Gunmen murder 17 in attack on Mexican drug rehab center
Source: Agencies |
September 4, 2009, Friday
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GUNMEN broke into a drug rehabilitation center, lined people against a wall and shot 17 dead in a particularly bloody day in Mexico's relentless drug war. The brazen attack followed the killing of the No. 2 security official in President Felipe Calderon's home state.
The attackers broke down the door of El Aliviane center in Ciudad Juarez on Wednesday, lined up their victims against a wall and opened fire, said Arturo Sandoval, a spokesman for the regional prosecutors' office. At least five people were injured.
Authorities had no immediate suspects or information on the victims. Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El Paso, Texas, is Mexico's most violent city, with at least 1,400 people killed this year alone.
Most of the homicides are tied to drug gang violence. Earlier the same day, gunmen ambushed and killed a senior security official in the home state of President Felipe Calderon.
Dozens of sobbing relatives rushed to the rehabilitation center to find out if their loved ones were among the dead. Soldiers and federal agents patrolled the streets surrounding the center in the Bellavista neighborhood.
Calderon sent thousands more troops and federal police to Ciudad Juarez earlier this year, but the surge has done little to stem the violence. The city is home to the Juarez drug cartel, which is battling other gangs for trafficking and dealing turf.
The government is struggling to revamp Ciudad Juarez's police force, which is plagued by corruption and the assassination of many of its officers. Others have quit the force out of fear.
The massacre capped a particularly bloody day in Mexico's relentless drug war.
Gunmen killed the No. 2 security official and three other people in Calderon's home state of Michoacan, where the government is locked in an intensifying battle with the ruthless La Familia cartel, blamed for a string of assassinations of police and soldiers.
Jose Manuel Revuelta, who was promoted less than two weeks ago to state deputy public safety director, is the highest-ranking government official killed in the wave of assassinations sweeping Michoacan, the cradle of La Familia drug cartel.
Attackers drove up alongside Revuelta as he headed home and opened fire. Revuelta tried to speed away, but only made it a few blocks before he was intercepted by two vehicles. Six gunmen got out and sprayed his car with bullets, killing him, two bodyguards and a truck driver caught in the crossfire.
Soldiers and federal police have intensified their fight against La Familia since accusing the cartel of killing 18 federal agents and two soldiers last month. In the worst attack, 12 federal agents were slain and their tortured bodies piled along a roadside as a warning.
It was the boldest cartel attack yet on Mexico's government. Authorities said say La Familia was retaliating for the arrest of one of its top members.
The government has since rounded up more La Familia suspects, including Luis Ricardo Magana, who is alleged to have controlled drug shipments to the United States for the gang.
The attackers broke down the door of El Aliviane center in Ciudad Juarez on Wednesday, lined up their victims against a wall and opened fire, said Arturo Sandoval, a spokesman for the regional prosecutors' office. At least five people were injured.
Authorities had no immediate suspects or information on the victims. Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El Paso, Texas, is Mexico's most violent city, with at least 1,400 people killed this year alone.
Most of the homicides are tied to drug gang violence. Earlier the same day, gunmen ambushed and killed a senior security official in the home state of President Felipe Calderon.
Dozens of sobbing relatives rushed to the rehabilitation center to find out if their loved ones were among the dead. Soldiers and federal agents patrolled the streets surrounding the center in the Bellavista neighborhood.
Calderon sent thousands more troops and federal police to Ciudad Juarez earlier this year, but the surge has done little to stem the violence. The city is home to the Juarez drug cartel, which is battling other gangs for trafficking and dealing turf.
The government is struggling to revamp Ciudad Juarez's police force, which is plagued by corruption and the assassination of many of its officers. Others have quit the force out of fear.
The massacre capped a particularly bloody day in Mexico's relentless drug war.
Gunmen killed the No. 2 security official and three other people in Calderon's home state of Michoacan, where the government is locked in an intensifying battle with the ruthless La Familia cartel, blamed for a string of assassinations of police and soldiers.
Jose Manuel Revuelta, who was promoted less than two weeks ago to state deputy public safety director, is the highest-ranking government official killed in the wave of assassinations sweeping Michoacan, the cradle of La Familia drug cartel.
Attackers drove up alongside Revuelta as he headed home and opened fire. Revuelta tried to speed away, but only made it a few blocks before he was intercepted by two vehicles. Six gunmen got out and sprayed his car with bullets, killing him, two bodyguards and a truck driver caught in the crossfire.
Soldiers and federal police have intensified their fight against La Familia since accusing the cartel of killing 18 federal agents and two soldiers last month. In the worst attack, 12 federal agents were slain and their tortured bodies piled along a roadside as a warning.
It was the boldest cartel attack yet on Mexico's government. Authorities said say La Familia was retaliating for the arrest of one of its top members.
The government has since rounded up more La Familia suspects, including Luis Ricardo Magana, who is alleged to have controlled drug shipments to the United States for the gang.
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