Juarez Industrial Parks Have Become “Green Zone” in Drug War

Mexican Border City's Narco-Violence Marked by Maquiladora Exception

The screaming headlines and shocking images that invade our lives daily from south of the U.S. border might lead many of us to believe that Juarez, Mexico, is a dying city bleeding out from a thousand cuts of daily narco-war violence.

The Mexican border city has seen more than 1,900 murders so far this year alone and in excess of 6,200 since January 2008, when the violence escalated with the arrival of the Mexican military to provide “protection” to the residents of the city.

But if Juarez is truly being killed off by the bloodshed spawned by the narco-trafficking trade, then why is that violence not affecting the entire city – where some 10,000 small businesses have closed their doors since 2008 due, in large part, to a wave of burglaries, kidnappings, extortion and murders that has washed over the city during the past two and a half years?

There is often an exception to most rules, and in the case of Juarez, the rule of violence does not extend to its industrial zones, which are home to some 360 maquiladora factories that employ more than 190,000 people.

In fact, according to a report provided to Narco News by the El Paso Regional Economic Development Corp., or REDCO, between January 2008 and June of this year, there was only one homicide carried out in the maquila industrial zones of Juarez.

That’s right — just one murder in this huge swath of Juarez that is dotted with maquila plants operated by huge corporations such as General Motors, Delphi, Motorola, Visteon, TECMA and Honeywell. Maquiladoras, also known as twin plants, are Mexico-based factories owned and/or operated by foreign companies that benefit from the cheap labor and favorable tax treatment.

The reality is, despite the violence afflicting the rest of Juarez, the city’s maquila industrial parks are flourishing, according to the report put together by REDCO — a nonprofit maquila booster group funded by private-sector donors.

Over the first three months of this year, the report shows, some 11 companies have notified REDCO of their intentions to locate or expand in Juarez. Between June 2009 and June of this year, REDCO reports that the maquilas in Juarez have added 24,401 new jobs — in the midst of a lingering recession no less.

How is that possible?

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