4 from El Paso wounded at Juárez nightclub

By Daniel Borunda / El Paso Times
Article Launched: 05/09/2008 12:00:00 AM MDT

Four El Pasoans were shot and wounded shortly before 1 a.m. Thursday as they were leaving the Arriba Chihuahua nightclub in the ProNaF tourist zone in Juárez, but it's unknown whether they were targeted or merely unlucky bystanders caught up in the wave of violence that has recently engulfed Juárez, police said.
The wounds did not appear to be life-threatening, police said.

According to a Juárez police statement, two of the wounded were standing outside the club when they heard gunfire and noticed they had been shot. Two other victims were found in a gray pickup.

The wounded were identified by police as Juan Manuel Contreras Machado, 32, who was shot in the leg; Luz Elena Velazquez, 27, who was shot in the leg; Jorge Jimenez, 21, who was grazed by five shots; and Alejandro Vazquez, 26, who was shot in the leg. Police said the four are El Pasoans.

Police said Contreras Machado was hospitalized in Juárez. Vazquez and Jimenez were taken to a hospital in El Paso, and Velazquez went home.

Thomason Hospital staff confirmed on Thursday afternoon that Vazquez and Jimenez were in stable condition there.

Juárez police spokesman Jaime Torres described the shooting as an "isolated incident" and that police had already been paying extra attention to tourist sections of the border city.

"There are special operations and more patrols (in tourist areas) but when this happens, it happens too quickly," Torres said.

"There is (police) vigilance at night, but there are fights in the nightclubs. They (patrons) are drunk and nothing can be done. Sometimes they provoke the fights themselves," Torres said. Assault cases have declined in the tourist spots, he added.
At the scene of the shooting, investigators found nine 9 mm bullet casings and a green Chevrolet Malibu with Chihuahua plates that had four gunshots in its side windows and windshield.

Since the start of the year, more than 200 people, including several law enforcement officers, have been killed in Juárez in a war between the rival Sinaloa and Juárez drug cartels.

In March, the Mexican government sent more than 2,000 soldiers and federal police officers to curb the violence in Juárez. Killings slowed for a few weeks after the arrival of federal forces but appear to have recently resumed.

Last month, the U.S. State Department updated its travel alert for Mexico warning U.S. tourists about the ongoing violence, including the drug battles in Juárez. The alert, which is less serious than a "travel warning," advises visitors to travel during the day, avoid traveling alone and stick to well-known tourist zones.

Daniel Borunda may be reached at dborunda@elpasotimes.com; 546-6102.

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