Hurricane Irene blows away horrific Mexican massacre

In Mexico, a horrific attack last week shocked even drug-conditioned observers. The event was obscured in the US, however, by Hurrience Irene, which led to cancelled train schedules in the Northeast corridor and the closure of some popular tourist spots such as Atlantic City over the weekend.

But the biggest impact was on cancelled airline flights  —  more than 12,000 of them or just about  virtually the entire schedule of the region, according to flight service Flightware.com.

Travel connections were quickly returning to normal Tuesday morning but millions of people along the hurricane’s route were without power, and storm damages  were adding up to multi-million billions of dolalrs.

"We're focused on the goal of normal operations on Tuesday," said Todd Lehmacher, a spokesman for US Airways.

Television commentators complained that the widely-reported storm was blown far out of porpotion. Travelers were inconvenienced by Irene but it was mainly a disruption of daily routine for most.

Irene's impact was fleeting but not so much the Mexican casino tourching incident.

At least 52 people were killed, “mainly mothers and grandmothers, middle-age women” who routinely stopped by the Casino Royale for bingo or to play the slot machines, according to the Tribune newspapers.

Armed men torched the gaming hall located in a busy commerical center of Mexico’s wealthiest city, Monterrey. There were up to nine terrorists who were captured on survaillance camcas. They pulled into the casino at 3:48 p.m. In less then three mintues, the gunmen spread the interior of the building with gasolene and torched it. Thick smoke and flames spewed from the casino, frequented mostly by middle class gamblers, as the gunamn fled.

The incident was the “deadliest to target Mexican civilians in nearly five years of bloody drug warfare,” said the Tribune.

President Fleipe Calderon called it a “terrible act of barbarism.”

The event “stunned a country numb to massacres and beheadings,” said one newspaper account. A “macabre milestone,” another called it.

US authorities in Monterrey issued an emergency message for Americans following the attack and warned consular employees and their families to avoid casinos, adult clubs and similar places “that have been targets for violence.”

It’s still too early to tell whether the incident will deter North American tourism to Mexico, which so far has seen growing numbers despite the violence. But some observers say the add-on impact of repeated events such as this one will inevitably and eventually drive away visitors who would otherwise come to Mexico.

In the wake of the attack, hundreds of soldiers and federal agents are raiding casinos in the city. The tragedy has ignited a debate about government’s lack of control of the gambling industry.

Casino officials came under criticism for allowing the facility to flout laws regarding emergency exits that prevented the panicked crowd from getting out of the burning building. Most of the victims were killed by smoke inhalation, said Reynaldo Ramos, head of Monterrry’s Civil Protection Agency.

The motive was not known but speulation had it that the casino refused to pay off local gangster/terrorists.

Jose Luis Benavides, a lawyer who specializes in Mexico’s gambling laws, told wire services many casinos have connections to organized criminals who either intimidate or bribe authorities to remain open despite violations.

The casino attack had a major impact in part because many of the victims were middle class citizens, and not cartel foot soldiers or migrants, who have become the usual targets,

Jorge Chabat, a safety expert at the Center for Research and Teaching in Economics, told the AP.

The incident was the second deadliest in the ongoing Mexican drug swars. A year ago, Zeta gunmen slaughtered 72 immigrants in the Mexican state of  Tampulipas.

Wire services said 40,000 people in Mexico have been slain in drug-war violence since 2006.

Monterrey, a city of three million people and the third largest in Mexico, has long been regarded as one of Mexico’s most prosperous.

 “A modern, well-planned city that is easy to navigate and full of cultural offerings, Monterrey is populated by friendly and helpful people, who are eager to present their city as the most advanced city in Mexico,” says promotional materials.

Ironically, the city was regarded as among the best in Mexico for security until the past few months.

“A visit to Monterrey is sure to surprise even the most accomplished travelers,” according to the city’s promotional claims.

By David Wilkening