Juárez violence affects El Paso

By Louie Gilot / El Paso Times
Article Launched: 02/24/2008 12:00:00 AM MST

The violence in Juárez used to be, for most El Pasoans, a case of "not my problem."

But a recent El Paso Times/NewsChannel 9 Poll suggests that might no longer be so.

The poll found that 62 percent of El Paso voters believed violence in Juárez was spilling over into El Paso, and that 54 percent said Juárez violence was having an impact on business in El Paso.

In addition, 46 percent of El Paso voters said the United States should increase its involvement in Mexico's drug war.

Erica Miranda, a computer engineering student at UTEP, said she didn't go to Juárez nearly as much as she used to.

"I try not to go because I'm scared. A couple of years ago, I was not as scared. But now I'm in my 20s and I'm more aware. I don't know anybody who goes to Juárez anymore, except teen agers who don't know it's dangerous," Miranda said in an interview separate from the poll.

Since the beginning of the year, more than 65 homicides have occurred in Juárez, compared with one in El Paso. Compared with last year's homicide count, January and February have been particularly deadly in Juárez.