Doing the Jobs Americans Just Won't Do

Local authorities call the wave of kidnappings an epidemic. According to the Associated Press, some of the hostages have their fingers, legs, and heads cut off; while others are bound and gagged in pools of water before being zapped with electrical devices. If the victim is female, she is often raped while her husband is forced to listen on the other end of a telephone line. If their demands aren't met, corpses are soon discovered in the desert, gunshot wounds to the skull and body.

Do these descriptions originate from Afghanistan, a brutal Iraqi prison, or the war-torn region of Somalia? No, all these reports came directly from the southwest portion of the United States. Specifically, Brian Ross of ABC News reported, "Phoenix, Arizona has become the kidnapping capital of America, with more incidents than any other city in the world outside Mexico City, and over 370 cases last year alone."

On average, this means there is one kidnapping every day. Arizona radio host Darrell Ankarlo says two or three abductions go unreported for every one that is. The vast majority of kidnappings are connected to Mexican drug cartels and illegal immigrants coming across the border. Phoenix Police Department detective Phil Roberts states quite clearly, "Phoenix is ground zero for illegal narcotics smuggling and illegal human smuggling in the United States."

The motive is obvious. Whereas drug dealing and scurrying illegals through the desert brings in billions of dollars, Tim Gaynor of Reuters reported that "ransoms can range from $50,000 to $1 million."

The reason kidnappers demand such a high price is because their targets are often "coyotes" — drug smugglers or dealers who carry large amounts of cash. As Detective Roberts said, "There's a lot of illegal cash out there in the valley, and a lot of people want to get their hands on it."

Kidnappings have largely been contained to the Mexican crime underworld. Although overseen by drug lords, the actual perpetrators are illegal aliens looking for a quick buck, or cheap Mexican laborers. Sam Quinones of the L.A. Times describes the process used to locate these "grunts."

"Certain Phoenix bars are known as places where kidnappers recruit, much the way builders go to Home Depot to hire day laborers." - Arizona as Dangerous as 'Pakistan,' Says Top Phoenix Cop

Read the whole thing. The "reporter" is a flake, but the facts are accurate.

I think I need to go to the local gun shop and pick me up a bazooka.