Phoenix law enforcement says that Phoenix has now become "ground zero" for the violent Mexican drug cartels. There has been a 325% increase in kidnapping for ransom cases in Maricopa County since 2005.

Kidnappings for ransom are increasing in Arizona, as drug cartels and "coyotes," or human smugglers, hold their own customers and other victims for ransom. Special interest groups that favor looking the other way when it comes to illegal immigration insist that illegal immigrants are peaceful, but this naïve outlook doesn't take into account the violence that inevitably accompanies illegal immigration. This latest wave of violence hitting Arizona puts women and children at risk as they are frequently targeted as hostages and held for ransom. At the same time, combating this new type of Latin American-style violence is increasing the load on our justice system and straining our financial resources.

Powerful illegal drug cartels used to be considered a Latin American phenomenon, limited to countries like Colombia where drug dealers control the government. In recent years, the drug cartels have moved northward illegally into Mexico, turning Mexico into the kidnapping capital of the world. Over 4,400 people have been killed in drug cartel wars in Mexico this year. But the violence hasn't stopped there. It has continued to move north, as the drug cartels and coyotes found a profitable market crossing the border illegally into the U.S. Phoenix law enforcement says that Phoenix has now become "ground zero" for the violent Mexican drug cartels.

There has been a 325% increase in kidnapping for ransom cases in Maricopa County since 2005. The cases we are encountering are taking place in almost every neighborhood. To address this, I formed last month a special human smuggling unit at the County Attorney's Office to handle these kinds of cases.

There have been some chilling cases recently. Last week, Phoenix police raided a home to free a 16-year-old boy who had been kidnapped and held for ransom by gang members in the country illegally who attempted to extort money from his uncle. His uncle was a drug dealer who had an arrest warrant out for him for felony possession of drugs with intent to sell. When they found the youth, he was bound, gagged, and blindfolded with duct tape. He suffered minor injuries from beatings.

In another kidnapping case, two men in the country illegally were convicted last week of kidnapping and attempted first-degree murder. Defendants Francisco Norzagaray and Jesus Valdez Aguilar kidnapped a victim at Arizona Mills mall and refused to release him unless he gave them $900. When he refused, they shot him.

In Mesa earlier this month, coyotes held a 3-year-old boy for ransom after they smuggled him over the border for his mother. They told her they would sell the boy's organs unless she paid them $3,000. One of the coyotes, Marcelino Ramirez-Velasquez, had been arrested twice before for human smuggling, and deported at least once.

Police estimate that over 300 kidnappings are investigated each year in Phoenix. So far this year we've had more than 200 referred to our office by law enforcement. There are more that go unreported, because many victims fear retribution from the drug cartels.

Looking the other way at illegal immigration and making excuses to avoid dealing with its associated crime by saying it is the federal government's responsibility will not stop the coyotes and drug cartels from bringing their Latin American-style violence into the U.S. The federal government is still doing little in this area to protect us. As long as I am County Attorney, I will work to protect the residents of Maricopa County from this new wave of violence.