American consulate employees killed in Juárez

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (AP) — Gunmen killed a U.S. consulate employee and her husband as they drove in this violent border city with their baby in the back seat, minutes after the husband of another consular employee was shot to death and his two children wounded, officials said Sunday. Security forces suspected a drug gang hit.

Civilians have increasingly gotten caught in the middle of drug gang violence that has made Ciudad Juarez one of the deadliest cities in the world, with more than 2,500 people killed last year alone. At least 11 people were killed in Ciudad Juarez over the weekend.The three died during a particularly bloody weekend in Mexico, with nearly 50 people killed in apparent gang violence. Nine people were killed in a gang shootout early Sunday in the Pacific resort city of Acapulco, one of Mexico’s spring break attractions.

Ten minutes before that killing, police had found the body of the husband of a Mexican employee of the consulate.  Jorge Alberto Salcido Ceniceros, 37, was shot to death in his car, while his two children, ages 4 and 7, were wounded, according to the state prosecutors office. The children were hospitalized.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said “these appalling assaults on members of our own State Department family are, sadly, part of a growing tragedy besetting many communities in Mexico.  They underscore the imperative of our continued commitment to work closely with the Government of President Calderon to cripple the influence of trafficking organizations at work in Mexico,” she added. “This is a responsibility we must shoulder together.”

We the People just sent to your boss, Secretary Clinton, our #1 idea for public policy change in the United States.  It is the same #1 idea we have presented to the Obama Administration four times before.

We the People know that the only serious way to “cripple the influence” (read: money) of the murderers in Mexico is to ruin their business by growing our own legal marijuana for the 22 million Americans who will use it this year.

We the People know that these murderers are able to bribe police and military and government officials and purchase all the guns and ammo and bulletproof SUVs they want because 60%-70% of their profits come from the lucrative illegal marijuana trade.

We the People know there aren’t enough heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine users* in America to support the murderers’ decadent lifestyle and gold-plated automatic weapons.

We the People know that our appetite for cannabis will never wane and that a country that can’t keep cannabis out of its maximum security prisons can’t possibly keep Mexican marijuana from crossing our borders.

We the People are more than willing to shoulder the responsibility of legal adult cannabis use that will cripple the Mexican drug trafficking organizations… and we continue to be appalled that our leaders won’t listen to us and shoulder their share of the responsibility.

* 8.0% of Americans 12 or older used “any illicit drug” in 2007, a list that includes “marijuana/hashish, cocaine (including crack), heroin, hallucinogens (including LSD and PCP), inhalants, or any prescription-type psychotherapeutic drug used nonmedically.”  5.8% were marijuana users.