It is very interesting to see how the ranking of Sudan on the world list of persecuted countries changed through the 14 years of involvement with the country. Every year Open Doors bring out a list of top 50 countries in the world persecuted for their faith.

14 years ago, Sudan was number 5 on the world list. As people prayed for the country, God changed the nation. Gradually the situation changed in the country until it reached number 38 on that list in the beginning of 2011. It was the open question what spot Sudan would be placed at after the independence of South Sudan on 9 July 2011.

For a downloadable prayer map with lots of information on the topic, please go to: http://www.opendoors.org.za/downloads/pray_pdfs/our_father_wwl_2012.pdf

Currently Sudan is at number 16 of persecuted countries in the world. Important to note that there are four different categories of persecution on the list. The top category, with one country, is viewed as “SEVERE PERSECUTION”. ONLY North Korea (1) is categorized as being under severe persecution. It has been in that spot for a number of years now.

The second category is called “OPPRESSION”. This refers to countries like AFGHANISTAN (2), Saudi Arabia (3), and Somalia (4). Then the third category of the list is called “SEVERE LIMITATIONS”. That refers to countries like Mauritania (14), Egypt (15), and Sudan (16). The fourth category is called “SIGNIFICANT LIMITATIONS”. On the list for that are countries like Burma (Myanmar) (33), Tajikistan (34), and Tunisia (35).

A description about persecution in Sudan could be viewed on the website of Open Doors. Here is the link: http://www.opendoors.org.za/eng/persecuted_christians/wwl_2012/sudan/

The main persecution engine in Sudan is Islamic extremism. Sudan (North Sudan before the independence of South Sudan on July 9, 2011) jumped from position 35 to 16 in the World Watch List.

Please pray for the overthrow of Islamic extremism in Sudan and for protection over believers in Christ.

Join with John Bornschein (Vice President), Lisa Crump, Dion Elmore, and more on the first Thursday of every month for a National Prayer Call from 10 p.m. – 11:30 p.m. For more details, go to http://commit2pray.com/national-prayer-calls/

Independence day ceremony: Sudan's president Omar Al-Bashir and South Sudan's president Salva Kiir met in Ethiopia for the first since the two countries went to battle over the Heglig oil field in April. Presidents Omer al-Bashir and Salva Kiir met in the Ethiopian capital to discuss unresolved issues between the two countries for the first time since the clashes over Heglig in April last year.

The meeting sends encouraging and positive signals to the people of the two countries who suffer from a severe economic crisis and to the international community expressing their serious commitment to reach a deal before the deadline of 2 August. "The two presidents have agreed and instructed their negotiating teams to expedite negotiations and develop bold decisions in key areas as well as to reach agreements in all issues," South Sudan chief negotiator Pagan Amum told reporters after the private encounter. "It was a good meeting," he further told reporters who gathered outside the meeting room where they met at the Sheraton on Saturday evening…

Bashir underscored the security concern and the need to speed up the operationalization of the buffer zone saying there was no reason to contest Sudan's current border because it served to give South Sudan its independence.

Kiir on the other side focused on the issue of oil transportation saying Juba wants clear commitment to not divert South Sudan production, and asked for international guarantees. He also stressed on the need to reach a quick solution over Abyei issue.

The delegation of the two countries have already agreed earlier this month to hold talks on all the outstanding issues as Juba reassured Khartoum on the implementation of the demilitarized zone and the presence of Darfur rebels in South Sudan. The Sudanese delegation also agreed with the mediation on the resumption of talks with the SPLM-North rebels over South Kordofan and Blue Nile…

The chief negotiator also pointed out that the two parties have an opportunity to conclude a "fair deal" and to end hostilities.

"We are ready to resume oil production if there is a fair deal, and there is a guarantee that there will be no diversion (of the oil)," he further pointed out.

After a session of talks in presence of their close aides and ministers, Bashir and Kiir held a one-on-one meeting.

The two men were seen in good mood smiling and shaking hand after the private meeting as Bashir accompanied Kiir outside the room where they held their talks.

On 7 July Sudan and South Sudan announced they reached a Comprehensive Strategic Approach providing to enhance confidence, good faith and transparency to resolve the pending issues between the two countries.

