5 jailed in Mexico slayings
By Daniel Borunda / El Paso Times
Article Launched: 06/26/2008 12:00:00 AM MDT

A reputed high-ranking Azteca gang member and four other suspected hit men have been arrested in connection with multiple homicides in the Juárez area, Mexican federal and Chihuahua state authorities said Wednesday.

The arrests, which were part of the Joint Operation Chihuahua, are believed to be among the first related to the mob-style violence behind the slayings of more than 500 people in Juárez this year.

The men are accused of belonging to different hit squads involved in homicides in Juárez, Palomas and villages in the Valley of Juárez.

Reputed Azteca gang member Jose Alfredo Palacios Rivera, 49, is accused of being involved in five homicides, including driving the vehicle used in the killing of Juárez police human resources director Silvia Molina Guzman on June 16.

Palacios is also suspected in the death of Laura Elena Ramirez Chavez, who was shot and killed





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