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[Chron] Mexican soldiers kill pregnant woman at checkpoint

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout: Debate & Discussion' started by devin23, Dec 13, 2008.

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  1. devin23

    devin23 Member

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    http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/hotstories/6162351.html


    CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico — Soldiers shot to death a pregnant 35-year-old woman after she reportedly failed to stop at a highway checkpoint in the northern state of Chihuahua, authorities said Friday.

    Silvia Arzate died after soldiers opened fire on the sport utility vehicle she was driving near the capital of Chihuahua, which is experiencing a surge of violence as drug gangs battle each other and authorities, said the state prosecutors' spokesman, Eduardo Esparza.

    The circumstances surrounding Thursday's shooting remain unclear.

    Esparza said Arzate, who died of several gunshot wounds, had been carrying a cousin in her vehicle who had been wounded in an earlier gunbattle. Her mother was also aboard, but was not injured.

    It was unclear if the cousin had been a participant in the earlier gunfight. Initial reports suggested Arzate may have been speeding in a bid to escape from another vehicle that was following her.

    The Defense Department had no immediate comment on the shooting.

    Army checkpoints in Mexico are sometimes poorly marked.

    Many have criticized President Felipe Calderon for deploying more than 20,000 soldiers across Mexico to combat the country's violent drug cartels.

    The National Human Rights Commission has documented cases of torture, rape and killings of civilians by solders, and called on the government to stop assigning soldiers to police duties.

    The government has promised to do that eventually, but has set no timetable for doing so.
     
    #1 devin23, Dec 13, 2008
  2. Northside Storm

    Northside Storm Member

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    A bad week for authority figures in general...Greece comes to mind quickly.

    I wonder if the theory of the Greek riots will hold? Many are speculating that recession conditions and the stress/unemployment are putting up high amounts of tension in certain countries, with only a small trigger needed to release them...

    Mexico's economy is looking much worse these days and prospects are dimming...people are angry.

    What with the strong Catholic background of the country, killing a pregnant woman could be it. This could spell the beginning of something much larger.
     
    #2 Northside Storm, Dec 13, 2008
  3. Splash

    Splash Member

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    I know nothing about Catholicism, but I imagine the shooting death by military force of a pregnant woman will tend to stir some outrage regardless of religious environment.
     
    #3 Splash, Dec 13, 2008
  4. Northside Storm

    Northside Storm Member

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    I was kinda unclear here. Yes, everyone would be outraged at something like that (obviously)...but the whole Catholic tradition of sanctity of life and the importance placed upon the divinity in the concept of birth would make it even more evil/sinful then it already was...complicating matters.
     
    #4 Northside Storm, Dec 13, 2008
  5. BrieflySpeaking

    BrieflySpeaking Member

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    They are so anal over the drug cartels that they'll shoot anyone who looks suspicious.
     
    #5 BrieflySpeaking, Dec 13, 2008
  6. justtxyank

    justtxyank Member

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    It sucks that she died, but at the same time...

    She was speeding and went through two checkpoints without stopping? I mean geez. I wish the Mexican police could have found another way to stop her, but this isn't like she was just speeding down some highway and got shot. They are fighting a war and she put herself in a really stupid position.
     
    #6 justtxyank, Dec 13, 2008
  7. Red Chocolate

    Red Chocolate Member

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    But.. we NEED a paramilitary state for our safety and to protect us from Al Qaeda! It says so in the newspapers!
     
    #7 Red Chocolate, Dec 13, 2008
  8. orbb

    orbb Member

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    I dont see how the soldiers are at fault. If you are innocent, why wont you stop. Plus the pregnant woman's story is shady... carrying your cousin who got shot in a gunbattle?
     
    #8 orbb, Dec 13, 2008
  9. Kwame

    Kwame Member

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    Israeli and American soldiers do this all the time in occupied Palestine and Iraq. Why is this news?
     
    #9 Kwame, Dec 13, 2008
  10. krosfyah

    krosfyah Member

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    closer to home.
     
    #10 krosfyah, Dec 13, 2008
  11. SamFisher

    SamFisher Member

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    Yeah, economic conditions in Greece and Southern Europe might be in the toilet...but when Olympiakos signs LeBron and Pathinakios signs Kobe they will stop rioting...lol.
     
    #11 SamFisher, Dec 13, 2008
  12. GladiatoRowdy

    GladiatoRowdy Member

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    One of the biggest problems with the drug war is the innocent lives it takes. I think it is a travesty that the general population doesn't seem to know about all the innocent lives taken as a result of the "no-knock" (read: paramilitary style) raids done in the name of the drug war here in our country.
     
    #12 GladiatoRowdy, Dec 15, 2008
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