5 killed in Palomas
By Kevin Buey / Deming Headlight
Article Launched: 05/12/2008 12:00:00 AM MDT


Five men were shot and killed Sunday in Palomas, Chihuahua, as the violence that has gripped Mexican border cities continues at an alarming rate with little impact felt from a massive response from the Mexican government in an effort to control warring drug cartels.
The killings in Palomas, across the border from Columbus, N.M., come after the slayings of two men there Friday, the fatal shooting of the police director in Juárez on Saturday and several other ambushes of police officers and mob-style killings.

Sunday's victims in Palomas were identified by authorities as Leonel Martinez Chacon, 30; Gabriel Martinez Chacon, 28; Armando Carreon Caraveo, 41; Luis Carreon Caraveo, 39; and Eduardo Saldivar Porras, 25.

The Carreon Caraveos are related to Arnoldo Carreon Renteria, 57, and his son, Arnoldo Carreon, 25, who were shot to death at about 1:30 p.m. Friday. Arnoldo Carreon Renteria is the brother of Epifiano Carreon, killed in Palomas in shootings May 7, 2007, officials said.

On Sunday, Luna County Investigator Gary Leyba said 162 shells were found at the scene on Avenida Cinco de Mayo. The predawn violence was reported at 2:20 a.m. Leyba said information from Mexican authorities said the casings were from automatic weapons.

The latest killings disturbed Luna County Sheriff Raymond Cobos, who called the violence that has taken hold in Palomas as an "international tragedy."

"On scale and proportion, it's every bit as bad as Baghdad in Iraq. It's mind boggling," he
Cobos said he fears that the violence may one day spill into the U.S. unintentionally during a gunbattle and innocent people may be hurt.

He said every day about 400 children who live in Palomas, but are U.S. citizens, cross the border to get on buses to go to school. He said he fears for the safety of the children and has assigned deputies to guard them.

Cobos also said the effectiveness of dispatching 200 Mexican soldiers to Palomas to reduce violence resulted in mild success.

"The other thing that I can surmise," Cobos said about the warring factions, "is the message to the (Mexican) federal government is, 'It doesn't matter how many people you have down here, we can strike any time, day or night.' "

Cobos said the violence will change the way Palomas and Columbus depend on each other economically.

He said the days when hundreds of U.S. tourists would go to Palomas to shop and Mexican tourists would cross into the United States to shop are gone.

"I don't think we will ever get there, again," he said.

"To me, the scary part is the illegal forces will create a de facto government," Cobos said. He said it can get to the point where militias will run the town "kind of like Beirut."

In Juárez, Juan Antonio Roman Garcia, 54, the police director, was shot and killed just before 2 a.m. near his home as he rode in his pickup. On Friday, a Juárez police commander and two bodyguards survived an attack as they made their rounds.

On Sunday, thousands of people marched for peace in Juárez in protest of the recent violence that has claimed the lives of more than 250 people since the beginning of the year.

Juárez Mayor Jose Reyes Ferriz, responding to the slaying of Roman Garcia, said his administration would not waver by the attacks on police officials and that the city would continue to fight organized crime "until we can reach the peace Ciudad Juárez deserves."

Violence in Juárez decreased after the Mexican government sent 2,000 soldiers and federal officers, but killings began a steady increase in recent weeks.

El Paso Times reporter Armando V. Durazo contributed to this story.





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