Nation on Fire: Mexicans Finally Rally Against Corrupt and Violent Police

In a case that reads like a scene from Man on Fire with Denzel Washington, Mexican police officers have been arrested in the abduction and death of the son of a wealthy industrialist. Fernando Marti, 14, was the latest victim in the kidnapping rage in Mexico. He was found dead in a trunk and his abductors proved to be members of the Judicial Police force. Mexicans are now calling for reform and and Mexico City is disbanding the force.

Marti was kidnapped June 4 by men dressed in Federal Agency of Investigations uniforms. His family negotiated by cell phone and paid a ransom reported to be around $2 million. The kidnappers killed the boy’s driver, Jorge Palma, to show the family that they were serious. They then strangled his bodyguard, Christian Salome, several days later — though he amazingly survived.

It is a story that demonstrates how fortunate we are in the United States. We enjoy a police force that is remarkably honest and professional. While we sometimes deal with brutality cases like the recent stories posted here, they remain the exception and both police brutality and corruption in the U.S. are relatively rare.

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