JUAREZ, Mexico, April 19 (UPI) -- White-collar U.S. auto company workers in Mexico say drug gang kidnappings have turned border factory towns into war zones.
In El Paso, Texas, 3,500 such workers each day cross the border into Mexico under heavy guard -- with some wearing body armor -- as they travel into Juarez to supervise more than 100 parts factories that play a big role in the U.S. auto industry, the Detroit Free Press reported Sunday.
The abduction of an executive for automobile interior maker Lear Corp. of Southfield, Mich. -- as well as robberies and extortions aimed at many other executives -- have made residents on both sides of the border nervous, the newspaper said. One Juarez auto parts factory has been invaded by gunmen who robbed employees.
Detroit auto executives in Juarez told the Free Press they fear for their lives.
"How can you worry about shipping a widget today when you're worried about whether your kids are going to get home from school safely?" one chief executive officer asked. "You just can't."
