????貧困迫使很多人干起了黑市營(yíng)生,，最突出的就是毒品交易。波多黎各是進(jìn)入美國(guó)市場(chǎng)的一個(gè)絕好門(mén)戶,，從這個(gè)島國(guó)起飛前往美國(guó)本土的航班都被視為國(guó)內(nèi)航班,。從哥倫比亞等地方偷運(yùn)毒品至這個(gè)島國(guó)非常容易,，使得波多黎各成為了永不停息的毒品戰(zhàn)中一個(gè)最危險(xiǎn)的十字路口,。2011年的波多黎各謀殺案創(chuàng)下了歷史新高，有1,136人被殺身亡,。每10萬(wàn)人里就有31個(gè)人被殺,，這樣的謀殺率是美國(guó)的7.5倍,，比墨西哥高近25%。

????不只是販毒者被殺,；在入室偷盜搶劫、行兇搶劫和汽車搶劫中,，一些普通公民(很多是專業(yè)人士)被殺,，這些案件與毒品戰(zhàn)總是有著淵源。圣胡安高檔社區(qū)Condado的行兇搶劫案呈現(xiàn)上升,，據(jù)報(bào)道保爾森正在考慮在這里購(gòu)買一處物業(yè),。美國(guó)國(guó)家公共電臺(tái)(NPR)最近的一周特別報(bào)道中就闡述了此類行兇搶劫案,，凸顯了這個(gè)島國(guó)的治安亂象?！都~約時(shí)報(bào)》(New York Times)報(bào)道了一個(gè)案件,，2011年夏季一位銀行高管在駕駛自己的雷克薩斯(Lexus)車時(shí)，頸部中槍三彈,。

????兩起備受矚目的謀殺案似乎已將波多黎各推到了邊界,。第一起是去年11月份的槍擊命案，三屆拳擊冠軍?？颂?“馬楚”?卡馬科在一家夜總會(huì)門(mén)口，坐在自己的車?yán)?，遭到不明身份者的襲擊,。第二起是去年12月份的喬斯?艾里克?高梅茲。廣告人高梅茲在遭到四位年輕人的搶劫和毆打后,，身上被澆上汽油點(diǎn)燃,。這起殘忍野蠻的殺害令波多黎各舉國(guó)震動(dòng)，因?yàn)楦呙菲澰獾綋尳偈窃谝粋€(gè)被認(rèn)為“安全”的地區(qū),，而且他沒(méi)有卷入毒品交易。瑞奇?馬丁和其他波多黎各名人——他們中已無(wú)一人真正住在波多黎各——紛紛在Twitter,、Facebook等社交媒體網(wǎng)站中抗議這起謀殺,。

????暴力哪里都會(huì)有，但波多黎各的高謀殺率很快就會(huì)將這些富人們送回美國(guó),。波多黎各的新總督亞歷桑德羅?加西亞?帕蒂拉上任后的第一道命令,，就是要求國(guó)民警衛(wèi)隊(duì)在一些重要地區(qū)展開(kāi)巡邏。加強(qiáng)安保,，可能帶來(lái)一些改變,。雖然派遣軍隊(duì)進(jìn)行日常巡邏這樣的做法通常會(huì)受到批評(píng),，但由于波多黎各警方的無(wú)能,，這可能是維持社會(huì)秩序所必須的,。政治風(fēng)險(xiǎn)和高犯罪率,，這樣的圖景對(duì)于百萬(wàn)富翁們似乎絕無(wú)吸引力,，更別提像保爾森這樣的億萬(wàn)富翁了,。（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

????譯者：早稻米

????The poverty has forced many into the underground economy, most notably the drug trade. Puerto Rico is an excellent gateway into the U.S. market as planes taking off from the island bound for the mainland are considered domestic flights. Smuggling drugs on the island from places like Colombia has become child's play, making Puerto Rico one of the deadliest crossroads in the never-ending War on Drugs. Murders on the island hit an all-time high in 2011 with 1,136 people killed. The murder rate of 31 per 100,000 people is six-and-a-half times higher than that of the U.S. and nearly a quarter more than that of Mexico.

????It is not just drug smugglers getting killed; ordinary citizens, many of them professionals, have been killed in a rash of fatal burglaries, home invasions, muggings, and car jackings, which have their roots in the drug war. Muggings in the posh Condado neighborhood in San Juan, the area Paulson is reportedly looking into buying a property, are on the rise. NPR recently profiled one such mugging in a week-long special highlighting the troubles plaguing the island. The New York Times told the story of a banking executive who was shot three times in the neck while driving his Lexus in the summer of 2011.

????A couple of high-profile murders seem to have pushed Puerto Rico over the edge. The first was the shooting death in November of three-time boxing champion Hector "Macho" Camacho while he was sitting in his car outside of a nightclub by unknown assailants. The second was the death of José Enrique Gomez in December. Gomez, a publicist, was robbed, beaten and doused with gasoline, and then set alight by four young men. The brutal and senseless killing shocked the nation because Gomez was robbed in a supposedly "safe" area and was not involved in the drug trade. Ricky Martin and other Puerto Rican celebrities -- none of whom actually live in Puerto Rico anymore -- took to social media outlets like Twitter and Facebook to protest the murder.

????Crime happens everywhere, but the high murder rate in Puerto Rico is enough to send the toughest plutocrat back to the U.S. in short order. The new governor of Puerto Rico, Alejandro Garcia Padilla, activated the National Guard to patrol key areas of the country as his first order. The stepped-up presence could make a difference. While sending in the troops is usually frowned upon for routine patrols, it may be necessary to retain order given the ineptitude of the Puerto Rico police force. But the political risks combined with the crime seem to paint a picture that isn't ready to bring in millionaires, let alone billionaires like Paulson.