MAGIC REALISM MASKS MATAMOROS

Deadlines are no problem for El Bravo, Matamoros' leading newspaper. The editors and reporters face a more serious problem. If they publish certain stories, they may turn up dead. El Bravo never spares any effort covering dengue-spreading mosquitoes, deadly bats and rabid dogs, but there is never any information about the city-wide bloodletting and the scores of dead lying in the streets.

Perhaps El Bravo has become an extension of Gabriel Marquez-Garcia's magical realism. A Zeta killing spree is a dengue outbreak. A Gulf Cartel attack is depicted as an invasion of bats. The army on a rampage becomes a pack of dogs on the loose. Nevertheless, the news ignored at home is printed in detail rendering the national scene.  

The Killings Continue, Ten More Bodies: Never shy about graphics, a group of masked soldiers stand stoically next to a pile of tortured bodies. The first paragraph explains that the authorities discovered another ten bodies at popular tourist site in the city of Veracruz to bring to 98 the total number of executions over the past two weeks.  

More Than 250 Policemen Arrested in Monterrey: An editorialist comments that it's a sorry state of affairs when the public can trust the bad guys more than the good guys. Maybe Brownsville is fortunate that the Herald doesn't stray beyond its Chamber of Commerce theme. But it would be nice to know the situation in Matamoros.

We have more knowledge about Afghanistan halfway around the world than we have a stone's throw across the Rio Grande. A few month ago battles among the Zetas, the Gulf Cartel and the army produced scores of deaths.

Did the mayor and the Brownsville Police Department report anything? Nothing! Did the county judge and the Sheriff's Department report anything? Nothing! Did U.S. Customs, the U.S. Border Patrol, Homeland Security or the Defense Department report anything? Nothing! Why are we condemned to ignorance?

The narcotraficantes have moved into Brownsville and the Valley in huge numbers. This is neutral territory, but the day of reckoning is approaching. Mexico didn't descend into chaos over night. Centuries of political corruption and dire poverty exacerbated by decades of the drug trade have created a situation in Mexico and Matamoros that exceeds the absurd.

But everyone keeps a deathly silence. The Herald will report gunfire across the border, but nobody, from the government to the press, supplies any facts. Isn't this an unacceptable situation? We are in a state of denial as if the wall exists to stop the bullets rather than illegal immigration. Matamoros is in critical condition and deteriorating. We must demand more vigilance and info from our public officials.