visited Acuña, walked the streets and saw no visible signs of the violence or cartels. The cartels are here, but things appear normal. The calm appearance provided no hint that the cartels were struggling for control of this city.

The weather appeared to have more of an impact on the population. On Monday, there were terrible storms and many of the streets remained flooded on Tuesday .

Tuesday was a cloudless day and the sun shone brightly as I entered Acuña. I expected all of the tourist shops to be closed and was surprised to see that many were still open. However, there is not a single tourist in Acuña. (continued on page 2)

As she runs, she touches furniture and the wall to keep her balance, but she soon begins physical therapy and we are certain that she will do well.

She returns to Monterrey in June for more surgery on her leg, but everything is going well.

Her father explained, "The doctor said they may need to trim some more bone from her let for a better fit. They will examine her on June 8th and said it is likely that she will need more surgery."

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Drug War in Acu単a (continued)

During the day I saw children riding bikes, people buying groceries and going to work. Life seemed normal. Nothing suggested that the city was in the grip of a war being waged by rival cartels to control the drug trade.

Every school was open. People were going in and out of the churches. The usual sights of people in the plaza, vendors and ladies selling used clothes gave an impression of normalcy.

The local newspaper ran a headline, "No Bomb Found at Del Rio School". The day before, there was a reported bomb threat in a Del Rio private school and people on both sides of the border assumed this was connected to the cartels and that a bomb would be found. No bomb. There is a lot of speculation that the threat was cartel related. There is simply no way to know.

I filled my SUV with groceries at the Soriana and walked the colonias. It was good to visit the poor in their homes. I spoke to as many people as possible and to as many types of people as possible. Teachers, shop owners, waiters, housewives, the poor, the wealthy, doctors and nurses. It seems that everyone heard a different rumor, but nobody had any eyewitness accounts. In fact, nobody really claimed to have information from any eyewitness.

One exception, was a man who said he was in a night club when a half-dozen armed men entered. "There were about five or six patrons in the bar. It was still early, around 9 o'clock, when these guys came in. They had guns and told us to leave. They said they needed the club tonight. We left." I went to the club. It is padlocked.

Rumors of murder, kidnapping, car-jackings and clashes between cartels are everywhere. Although the people worry, they are not obsessive. They continue with life.

One old man, who was replacing cardboard at his house, summed it up. "What can you do? It is now part of life. I need to fix this wall and I hope the rest of our things dry out. We have to keep on living."

I watched as his wife hung wet clothes on a fence.

Down the street, several little children were coming home from school. They became excited when they saw me and came rushing to my arms. Life goes on.

AMBAR (continued)

They exchanged a worried look and Ambar's dad said, "This last time, the hospital would not let us sleep there.

We have a small car and we tried to sleep in the car. It was a hot night and the car was cramped. I put a blanket on the ground, next to the car and went to sleep. I awoke to the sound of a huge 18-wheeler that parked next to my car. The wheel was almost on my head!"

We will pay the expenses for transportation, lodging, food, surgery and medical care in June.

Current Commitments We have 90-day commitments to help 10children with medical needs.

We continue to invest a minimum of $1,000 per month to each of three shelters for children, a migrant shelter, a drug rehab program, and a program that helps children with special needs and we will continue to feed several thousand children at various schools.

Want to help? Spread the word to your friends. Every penny they send will be spend directly on the people in need. Send donations to:

Paper Houses Across the Border MSC 980 PO Box 2954 San Antonio, TX 78299-2685

Visit us on the web at http://paperhouses.org