Police chief of town near Juárez is slain
By Daniel Borunda / El Paso Times
Article Launched: 08/23/2008 12:00:00 AM MDT




EL PASO -- The police director of Villa Ahumada was found slain Friday morning, three months after the small Chihuahua town made international news when its surviving police force quit after the murder of several officers.

Jesus Blanco Cano was head of the public safety department in the town, about 70 miles south of Juárez. Unconfirmed reports stated he was assigned to the post the day before his death.

Chihuahua state police said Blanco's body was found on a road near Rancho Chaparral, which is off the Chihuahua City-Juárez highway. Blanco's hands were bound behind his back, he was blindfolded, and he was shot multiple times, including in the face and chest. Investigators found 12 bullet casings at the scene.

On May 18, assassins killed six men, including three police officers, in Villa Ahumada. More than 200 rounds were fired, and residents closed shops and hunkered down in homes.

In Juárez, the bloodshed continued Friday as gunmen in a van fired 44 rounds and killed four men in a car stopped at a red light, police said. Since Monday, more than 40 people have been slain in the Juárez area, where nearly 900 homicides have occurred this year.

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



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