They also committed themselves to resort to peaceful means to resolve their disputes and to not interfere in the internal affairs of each other.

Yesterday Pagan Amum, who is also the secretary general of the ruling party in Juba, in statements to Sudan Tribune praised the new spirit of the talks stressing that he believes the two sides will "get out with something positive".

"Peace is in the interest of our people. They need peace to prevail so that we can live side by side as friendly neighbours," he said.

The delegation of the two countries will hold non-stop meetings during the upcoming two weeks in order to finalize a deal over the outstanding matters before 2 August.

Please thank the Lord for this positive development which must be seen as answered prayer! Pray for the full cessation of hostilities between the two Sudans and for successful, continued peace talks to resolve their differences.

On June 15 BridgeBuilders launched the "Enough is Enough" call to 20 days of prayer and fasting for the capture of "El Chapo" Guzman, leader of the Sinaloa Federation, along with other cartel leaders and the dismantling of their criminal organizations. We also called for prayer for the Mexican elections because of the great impact the outcome will have on our economy, immigration and the continuing "war of drugs."

Praise Reports:
1.    Good news was reported in the newspaper Milenio on July 1 that killings related to drug violence in Mexico fell 17 percent in June from the month before, reaching the lowest level this year.
2.    The Mexican elections took place without reports of drug related violence or election fraud.
3.    From June 15 to July 4, USA and Mexican law enforcement arrested many significant leaders within Mexico’s cartels. On June 17, Obied Can Zepeda, nephew of “El Chapo” Guzman, and two other cartel members were killed. On June 21, two of Guzman’s young leaders, one originally thought to be his son, were arrested in the state of Jalisco, Mexico. Also during the 20 days of prayer, US officials said they have taken steps to freeze all the U.S. assets of both Guzman’s wife and son.
4.    Arrested on June 12 was Juan Francisco Trevino Chavez “El Quico”, the alleged Zetas leader of Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, and the nephew of Miguel Trevino Morales, “Z-40” (the number two leader of the Zetas cartel). Arrested on June 15 was Jovan Erick Lozano Diaz, alias “El Cucho,” the alleged financial operator for Morales, “Z-40”. And on June 14, it was reported that 52 suspected members of the notoriously violent Los Zetas drug cartel were arrested in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo Leon. And arrested on June 12 with several other accomplices was Jose Trevino Morales, the brother of Miguel Trevino Morales, “Z-40” – who was behind a U.S. horse breeding operation called Tremor Enterprises that U.S. officials say laundered millions of dollars in drug money.

Yet the "Drug War" is not over. Mexico's president elect, Enrique Peña Nieto, from the PRI party, is giving mixed signals on how he plans to stem the violence yet keep the pressure on the drug trafficking organizations. In the wake of Mexico's presidential election Sunday, analysts are expecting Mexico to launch a major blitz against the drug cartels during current President Felipe Calderon's remaining term.
 
Therefore, as "watchmen on the wall" we need to keep vigilant in prayer to see an end to the drug trafficking organizations in both Mexico and in the USA.

BREAKING NEWS ALERT!

It has been an incredible week for reducing violence on Arizona’s Southwest border.

Just two days after the conclusion of BridgeBuilders’ “Enough is Enough” call to prayer and fasting for the dismantling of the Sinaloa cartel, three homes were raided in the Valley – a stash house in Phoenix and two in Tempe, one of which was the Sinaloa cartel’s Tempe office headquarters.

After a six-month investigation, Tempe police say the Sinaloa cartel is now down 20 people, 14 guns, 10 vehicles, $2.4 million, three tons of pot, 30 pounds of meth, and a plane.

“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.”

In the last few days, three drug-smuggling tunnels have been discovered, two in Arizona. And two senior members of the Sinaloa cartel (one a lieutenant of Chapo Guzman) were were arrested in the last few days in Mexico’s crime capital Ciudad Juarez. Today, our border is moving toward being a safer place.

Drug-related violence is falling on the border according to a recent statement by Mexico government officials. Murders by criminal gangs in the most violent city of Ciudad Juarez along fell by 42 percent in the first six months of this year from the same period last year.

