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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
Mexican President Felipe Calderon has sent a new initiative to his country's Congress that would impose life in prison for those convicted of several categories of kidnapping, including current or former policemen involved in the crime. Mexico has one of the highest rates of kidnapping in the world and police have often been linked to cases around the country. VOA's Greg Flakus has more from Mexico City.
President Felipe Calderon delivers a speech at the presidential residence of Los Pinos in Mexico City, 06 Aug 2008
In a televised speech Thursday, President Calderon called on the legislative1 body to take action soon on a proposed reform that would stiffen2 penalties for kidnapping.
He said he is sending this proposal to the Congress because the Mexican people demand stronger penalties for vicious and cruel crimes. He said he wants to end the impunity3 enjoyed by many kidnappers4, especially those who are law enforcement officers.
He said the sentence of life in prison should be given to police officials and former police officials who are convicted of involvement in kidnapping. He also said the penalty should apply in several other circumstances including cases where the victim is a minor5 or an invalid6 and cases in which the victim is mutilated.
In recent days Mexican news reports have provided grim details about the death of a 14-year-old boy who was kidnapped off a Mexico City street in June. His dead body was found last week. The victim, Fernando Marti was the son of a prominent businessman, who paid the ransom9 the kidnappers demanded and still lost his son.
Such stories are common in Mexico at all class levels. For many years, kidnappers concentrated on rich businessmen, show business personalities10 and, occasionally, foreign visitors involved in business investments here. Now, there are cases of relatively11 poor people being targeted for small amounts of money.
Some commentators12 here have described kidnapping as an act of terrorism, although in Mexico the motive7 is generally money rather than politics. There have been cases of victims being tortured and mutilated by their captors. Sometimes the kidnappers will send an ear or finger to the parents of the victim to put pressure on them.
Perpetrators remain at large
Most kidnapping cases go unsolved and the perpetrators remain at large. In many cases that have been resolved, investigators14 found that policemen were involved. Prosecutors15 believe police officials provided information to the kidnappers of Fernando Marti and several police officers have been detained for questioning.
Since taking office in 2006, President Calderon has launched major offensives against organized crime, concentrating for the most part on drug traffickers. The violent criminal gangs have killed hundreds of people in the past few years, including many policemen. This week a high-ranking homicide investigator13 in Juarez, on the U.S. border, was killed in a hail of gunfire outside his home. He was the fourth officer to die there in the past week.
Public outrage16
Jose Medellin, who was executed at the Texas Prison in Huntsville, (file photo)
An indication of the Mexican public's outrage over the crime situation was the muted response here to the execution of Mexican citizen Jose Medellin in Texas on Tuesday. He was convicted of the brutal17 rape18 and murder of two girls in Houston in 1993. The case drew international attention because he was allegedly not allowed to see the consul19 from his country as called for under international agreements to which the United States is a signatory.
But, in contrast to some similar cases in the past, there were no major protests here. Many Mexicans say they have little sympathy for a man who was a rapist and murderer and sentiment has grown in favor of imposing20 the death penalty here in an effort to stop violent criminals.
1 legislative | |
n.立法机构,立法权;adj.立法的,有立法权的 | |
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2 stiffen | |
v.(使)硬,(使)变挺,(使)变僵硬 | |
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3 impunity | |
n.(惩罚、损失、伤害等的)免除 | |
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4 kidnappers | |
n.拐子,绑匪( kidnapper的名词复数 ) | |
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5 minor | |
adj.较小(少)的,较次要的;n.辅修学科;vi.辅修 | |
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6 invalid | |
n.病人,伤残人;adj.有病的,伤残的;无效的 | |
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7 motive | |
n.动机,目的;adv.发动的,运动的 | |
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8 motives | |
n.动机,目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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9 ransom | |
n.赎金,赎身;v.赎回,解救 | |
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10 personalities | |
n. 诽谤,(对某人容貌、性格等所进行的)人身攻击; 人身攻击;人格, 个性, 名人( personality的名词复数 ) | |
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11 relatively | |
adv.比较...地,相对地 | |
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12 commentators | |
n.评论员( commentator的名词复数 );时事评论员;注释者;实况广播员 | |
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13 investigator | |
n.研究者,调查者,审查者 | |
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14 investigators | |
n.调查者,审查者( investigator的名词复数 ) | |
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15 prosecutors | |
检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 ); 告发人; 起诉人; 公诉人 | |
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16 outrage | |
n.暴行,侮辱,愤怒;vt.凌辱,激怒 | |
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17 brutal | |
adj.残忍的,野蛮的,不讲理的 | |
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18 rape | |
n.抢夺,掠夺,强奸;vt.掠夺,抢夺,强奸 | |
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19 consul | |
n.领事;执政官 | |
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20 imposing | |
adj.使人难忘的,壮丽的,堂皇的,雄伟的 | |
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