8 deaths on Friday cap bloody week in Juárez
And no one is
surprised.
The killers arrived at the motel in the predawn
gloom.
Dressed in military-style uniforms and armed with automatic weapons, they forced the manager to hand over a guest list, then stormed from room to room, pointing their guns at the terrified occupants.
In Room 49 they opened fire on the man and woman inside. The woman’s body was on the floor next to the bed, and the man was in the bathroom. At least 100 bullet casings were found, police said. The killers escaped in three late-model SUVs.
These were but two of eight killings in this grim border city as Good Friday turned to Black Friday, culminating one of the bloodiest weeks in memory, officials and residents said…
Most of the killings Friday were believed to be related to the ongoing battle between the Juárez and Sinaloa drug cartels, U.S. and Mexican officials said. More than 160 people have been slain in Juárez since Jan. 1, including about 30 in the past week…
Earlier this week, hitmen left two bodies, their hands tied behind their backs, at the entrance of the city of Palomas. Police Chief Emilio Pérez, whose force has had two officers killed, was threatened by phone and told that he would be next. Within hours, the six remaining police officers quit their jobs. Mr. Pérez drove across the border and asked for political asylum, a U.S. law enforcement agent said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
I’ll repeat the obvious. A system of law - in practice - that allows corruption and cronyism, a culture that casts a blind eye on gangsters and politicians who are nothing more than thieves, is destined to devolve into anarchy.
Dressed in military-style uniforms and armed with automatic weapons, they forced the manager to hand over a guest list, then stormed from room to room, pointing their guns at the terrified occupants.
In Room 49 they opened fire on the man and woman inside. The woman’s body was on the floor next to the bed, and the man was in the bathroom. At least 100 bullet casings were found, police said. The killers escaped in three late-model SUVs.
These were but two of eight killings in this grim border city as Good Friday turned to Black Friday, culminating one of the bloodiest weeks in memory, officials and residents said…
Most of the killings Friday were believed to be related to the ongoing battle between the Juárez and Sinaloa drug cartels, U.S. and Mexican officials said. More than 160 people have been slain in Juárez since Jan. 1, including about 30 in the past week…
Earlier this week, hitmen left two bodies, their hands tied behind their backs, at the entrance of the city of Palomas. Police Chief Emilio Pérez, whose force has had two officers killed, was threatened by phone and told that he would be next. Within hours, the six remaining police officers quit their jobs. Mr. Pérez drove across the border and asked for political asylum, a U.S. law enforcement agent said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
I’ll repeat the obvious. A system of law - in practice - that allows corruption and cronyism, a culture that casts a blind eye on gangsters and politicians who are nothing more than thieves, is destined to devolve into anarchy.
Posted: Sun - March 23, 2008 at 12:15 PM