God is answering our prayers! The decline in Juarez homicides is attributed to the weakening of the local Juarez drug cartel and the rival Gente Nueva gang, which is allied with the powerful Sinaloa cartel. Gen. Emilio Zarate, the local Mexican Army commander, told reporters the Juarez cartel has become so weak that it is having trouble paying its members.

Zarate said the number of homicides in the city has averaged about 40 murders a month recently. In the past years, Ciudad Juarez sometimes saw as many as 300 homicides in a month during especially violent periods. The general said he sees signs that citizens have faith in the army’s anonymous tip program, which allows people to file complaints about drug gangs by hone or email.

According to President Felipe Calderon, homicides in Mexico overall have dropped 15-20 percent in the first six months of this year compared to the same period of 2011. “Today, violence related to rivalries between criminals is declining,” Calderon said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal recently. He said that drug-related murders in Mexico have fallen by roughly 12 percent in the first five months of this year.

In the state of Chihuahua, state officials indicated a similar decline. Prosecutors said there were 653 murders in the first half of 2012 compared to 1,322 in the same period of last year.

Let’s keep pressing in to God for more victories.

PRAY:
1.    We PRAISE You, Mighty God, for the many answers to our prayers! Thank You, Lord, for the decline in the violence along the borderlands!
2.    We continue to press in to You, Mighty God, for the complete demise of all Mexican drug cartel activities and the capture of its leaders, including Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman of the Sinaloa Cartel.

This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. Fro the battle is not yours, but God’s. 2 Chronicles 20:15b (NIV)

Two days after the election, President-elect Pena came to the U.S. to announce that he would “welcome debate on the issue of drug legalization and regulation in Mexico.” In an interview by PBS New Hour, President-elect Pena clearly stated: “I’m in favor of opening a new debate in the strategy in the way we fight drug trafficking. It is quite clear that after several years of this fight against drug trafficking, we have more drug consumption, drug use, and drug trafficking. That means we are not moving in the right direction. Things are not working.”

These are “code words” to signal the PRI intends to cut a profitable deal with the cartels to legalize drugs in exchange for collecting tax revenue on drug sales. The month before, Congressman james Sensenbrenner (R-Wisconsin) called a Congressional hearing to accuse Pena Nieto of advocating “a reversion” back to the old PRI policies of “turning a blind eye to the cartels” as long as they weren’t perpetrating grisly violence.

President-elect Pena’s announcement of the PRI’s new cozy relationship with the drug cartels directly followed President Obama’s announcement of his “Dreamer” Executive Order curtailing deportations of “undocumented” aliens. These actions have caused major alarm among rank-and-file border agents that the Sinaloa Federation and Los Zetas are now unrestrained to flood into the United States with drugs and violence. In a joint union press conference by the customs agents and the border patrol unions, Chris Crane, President of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Council (ICE) warned: “It’s impossible to understand the full scope of the administration’s changes, but what we are seeing so far concerns us greatly…There is no burden for the alien to prove anything.”

Pray:
1.    Almighty God, empower Mexico President Calderon to be successful in restraining, dismantling, and eliminating all drug cartels, violent gangs, and trafficking - especially taking down the Sinaloa Federation and Los Zetas during the remainder of his term in office.
2.    Merciful God, we pray that President-elect Pena will sever any and all ties with leaders of criminal organizations and will not negotiate with narco-terrorist organizations. We pray that the new administration will take a strong stand against organized crime and transnational criminal organization (TCO) activities.
3.    All-knowing God, block and expose anyone within the new administration that might have TCO connections and ban them from any position of national leadership.
4.    God of Truth, expose the lies behind the advertising and promotion of drug legalization and the corruption and violence behind this agenda. We pray for all attempts to legalize drugs in Mexico and the USA to cease. Reveal the truth of the immeasurable damage the use of recreational drugs does to our society.

53% of the Cartel Money is Funneled Through Arizona

ONE TRILLION DOLLARS…This is not the amount of our nation’s indebtedness; this is the estimated amount of money that drug cartels have illegally funneled through US financial institutions.

We Praise the God of Justice and congratulate the Mexican government for another victory in the war on drugs!

Continue to join others in praying for the cut-off of these criminal cartels and the flow of drugs, weapons and human trafficking between the two nations.