Nytimes

MATAMOROS, Mexico — They have spotted their stolen vehicles at stoplights, driven by the same gunmen who used them to take their entire family captive last July.

They have reported the brazen abduction to every branch of Mexican law enforcement, only to be ignored, or directed someplace else.

They have reported the brazen abduction to every branch of Mexican law enforcement, only to be ignored, or directed someplace else.

For the women of the Cazares family who were kidnapped with their families for ransom — and who are still searching for five missing relatives — the official response to their horrific ordeal has been even more excruciating than the crime itself.

For the women of the Cazares family who were kidnapped with their families for ransom — and who are still searching for five missing relatives — the official response to their horrific ordeal has been even more excruciating than the crime itself.

Even now, they say, after months of trying to goad the Mexican authorities into action, they still see criminals they recognize living large here in this border city, as untouchable as kings.

“We’re completely impotent,” said Zynthia Cazares, 30, an American citizen who was among those abducted and whose husband, brother and father are still missing.

Six years into a mostly military assault on drug cartels, impunity across much of Mexico has worsened, and justice is harder to find.

Six years into a mostly military assault on drug cartels, impunity across much of Mexico has worsened, and justice is harder to find.

Six years into a mostly military assault on drug cartels, impunity across much of Mexico has worsened, and justice is harder to find.

Criminals in Mexico are less likely to be punished now than even just a few years ago, say current and former government officials and experts who have studied Mexico’s ailing judiciary, because the authorities have been overwhelmed by increases in violent crime while corruption, fear and incompetence have continued to keep the justice system weak.

Many areas now veer toward lawlessness: in 14 of Mexico’s 31 states, the chance of a crime’s leading to trial and sentencing was less than 1 percent in 2010, according to government figures analyzed by a Mexican research institute known as Cidac.

Many areas now veer toward lawlessness: in 14 of Mexico’s 31 states, the chance of a crime’s leading to trial and sentencing was less than 1 percent in 2010, according to government figures analyzed by a Mexican research institute known as Cidac.

And since then, experts say, attempts at reform have stalled as crime and impunity have become cozy partners.

“Crime goes up, diminishing the likelihood of punishment, which causes crime to rise again,” said Alejandro Hope, a former senior intelligence officer for Mexico.

Reported abductions have jumped by more than 300 percent since 2005 — to levels on par with Mexico’s kidnapping wave in the late 1990s — in part, experts say, because criminal gangs have become better organized and freer to commit crimes without being punished.

Some Mexican officials counter that the kidnappings illustrate the desperation that criminal groups find themselves in after years of battling the government.

But researchers say that kidnappings, which require teams of captors, safe houses and a degree of territorial control, flourish when the state is particularly feeble.

Their houses and offices are now shuttered, stripped nearly bare by thieves.

It was not yet 5 a.m. when the gunmen — at least eight of them, many with the high voices of youth — suddenly appeared, first in the living room and then the bedrooms, wearing fatigues and black masks.

They asked the family patriarch to open the safe, then the gunmen pushed everyone — including Rodolfo Cazares, 36, a symphony conductor visiting from Germany, and his French wife, Ludivine — into the family’s vehicles.

A tall man in jeans with the scent of alcohol directed the family from room to room, holding a pistol to the neck of his guide as he assessed what to steal.

They stopped for gas (without paying, the family said) and in their conversations over portable radios, the men talked mainly about avoiding their rivals, the Zetas, a ruthless crime syndicate.

They stopped for gas (without paying, the family said) and in their conversations over portable radios, the men talked mainly about avoiding their rivals, the Zetas, a ruthless crime syndicate.

They stopped for gas (without paying, the family said) and in their conversations over portable radios, the men talked mainly about avoiding their rivals, the Zetas, a ruthless crime syndicate.

The police rarely came up, and no one intervened — not neighbors who saw the abduction, nor strangers who saw the Cazares women, in their pajamas and shoeless, being moved into a different car on a busy street around midday.

The government’s focus on killing or detaining cartel leaders has led younger, more violent criminals into the market.

(“We were so in love,” said the wife from the third house that the kidnappers invaded, fighting back tears at the recollection.

Devastated, the family tried calling the kidnappers’ telephone.

In addition to giving extensive testimony to the local, state and federal authorities, they have written to Mexico’s attorney general, human rights officials and Department of Foreign Affairs, as well as President Felipe Calderón.

In addition to giving extensive testimony to the local, state and federal authorities, they have written to Mexico’s attorney general, human rights officials and Department of Foreign Affairs, as well as President Felipe Calderón.

The local police initially promised to investigate but a month later sent the family a form letter saying the case was out of their jurisdiction.

But Mr. Benavides said federal prosecutors had not answered requests for information, preventing him from interrogating the two detainees.

But Mr. Benavides said federal prosecutors had not answered requests for information, preventing him from interrogating the two detainees.

He refused to answer questions about the men in federal custody.

