Arizona’s “Enough Is Enough” Initiative

A special 20-day prayer initiative, launched on June 15 by BridgeBuilders, called for prayer and fasting for the dismantling of drug cartel leaders and their criminal organizations, with a special focus on the southwest and Arizona borders. The call for prayer also highlighted the Mexican elections because of the great impact the outcome will have on the U.S. economy, immigration, and the continuing “war on drugs.”

During the prayer initiative, the newspaper Milenio reported that Mexico’s killings related to drug violence in June fell 17 percent compared to the month before, reaching its lowest level of the year. The Mexican elections were conducted without any reports of drug-related violence or election fraud. And from June 15 to July 4, U.S. and Mexican law enforcement arrested several significant leaders within Mexico’s cartels.

In addition, two days following the conclusion of the “Enough Is Enough” prayer initiative, authorities raided some homes in Phoenix and Tempe, AZ, and discovered that one of those homes was an office for one of the cartels. Three drug-smuggling tunnels were also found. “We’ve cut off the head of the snake,” said Tempe Police Lt. Noah Johnson. “This definitely makes it a lot harder for our children and residents to get drugs.”

Drug-related violence is falling along the southwest border, according to a recent statement by Mexican government officials. Murders by criminal gangs in the most violent city of Ciudad Juarez fell by 42 percent in the first six months of this year compared to the same period last year. Gen. Emilio Zarate, the Mexican Army commander, told reporters the Juarez cartel has become so weak that it is having trouble paying its members.

According to President Felipe Calderon (who serves through 2012), homicides in Mexico dropped 15 to 20 percent in the first six months of this year compared to the same period in 2011. “Today, violence related to rivalries between criminals is declining,” Calderon said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. He also reported that drug-related murders in Mexico fell by 12 percent in the first five months of this year.

Prayer is continuing that President-elect Enrique Peña Nieto will sever all ties with leaders of criminal organizations and take a strong stand against organized crime. Fifty-three percent of all cartel money is funneled through Arizona—an estimated one trillion dollars.

BridgeBuilders (a ministry based in Arizona) invites believers to pray that the flow of drugs, weapons, and human trafficking between the two nations will cease. For more information, go to bridgebuilders.net.