Weekend bloodshed continues
By Zahira Torres / El Paso Times
Article Launched: 05/27/2008 12:00:00 AM MDT


An e-mail that warned of violence during Memorial Day weekend proved to have some credibility as the death toll continued to rise Monday in Juárez, officials said.
The slaying of three people Monday, along with the death of a woman shot last week, raised the weekend death toll to at least 22.

While initial reports indicated that about 25 people had been killed as of Sunday night, Juárez police reported that 11 people -- including two police officers -- were killed Friday night and another eight were killed as of early Monday morning.

At least three more were killed Monday afternoon, police said.

"We had some special operations because of the threat that was released on the Internet," said Jaime Torres, spokesman for the Juárez police department. "We implemented the operations this weekend and unfortunately, we were not able to prevent all the violence, which included the killing of two of our police officers."

Torres said an e-mail warning people that Memorial Day weekend would be the "bloodiest and deadliest" that Juárez has seen sparked additional precautionary security measures.

The e-mail warned residents to stay in their homes, refrain from going to nightclubs and avoid major streets. People on both sides of the border worried about the message, which warned of a limpia, or cleansing, that would spur an unprecedented amount of shootings and execution-style killings throughout the city during the weekend.

At 2:05 a.m. Monday, police found the contorted body of
Jorge Lorenzo Diaz Acaña, 23, who died after being stabbed at the intersection of Jacinto Carro and Pablo Picasso streets.
Police were also investigating the possible killings of two people Monday night at the intersection of Calle Hospital and Ignacio Alatorreon, Torres said.

While not officially releasing names, police said one of the victims is believed to be 45-year-old Martin Bustos Garcia. At about 3:50 p.m., police found him shot to death in the driver's seat of a Suburban. The bullets that killed Bustos came from a moving car. No additional information was available on the second person, Torres said.

Maria del Socorro Rueda Barrientos, 38, who was shot in the head, face and arm May 19 at Bar 69 on Avenida Tecnológica, died at about6 a.m. Monday.

Warring drug cartels have been linked to the violence -- which includes execution-style killings and ambushes and has claimed the lives of more than 300 people in Juárez this year.

Officials with U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Consulate in Mexico could not be reached Monday night for comment on the weekend killings.

A 35-year-old man, who has yet to be identified, was found dead Sunday at the intersection of Peru and Ingeniero David Herrera. The man, nicknamed, "El Sangre" or "The Blood," died from head trauma after being hit with a blunt object. Details of his death were released Monday.

A man who was found dead early Sunday after he was shot five times at the intersection of Emiliano Zapata and Rubén Jaramillo streets, was identified as 35-year-old Luis Ramos Diaz.

Police have not yet identified the person whose charred body was found at 11:13 a.m. Sunday in the back of a blue 1995 Chevrolet pickup in a parking lot on Chihuahua and Tapachula streets.

Juarez police are still mourning the deaths of officers Fabián Reyes Urbina, 32, and Carlos Valdez RodrÃ*guez, 39, who were gunned down Friday at Juan Mata Ortiz and Acacias streets. One of the officers was killed inside a green 1993 Ford Escort while the other man was found dead on the sidewalk.

"The mood is one of sadness, pain and impotence, but we have to keep working, keep patrolling and we have to attempt to implement preventative measures for another attack," Torres said.

The spokesman said that was one of the reasons the police department sought the help of state and federal authorities, who sent about 2,500 soldiers and federal police to Juárez in an effort to curb the violence.

While violence is not expected to reach El Paso, authorities said they are ready to tackle any situation that may arise.

Zahira Torres may be reached at ztorres@elpasotimes.com; 546-6156.







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