Who Has Been Getting Killed in Juarez? Report from Norte

Herika Martinez Prado, writing for Norte, reports this morning that more than 80 percent of the victims of assassination in Juarez in the past two weeks were former police officers who had been accused at some point in the past of illicit activities, such as selling drugs at picaderos (places where drugs are sold). Many had connections with businesses that are sometimes associated with picaderos, such as workshops or used car lots. The neighborhoods where assassinations were most frequent during the recent spike in killings were the colonias Chaveña, Azteca, Hidalgo, Melchor Ocampo, and Infonavit Casas Grandes. According to the deputy prosecutor of Chihuahua for the Northern Zone, Alejandro Pariente Núñez, the killers are now using handguns and are driving in a wide variety of automobiles. In the past they were using luxury vehicles and long-barreled guns.