Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
My Profile
Top News
Reuters top ten news stories delivered to your inbox each day.
Subscribe
You are here:
Home
>
News
>
International
>
Article
Home
Business & Finance
News
U.S.
Politics
International
Technology
Entertainment
Sports
Lifestyle
Oddly Enough
Environment
Health
Science
Special Coverage
Video
Pictures
Your View
The Great Debate
Blogs
Weather
Reader Feedback
Do More With Reuters
RSS
Widgets
Mobile
Podcasts
Newsletters
Your View
Make Reuters My Homepage
Partner Services
CareerBuilder
Affiliate Network
Professional Products
Support (Customer Zone)
Reuters Media
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
Mexico troops move in to retake warring border city
Tue Mar 3, 2009 2:53pm EST
Email | Print |
Share
| Reprints | Single Page
[-]
Text
[+]
By Robin Emmott
CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (Reuters) - Hundreds of heavily armed soldiers fanned out across Mexico's bloodiest drug war city on Tuesday, trying to prevent a collapse in law and order just south of the U.S. border.
Sirens blared as the army staged one of its biggest troop build-ups in years in Ciudad Juarez, a desert city across the border from El Paso, Texas, where near-daily clashes between drug gangs and police have terrified residents.
Infamous in the 1990s for the unsolved murders of hundreds of women, Ciudad Juarez is now engulfed in the worst drug violence in Mexico as cartels in league with corrupt cops fight over one of the country's most profitable smuggling routes.
More than 2,000 people have been murdered in the area over the past year and drug gang hitmen showed their power last month by forcing the city's police chief to resign with a threat to keep killing police officers until he quit.
"We've got to show we can achieve security in Juarez, for Mexico's sake, for its economy, for people's lives, for our international reputation," said Victor Valencia, the Chihuahua state governor's representative in Ciudad Juarez.
Ciudad Juarez is prized for its location smack in the middle of the 2,000 mile border with road and rail links deep into the United States. The Pacific-coast Sinaloa gang, led by top fugitive Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman, is one of several fighting for control of the city.
Mexico's police forces are tainted up to the highest levels by corruption and direct links to the drug cartels, and President Felipe Calderon has staked his reputation on a nationwide army-led crackdown on cartels.
Ciudad Juarez is now the most crucial battleground of a war that killed more than 6,000 people across Mexico last year and is scaring off investors in cities near the border.
"The solution is with the military. The federal, state and municipal police are infiltrated by organized crime," Valencia told Reuters.
The army expects to have 7,500 soldiers and federal police stationed in Ciudad Juarez by the end of the week, with a further 2,000 troops in the rest of Chihuahua state. Six local bishops pleaded in newspaper ads this week for an end to the killings that are "staining the state with blood".
Troops rolled past U.S.-style shopping malls in Ciudad Juarez on Tuesday to set up checkpoints at bridges running over the border and at the city's international airport, briefly shut last week after bomb threats.
GANGS PILE IN
Calderon has about 45,000 soldiers across Mexico fighting cartels but has never before sent so many troops to one city.
At least four main cartels are fighting for control of Ciudad Juarez, and gangs of unemployed youths have joined the fray to extort businesses, kidnap residents, rob banks and work as hitmen.
Residents fear the city could go the way of Colombia's Medellin at the height of the drug war there in the 1990s, when murder rates hit 6,000 deaths a year. Continued...
View article on single page
Share:
Del.icio.us
Digg
Mixx
Yahoo!
Facebook
LinkedIn
Next Article:
Clinton pledges to press for Palestinian state
Also On Reuters
AIG's meltdown has roots in Hank Greenberg era
Offering help, hope, U.S. "job clubs" see surge
Reuters Industry Summits: Travel & Leisure
More International News
Sri Lankan cricketers wounded in Pakistan attack
| Video
Clinton pledges to press for Palestinian state
| Video
Six powers commit to "direct diplomacy" with Iran
NATO seen moving toward normal Russia ties
Bangladesh arrests suspected mutiny leader
More International News...
Related News
FACTBOX: Ciudad Juarez, Mexico's most violent city
2:53pm EST
Editor's Choice
Slideshow
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Slideshow
Most Popular on Reuters
Articles
Video
U.S. rescue efforts may risk double-dip recession
Cost of locking up Americans too high: Pew study
UPDATE 3-GE reputation 'tarnished' -- CEO Immelt
Sri Lankan cricketers wounded in Pakistan attack | Video
Bernanke defends AIG rescue, says U.S. had no choice
Older people face greater HIV infection risks: study
Rebellion on "Sarah Silverman" set
UPDATE 1-Telenor refuses to block Pirate Bay access
February auto sales seen hovering at 27-year lows
AIG's meltdown has roots in Greenberg era | Video
Most Popular Articles RSS Feed
Video
Sri Lanka cricketers shot
Obama embarks on health reform
Gunmen attack Sri Lanka cricketers
Boater rescued, NFL players missing
Helivac for attacked cricket team
Chinese bidder refuses to pay
Cricket attack horrifies Sri Lanka
Clinton lays wreath at Yad Vashem
Clinton's hope for Mideast peace
Wall St. hammered by AIG fallout
Most Popular Videos RSS Feed
cricket team attacked
Sri Lanka cricket team attacked in Pakistan
Gunmen attacked Sri Lanka's cricket team with rifles, grenades and rockets, wounding six players and a British coach and killing at least eight Pakistanis in Lahore. Full Article | Video
Attack threatens sport in sub-continent
Who could have attacked Sri Lanka's cricketers?
Attack brings terror to quiet Lahore neighborhood
Factbox: Security concerns over cricket in Pakistan
Timeline: Cricket teams and militant attacks
Reuters Deals
The global destination for corporate leaders, deal-makers and innovators
Knowledge to Act
Reuters.com:
Help and Contact Us |
Advertise With Us |
Mobile |
Newsletters |
RSS |
Interactive TV |
Labs |
Reuters in Second Life |
Archive |
Site Index |
Video Index
Thomson Reuters Corporate:
Copyright |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Professional Products |
Professional Products Support |
About Thomson Reuters |
Careers
International Editions:
Africa |
Arabic |
Argentina |
Brazil |
Canada |
China |
France |
Germany |
India |
Italy |
Japan |
Latin America |
Mexico |
Russia |
Spain |
United Kingdom |
United States
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.