Mexico: Catching drug leaders in prayer
Last year Joel News International reported about a prayer initiative in Mexico that aims to fight the leading drug cartels in prayer. On June 15 this year BridgeBuilders launched the ‘Enough is Enough’ call to 20 days of prayer and fasting for the capture of ‘El Chapo’ Guzman, leader of the Sinaloa Federation, along with other cartel leaders and the dismantling of their criminal organizations. They now report that during these 20 days of prayer:
- Newspaper Milenio reported on July 1 that killings related to drug violence in Mexico fell 17 percent in June from the month before, reaching the lowest level this year.
- The Mexican elections took place without reports of drug related violence or election fraud.
- From June 15 to July 4, USA and Mexican law enforcement arrested many significant leaders within Mexico's cartels, including leaders close to Guzman.
As Guzman is not yet caught himself, the prayer battle continues.
Meanwhile, on the American side of the border, in Arizona, just two days after the conclusion of the call to prayer and fasting for the dismantling of the Sinaloa cartel, three homes were raided in the Valley, one of which was the Sinaloa cartel's Tempe office headquarters. Police say the Sinaloa cartel is now down 20 people, 14 guns, 10 vehicles, $2.4 million, three tons of pot, 30 pounds of meth, and a plane. “We've cut off the head of the snake,” said Tempe Police Lt. Noah Johnson.
Drug-related violence is falling on the border according to a recent statement by Mexico government officials. Murders by criminal gangs in the most violent city of Ciudad Juarez along fell by 42 percent in the first six months of this year from the same period last year. According to President Felipe Calderon, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, homicides in Mexico overall have dropped 15-20 percent in the first six months of this year compared to the same period of 2011. In the state of Chihuahua, state officials indicated a similar decline. Prosecutors said there were 653 murders in the first half of 2012 compared to 1,322 in the same period of last year.
Source: BridgeBuilders International
