Law enforcement warned not to visit Juárez, 11 bodies found
By Adriana M. Chávez / El Paso Times
Article Launched: 05/23/2008 04:15:11 PM MDT


A family watches Army soldiers pass through their neighborhood during an anti-drug operation in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Tuesday, May 13, 2008. Mexico's President Felipe Calderon has sent thousands of soldiers and federal police across the nation to confront the drug cartels. (AP photo / El Paso Times illustration)
Related
Juarez Violence
May 23:
Juárez police find three charred bodies in carFive bodies, two heads found on street in JuárezE-mail: Weekend will be 'bloodiest and deadliest'May 21:
14-year-old boy among latest slain in JuárezMay 20:
Ex-army major to lead Juárez police forceMay 19:
Retired Mexican army major named new public safety secretary for JuárezFlorida woman says man slain in Juarez is husbandMay 18:
3 more slain in JuárezLocal law enforcement on Friday were being warned about traveling to Juárez in the wake of threats of a "bloody" weekend and at least 11 murders since Thursday.

Although representatives from law enforcement agencies would not confirm such warnings given to officers, there have been reports that law enforcement are being asked to refrain from visiting Juárez after an e-mail was sent out this week warning that this weekend will be the "bloodiest and deadliest" in the city's history.

"There hasn't been anything like that," said Javier Sambrano, spokesman for the El Paso Police Department.

On Thursday, several versions of a e-mail began circulating with an English translation warning residents to stay home and out of nightclubs, and to avoid major streets during the day. The e-mail warned of shootings and executions throughout Juárez during a limpia, or cleansing, in response to threats from drug traffickers. In response to the e-mail, Juárez Mayor José Reyes FerrÃ*z canceled his trip to Columbia and returned to the city late Friday.

Sambrano said that U.S. citizens traveling to Juárez this weekend are being advised to contact the U.S. Consulate to get a sense of how the growing violence will affect them. El Paso Police are in "constant communication" with police officials in Juárez, Sambrano said, and there is no sign that any of the violence will spill into El Paso.

El Paso County Sheriff's spokesman Jesus Tovar said that although deputies don't expect the violence
to spread to El Paso, they are prepared.
"In case it does spill over, we're ready," Tovar said. "We work well with other local and federal agencies, and so far it's business as usual."

There were also reports that U.S. Department of Homeland Security employees also were being advised not to travel to Juárez, but Nicole Thompson, the department's spokeswoman in Washington, D.C., said only that a travel advisory issued in April to citizens planning to visit northern Mexico still stands.

"There's not an alert issued specifically for Juárez. There is mention of some of the violence and some of the activities there," Thompson said. "The alert extends to all American citizens, but it doesn't forbid them from traveling anywhere."

Friday's warnings were issued on the heels of at least 11 murders in Juárez since Thursday evening, including the discovery of five bodies in an empty lot near Prolongación Vicente Guerrero and Antonio J. Bermúdez streets Friday morning.

All five were wrapped in blankets, and two had been decapitated with their heads wrapped in white plastic. Attached to the bodies was a note calling them "traitors" who were associated with Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, leader of the Sinaloa drug cartel. The note was signed "La LÃ*nea," which is reputed to be a line of corrupt police officers protecting drug traffickers.

Three other bodies were also found Friday afternoon in the Santa Teresa colonia near Maria Del Carmen ManÃ*ex and Antonio Machado streets. The bodies had been burned and were found in a gold 1994 Oldsmobile. A note reading "X marranos traicioneros," or "treasonous pigs," was also found in the car.

The 11 murders prompted a call from Juárez's PRI party to Mexican President Felipe Calderón, a PAN-ista, to strengthen military presence in the city in response to the violence.

"Where is (Calderón) with his supposed actions against drug trafficking," PRI officials wrote in a news release. "He announced through the media the arrival of 2,000 troops who we're not seeing."

Since earlier this year, more than 3,000 Mexican federal soldiers have been deployed to patrol Juárez streets.

Adriana M. Chávez may be reached at achavez@elpasotimes.com; 546-6117.

Reporter Daniel Borunda contributed to this story.









http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_9361450?s ... ost_viewed







[/img][/img]