They said that a few people in the federal government had come close to alleviating their pain with offers of help and letters of reassurance, though even then, hopeful moments have dissipated.

“Not a single Mexican authority will help us,” said Zynthia Cazares, the sister of Rodolfo, fidgeting with her jewelry in the Texas home where she now lives amid photographs of the missing and statues of the Virgin Mary.

“Not a single Mexican authority will help us,” said Zynthia Cazares, the sister of Rodolfo, fidgeting with her jewelry in the Texas home where she now lives amid photographs of the missing and statues of the Virgin Mary.

“God has asked us to have patience, confidence and faith.”

Ludivine Cazares, Rodolfo’s wife, recently started to rally support in Europe, writing to French and German officials.

American officials, who were not aware of the Cazares case, said they, too, were extremely frustrated with Mexico’s lack of progress on judicial reform, but they added there was little they could do to quickly remedy a problem of law, culture and bureaucracy.

American officials, who were not aware of the Cazares case, said they, too, were extremely frustrated with Mexico’s lack of progress on judicial reform, but they added there was little they could do to quickly remedy a problem of law, culture and bureaucracy.

American officials, who were not aware of the Cazares case, said they, too, were extremely frustrated with Mexico’s lack of progress on judicial reform, but they added there was little they could do to quickly remedy a problem of law, culture and bureaucracy.

“Neither is the epitome of the backslapping pol,” said Edward G. Rendell, a Democrat and former governor of Pennsylvania who knew Mr. Romney when he was governor of Massachusetts.

They have both been called difficult to know and even aloof at times.

But if they were to convene for, say, a chicken barbecue — not likely, but whatever — they could explore some shared affinities and experiences.

They could exchange trivia about “Star Trek” (liked by both) or complaints about the press (disliked).

They are described as cautious and deliberative decision makers who distrust gut instinct and the emotional tenor of the modern political debate.

Mr. Obama, meanwhile, dived deep into the ramifications of law in society.

By any measure, Mr. Obama and Mr. Romney are both devoted family men who credit their wives as the biggest and best influences on them.

Michelle Obama and Ann Romney, both far more popular than Barack and Mitt are, elicit softer and noticeably more relaxed sides of their husbands.

It is possible that the two women would bond at the hypothetical barbecue.

As for Mr. Romney and Mr. Obama, they are described as gracious, polite and accommodating in social settings — politicians, in other words.

And if things went really well, maybe they would flash Vulcan salutes.

Spicy, too, as Mr. Romney (who often peels the skin off) has demonstrated with his endorsement of the jalapeño chicken sandwich at Carl’s Jr. and Mr. Obama has praised the grilled chicken tacos made by the White House chef.

Granted, little of it concerns how to fix the economy, shrink the deficit or deal with Russia.

But if they were to convene for, say, a chicken barbecue — not likely, but whatever — they could explore some shared affinities and experiences.

After-dinner, for instance, maybe over plates of pie (enjoyed by both), Mr. Obama and Mr. Romney could play the “did you know” game from their Harvard days or name-check the policy experts they consulted during their respective health care overhauls.

They could compare counties visited in Iowa, activists fawned over in New Hampshire and the irritations of dealing with blowhard colleagues in state government.

They are described as cautious and deliberative decision makers who distrust gut instinct and the emotional tenor of the modern political debate.

Mr. Patrick said his predecessor, whom he describes as “a gentleman,” seemed to be someone who said to himself, “O.K.,

Each suffered tough losses in early campaigns that might have, in retrospect, been ill-advised: Mr. Romney lost a 1994 Senate race in Massachusetts against the incumbent, Edward M. Kennedy; Mr. Obama was crushed in a 2000 Democratic Congressional primary in Illinois by the incumbent, Bobby L. Rush.

While each was the product of a doting and strong mother, the candidates forged their identities in part through the specters of their fathers — or the absence of one, in the case of Mr. Obama.

While each was the product of a doting and strong mother, the candidates forged their identities in part through the specters of their fathers — or the absence of one, in the case of Mr. Obama.

“Someone once said that every man is trying to either live up to his father’s expectations or make up for his father’s mistakes,” Mr. Obama wrote in his 2006 book, “The Audacity of Hope.”

The future governor absorbed the business school model of acquiring data, analyzing it, soliciting advice and encouraging vigorous debate before reaching a decision.

The future governor absorbed the business school model of acquiring data, analyzing it, soliciting advice and encouraging vigorous debate before reaching a decision.

Mr. Obama was pegged early on by peers as someone who might be “the first black president,” while Mr. Romney was identified as a potential “first Mormon president.”

“They were incredibly impressive, engaged and curious,” said Jonathan Gruber, an economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who briefed both men during their respective campaigns for new health care legislation.

Not so Mr. Obama, the First Trekkie indeed, who once admitted to a youthful crush on Nichelle Nichols, the actress who played Lieutenant Uhura.