Monday, March 29, 2010

The Beat: Closing in on 600 Murders So Far This Year; Another Decapitation

In Praxedis Guerrero (a suburb of Juarez) armed men in two vehicles shot at the municipal police command post Saturday night at midnight, breaking windows in offices and automobiles. Five neighbors who witnessed the attack were apprehended, lined up, and shot. Included among the victims was a 17-year old man, who had been drinking beer at home with his girlfriend and mother when the attack began and he went with his girlfriend to investigate. Their bodies were found yesterday morning 600 meters from the Juarez-Porvenir highway on a dirt road near Km. 58, near the village of Placitas.

The whole Valle de Juarez, of which Praxedis is a part, has been victimized by severe violence in the past few days. Armed gangs have burned homes, and cardboard signs placed in Guadalupe (a village of Distrito Bravos not far from Praxedis) warned residents of the area to abandon their homes or their homes would be burned. At 9 a.m. Sunday morning a man was found shot to death on the Juarez-Porvenir highway at El Sauzal.

In Juarez a 19-year old man, Ismael Hernandez Rivas, was shot to death in front of his home at 3:00 a.m. on Sunday morning. A woman was found dead this morning in Col. Juarez "encobijada" (wrapped in a blanket, a common phenomenon).

Last Thursday five men and a woman were found shot to death is various parts of Cd. Juarez and Valle de Juarez. One of the victims had been decapitated. His head was wrapped in a black plastic bag and placed just outside the Michelle Bar, about 15 feet from the body. The body also showed signs of multiple injuries to the back.

Today La Polaka reports that three men were shot to death at the intersection of Golfo de Panama and Golfo de Honduras in the frequently violent Col. Ciudad Moderna. Armed men driving a black Expedition arrived in front of a house and shot three men standing near the entrance of the house.

At least 202 persons have been executed so far in March, and 594 so far this year, a record pace.

Compiled from stories in Norte, Diario (1) (2). Click for original stories.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

What are the chances of sending Gov Richardson to Juarez to be a Security Czar to clean up the issues in Mexico. Its a win win for NM we can get rid of him and he will know first hand how we have been living here in the valley.

Anonymous said...

Classic, I guess there is many that want to see Richardson leave.