The current of the Rio Grande drags the pebbles and water through the tale of two cities. Those who reside on the U.S. side of El Paso count their blessings to be living in the second safest small city behind Honolulu; while a hop, skip and jump across the bridge sits Mexico’s most violent city of Juarez, where murder, chaos and drug cartels are commonplace.

Juarez has become the new Nuevo Laredo of 2009 and is a throw back into the wild west, gun battles in the streets, unidentified bodies taken away by the dozen; yet one thing protects the seemingly innocence of American lifestyle – the bridges.

The bridges protect everyday life from the day to day of narcotics, bribery - corruption. However, these bridges are the center for these two nations, the center for contention and the heart of U.S. corruption.

American law enforcement officers speak in hushed tones fearing their disapproval of operational policies will result in retaliation from supervisors. Suspensions are meted out on those who don’t shut-up and go along as well as trumped up charges are used to terminate them.

Crime is a way of life in Mexico and odds are criminals will literally get away with murder. According to a report from canalsonora.com, after three years of Mexican federal combat against organized crime, 75 percent of those arrested for narco-related offenses were later released. Leading the states in captures of the most narco-criminals are Jalisco with 43,153, Baja with 32,895, and Guanajuato with 28,003. [1] Keep reading