11 policemen killed near Mexico City over 3 days

ASSOCIATED PRESS

November 3, 2008

TOLUCA, Mexico – Eleven policemen have been shot to death near Mexico City in a three-day string of drug-gang attacks, prosecutors said yesterday.

Mexico state prosecutor Alberto Bazbaz said 10 suspects believed linked to drug gangs have been arrested in the killings, which mainly occurred on highways and at police checkpoints in the state that loops around Mexico's capital. Some of the suspects were carrying rifles and grenades at the time of their arrest.

Bazbaz said many of the suspects were from the neighboring state of Michoacan, a hotbed of drug violence dominated by a gang known as The Family.

But he said evidence indicates that low-level traffickers and criminals, rather than organized cartel hit squads, were responsible for the attacks.

It was not clear if the killings were part of a coordinated plan.

Mexico state police commander Germán GarcNamoreno said patrols will be beefed up to confront the violence. The state, like many others across the country, has faced increased drug trafficking and threats against local authorities.

Meanwhile, federal police reported on Saturday that they arrested the reputed leader of the violent Gulf drug cartel for the border city of Reynosa, across from McAllen, Texas.

Federal police said in a statement that Antonio Galarza was arrested in the northern city of Monterrey on Friday on suspicion of weapons violations and organized crime. He is under house arrest while authorities complete their investigation.

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