Nuevo Laredo’s Word Station

Posted by Carol Coletta on January 25, 2009

The dramatic plunge in murders in Nuevo Laredo was the subject of a recent NPR story.  Apparently, warring drug cartels called a truce, and things instantly got better.  Unfortunately, the truce in Nuevo Laredo is now causing problems in Juarez, documented in last week's New York Times.

While accepting the inevitability of cartels, new Mayor Ramon Garza is working hard to change the city's image.  According to the NPR story, "the crown jewel of his year-old administration is the old train station. It's called Estacion Palabra, or "Word Station." In a leap of imagination, Garza has transformed the old passenger train station into a sleek and sunlit literature center."

(The comments on this story are worth reading.  Do we rejoice for Nuevo Laredo when the presence of cartels is accepted, and crime moves to the next town?)