Posted on 03/06/2005 6:28:29 PM PST by Dog Gone
NUEVO LAREDO, Mexico — More than 700 soldiers and federal and state agents took to the streets of this important city on the Mexico-U.S. border today to help local authorities control an increasing wave of violence believed to be drug-related.
On Saturday, two men whose mouths were covered with adhesive tape, were shot and killed inside a sedan left beside a highway linking Nuevo Laredo and the city of Monterrey.
Those killings came less than 24 hours after a gunman on a bicycle opened fire on a group of men smoking marijuana and drinking beer as they sat in a parked car in this city's Colonia Victoria neighborhood around 11:30 p.m. Friday. Two passengers were killed and a bystander was wounded in that attack.
The four victims raised to 20 the number of people who have been killed in ambush-style shootings in Nuevo Laredo so far this year. The city is located across from Laredo, Texas.
Arturo Jimenez, a commander of the Federal Preventative Police, said in addition to the massive mobilization of forces, investigators would begin interviewing Nuevo Laredo municipal police officers and state prosecutors in search of those who may be taking bribes from drug smuggling gangs.
"It's difficult to combat crime when there are a lot of allies of organized crime who block our efforts," said Jimenez, who was sent to oversee the Nuevo Laredo crackdown by Mexico's Public Safety Secretary Ramon Huerta.
Jimenez said the first priority will be re-establishing law and order, but that soldiers and agents would also eventually play an active role in going after key drug smugglers.
The border region in Mexico's northeast has seen an increase in drug violence after the area's alleged king pin, Osiel Cardenas, was arrested in 2003 in the border city of Matamoros.
Authorities say the violence has intensified in recent months because another reputed drug lord, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, has been fighting smugglers loyal to Cardenas to gain access to the drug smuggling routes in Nuevo Laredo.
Around 9 a.m. today, more than 40 vehicles loaded with federal agents rolled into the city, while soldiers arrived to patrol poorer, violent neighborhoods.
Juan Antonio Varela, a state police commander, said the assailants in Saturday's double-slaying used R-15 assault rifles and that investigators found 18 shell casings at the scene.
The victims, identified only as two men ages 25 and 30, were found in the front seats of a Nissan with Texas license plates around 10:30 p.m. Saturday, after an employee at a nearby hotel called police reporting gunfire.
Both victims were dressed casually, suggesting their killers probably kidnapped them from their homes and drove them to the scene of the shootings, Varela said.
Friday's killing saw the gunmen shoot a 24-year-old man in the parked car six times in the face, neck and shoulder. Another passenger, age 22, sustained two gunshot wounds to the chest and died while being treated at the city's General Hospital. Police said he was carrying a bag of marijuana at the time of his death.
A third victim, who was standing with his girlfriend near the parked car when the shooting began, was injured by a bullet that struck him in the left arm.
So9
I've been to both nations many times recently, and I have to concur that you aren't that far off...
Wasn't it Nuevo Laredo that was profiled in America's Most Wanted Saturday night concerning all of the Americans being kidnapped there?
I've never been to Iraq, but I've been to many countries around the planet. I've visited Mexico many times. Of all the latin american countries I've visited, it's the place where I feel the most uncomfortable.
And I love central america. The countries south of Mexico are terrific.
Marty Robbins
Just had a friend return from a visit to Guatemala. He said that he felt extremely uncomfortable - lots of drug deals and every American is either a target to sell drugs to, or worse....possibly detain for ransom.
You and me both, friend.
Belize, Panama, Costa Rica...even Paraguay and Ecuador have more to offer than the Banana Oil Republic of Mexico.
Mexico is not America's friend.
God bless the good and decent Mexican people. They need to rise up and reform Mexico before there's completely irreconcilible differences.
Even Mr. Robinson has said in this forum that nothing short of invading Mexico would alleviate the hemorrhaging. I disagree for obvious reasons of course.
BLAZIN' BTTT!
Ping
bump
BTTT!!!!
Yes, they did a story about it two weeks in a row. They interviewed a hostage who's family paid the $90K ransom. He warned anyone to never go to Mexico.
The army was called in after the first episode aired. AMW went to Washington to get an interview with anyone in the Mexican government. Of course, they had no comment. I think the only reason the government did this raid is the negative publicity that will hurt the tourism industry.
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