Americans are too afraid to visit bloody Juarez

Dozens of shooting victims, several of them U.S. citizens or legal residents, have been treated at Thomason General Hospital — the only facility for 250 miles that is equipped to handle such patients — at a cost to local taxpayers of more than $1 million.

The hospital has had several lockdowns because of fears that hit men would realize a victim was still alive and cross the border to finish the job — something that has happened in hospitals on the Mexican side.

Soldiers at the Army's Fort Bliss are no longer allowed to travel to Juarez, whose nightclubs were once a popular place to party.

Mexican Consul General Roberto Rodriguez Hernandez said the number of visitors crossing into Juarez from El Paso this year is down about 20 percent. "Business has been off because we lost the students on weekends, and the soldiers," Rodriguez said.

Businesses in Juarez are shutting down or cutting hours because of both the violence and the drop in visitors.

Travel advisory issued
The U.S. State Department issued a travel advisory on Tuesday, warning Americans of daylight shootings at shopping centers in Juarez and suggesting applicants for U.S. visas at the consulate in Juarez not pay in cash to avoid getting mugged while in line.

Rosa Flores, 30, has lived on both sides of the border and used to travel to Juarez twice a month to visit family with her 9-year-old son and 11-year-old daughter. With killings on the rise this summer, she insisted the children not play video games or listen to music in the car so they could be alert for gunfire.

Flores said her aunts gave her practical advice: If she hears shooting or sees gunmen, she should put her car in park, duck and wait for the gunfire to stop.

"You don't know when they are going to just stop and shoot," Flores said. "You just don't know."

She has not been back with her children since two deadly shootings took place within 10 blocks of a relative's house while the family was visiting.

"It's sad that I can't take my kids to see where I grew up," Flores said.

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