2006年VOA标准英语-US Ambassador in Mexico Warns of Increasing Cri

By Greg Flakus
Houston
15 September 2006

The U.S. ambassador to Mexico is warning U.S. citizens traveling in Mexico to use caution because of increasing violence and criminal activity, especially along the 3000-kilometer border.  The warning comes at a time when people in one border town are observing an especially painful anniversary related to cross-border crime.

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In a statement, Ambassador Tony Garza says violence in the border region threatens both Mexicans and Americans and their way of life. He says violence related to narcotics¹ smuggling² has claimed 1,500 Mexican lives this year.

He says that, just last week, six young men, one of them a U.S. citizen, died in a gang-related shootout.

He also cites the numerous kidnappings of U.S. citizens that have taken place in the Mexican city of Nuevo Laredo, which is just across the border from Laredo, Texas. He says more than 20 of the cases remain unresolved.

The ambassador's letter comes at an especially difficult time for one family in Laredo.  Two years ago, Saturday, Brenda Cisneros and her friend, Yvette Martinez, crossed the border to celebrate her birthday at a Nuevo Laredo club. Neither of the young women has been seen since. 

Saturday is Brenda's 24th birthday, and the second anniversary of her disappearance³. Speaking to VOA by telephone, her father, Pablo Cisneros says his family faces a difficult day.

He says, this will be a very painful day for them all.  He says he believes his daughter was kidnapped by corrupt⁴ policemen in Nuevo Laredo, and then turned over to drug-smugglers. He said her ability to speak both English and Spanish may have made her useful to the drug-traffickers.  Law enforcement officials, however, believe it is also possible the women were kidnapped and forced into prostitution.

Pablo Cisneros heads an organization in Laredo called Laredo's Missing, through which families of some 40 U.S. citizens who disappeared in Mexico are seeking help in finding their loved ones.  He says there are more than 400 Mexican citizens in the Nuevo Laredo area, who are missing, and that Mexican authorities have provided little help.

He adds that his group has gotten no answers from Mexican authorities, and its members hope the U.S. government can exert some pressure on Mexico to resolve the cases.  Earlier this year, Mexican President Vicente Fox sent soldiers to Nuevo Laredo to quell⁵ violence there, but Pablo Cisneros says the violence has not abated⁶.

He says the military operation is now over, and the criminals are still there, operating, he says, with the help of corrupt police officers.

Both Mexican and U.S. business leaders and local officials in the border area lament⁷ the violence.  They say it has not disrupted commerce there. Laredo continues to be the most active land-based port of entry for the United States, with millions of dollars in goods passing back and forth⁸ over the border every day.  Citizens from both countries also continue to pass back and forth between Laredo and Nuevo Laredo to do business, or visit friends and relatives.

But Ambassador Garza warns that the pace of normal cross-border life could be disrupted, if Mexican authorities fail to bring the situation under control. He says, "the crimes put a strain on travel and tourism, on the business and investment climate, and on the bilateral⁹ relationship we share."

There has been no reaction from the Mexican government to the ambassador's statement, but, in the past, government spokesmen have noted¹⁰ efforts by the Fox administration to fight drug trafficking, as well as illegal smuggling of guns from the United States to Mexico.

1 narcotics   

n.麻醉药( narcotic的名词复数 )；毒品；毒

参考例句：

• The use of narcotics by teenagers is a problem in many countries. 青少年服用麻醉药在许多国家中都是一个问题。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Police shook down the club, looking for narcotics. 警方彻底搜查了这个俱乐部，寻找麻醉品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

3 disappearance   

n.消失，消散，失踪

参考例句：

• He was hard put to it to explain her disappearance.他难以说明她为什么不见了。
• Her disappearance gave rise to the wildest rumours.她失踪一事引起了各种流言蜚语。

4 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

5 quell   

v.压制，平息，减轻

参考例句：

• Soldiers were sent in to quell the riots.士兵们被派去平息骚乱。
• The armed force had to be called out to quell violence.不得不出动军队来镇压暴力行动。

6 abated   

减少( abate的过去式和过去分词 )； 减去； 降价； 撤消（诉讼）

参考例句：

• The worker's concern about cuts in the welfare funding has not abated. 工人们对削减福利基金的关心并没有减少。
• The heat has abated. 温度降低了。

7 lament   

n.悲叹，悔恨，恸哭；v.哀悼，悔恨，悲叹

参考例句：

• Her face showed lament.她的脸上露出悲伤的样子。
• We lament the dead.我们哀悼死者。

8 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

9 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

10 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。