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| Caribbean-Latin America | |
| Mexican police chief gunned down | |
| 2005-06-09 | |
| A police chief in a northern Mexican border city has been killed by gunmen - just hours after taking the post. Alejandro Dominguez was sprayed by at least 30 bullets after attackers ambushed his car in Nuevo Laredo late on Wednesday, witnesses said. Dozens of people have been killed in the region in a wave of drug-related violence since the authorities launched a crackdown on drug gangs in January. The US has warned citizens about the risks of travelling in the border area.
The attackers - who arrived in three vehicles - opened fire as Dominguez was getting in his car on Wednesday evening, a witness was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency. "They cut him off so he couldn't go. They shot him from inside [the vehicles] and then got out to shoot him more," the witness said. He added that the gunmen then drove away slowly, with their lights turned off. Dominguez had taken office earlier in the day, saying he was not afraid of any threats. "I don't owe anybody anything. My duty is to the citizenry," he said. More than 50 people have been killed since January in Nuevo Laredo - a major transit point for drugs entering the US. Armed Mexican police have been patrolling Nuevo Laredo - just across from Laredo in Texas - and other Mexican border cities since President Vicente Fox launched "the mother of all battles" on drug cartels and crime there. And in other Mexican news: MEXICO CITY, June 9 (UPI) -- Masked gunmen entered a hospital in northern Mexico and killed a federal agent recovering from a previous shooting.Two others also were killed. Investigators said the seven men entered the hospital and covered a security camera before heading upstairs to the room of federal agent Victor Estrada, El Universal reported Thursday. So far authorities have no suspects in Wednesday's killing. Estrada was recovering from a shooting earlier in the week while he was on vacation. He reportedly had been suspended from Mexico's Federal Agency of Investigation for unspecified reasons then reinstated in March. | |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #20 Prohibition causes artifical shortages, creating higher prices, and coupled with the attendant lawbreaking, the violence associated with such items. Should cocaine be legalized (something I am not in favor of), it would be no more expensive than caffeine. Anybody killed over a cup of coffee lately? When was the last person killed over liquor distribution issues in the US? The day before prohibition ended would be my guess. But of course, the abuse problem would have to be addressed.... Marijuana has less of an abuse problem than harder drugs... |
| Posted by: Mark E. 2005-06-09 19:21 |
| #19 I like that first sentance Eric. We can maybe solve half the problem. We already live in a permissive drug culture. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-06-09 16:07 |
| #18 10, 13, 16 Bobby's One Bullet a Month Solution© Everyone gets a free gun and one free bullet a month. Second bullet is $100, third is $1,000. After a while, only courteous folks would be left! But eventually, sales would fall off and taxes would have to go up .... |
| Posted by: Bobby 2005-06-09 13:57 |
| #17 We have a choice, either have a societal problem with drug abuse, or have a societal problem with drug abuse and a black market. I don't believe in solutions only tradeoffs. Bad drugs drive out safer (or less unsafe) drugs in a black market. Heroin is more profitable than pot, prisoners go blind from drinking methanol,and Merck is prohibited from making safer drugs that make you feel good. |
| Posted by: Eric 2005-06-09 11:02 |
| #16 Shipman, if they ever make driving while stupid illegal, I'll be housebound for sure! |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2005-06-09 10:48 |
| #15 I'm sick of this stupid drug war. It's time to end the prohibition on drugs. Why do we care if people want to ruin their own lives. Time to make the drugs available in a sane manner and stop the illegal trade. Arguments about the drug war aside, my cynicism says the traffickers will just move onto something else that's illegal and in high demand. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2005-06-09 10:47 |
| #14 prohibition vs. decriminalizing vs. legalizing. The three choices all have there pros and cons. another slant/ Do you want to raise your kids in a permissive drug culture? Kids make mistakes(as well as adults), some kids are risk takers by nature. |
| Posted by: Red Dog 2005-06-09 10:37 |
| #13 Shipman, if you make driving in the left lane at 68 mph a death penalty-eligible offense, I second that motion! ;) |
| Posted by: Desert Blondie 2005-06-09 10:28 |
| #12 Now why did they go and do that? That new police chief might have been the greatest ally drug/people smugglers could ever have had..... |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2005-06-09 10:09 |
| #11 lol! Shipman - thanks for breaking me out my rant! |
| Posted by: 2b 2005-06-09 09:59 |
| #10 Or driving while stupid? Let's make stupidity illegal, setup a war on nitwittery, make prolonged driving in the left interstate lane at 68 MPH a Class 1 felony. We can do it. We have the means. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-06-09 09:57 |
| #9 ok..you got me started... I don't mean legal in the sense that you can buy heroin a the local market. I mean legal in the sense of perscription drugs. Legal in the sense that we don't allow advertising. Legal in the sense that we allow people who are already addicted to get it through a doctor or program. And yes, it is possible to determine who is already addicted. Would there be corruption - yes, in the same way that there is with legal pain killers. But that is much easier to regulate and manage than the present situation with cartels and corrupt governments providing the supply. |
| Posted by: 2b 2005-06-09 09:55 |
| #8 and besides, right now there is nothing to stop them from getting the drugs and driving stoned anyway. I know nothing about getting drugs. But I feel quite certain, that if I wanted to, I could drive downtown and have whatever my little heart desired in less than 1/2 hour. |
| Posted by: 2b 2005-06-09 09:46 |
| #7 Time to make the drugs available in a sane manner and stop the illegal trade. Just give me enough advance warning so I can buy stock in Nabisco. |
| Posted by: BH 2005-06-09 09:45 |
| #6 not enough killed with alcohol... that's a red flag and you know it. 40,000 people are killed on our highways annually and alcohol deaths are just a part of it. By your logic, no more cell phones, no more fast food, no more teen drivers, no more old drivers, no more truck drivers. But wait, instead, let's look at the number of people killed world wide by the drug trade. Let's look at how many governments are corrupted by the money gained through it. Let's look at the money we waste. Heck, if you are so worried about traffic deaths, we could take all of that money we spend on the drug war and all of the taxes that we would get from making it legal in a sane and reasonable manner (no I don't mean crack machines on the corner) and we could do much better than limit the number of people killed by stoned drivers. |
| Posted by: 2b 2005-06-09 09:44 |
| #5 The 2 June 2005 incident is worst of all -- MS-13?? More likely just a mugging, or attempted kidnapping. They grab a lot of people of Mexican decent visiting from the US. Their families will pay to have them released. I figure they decided they couldn't get anything for him, so they let him go. |
| Posted by: Steve 2005-06-09 09:44 |
| #4 2b - not enough citizen killed annually on the highway with just alcohol? |
| Posted by: Jert Flinert7749 2005-06-09 09:32 |
| #3 The problem here is not solved by legalizing drugs. The entire Mexican government is corrupt from top to bottom. Just about everyone from dog catcher to President is on the take in some way. This case points out why we have so much illegal immigration. If we want to stop the flow of illegals across the border, we have to deal with the inherent corruption in Mexico's society and political system. Yes our government could do a much better job defending the border and enforcing immigration laws, but we could build a moat filled wth fire and a 100' high fence of razor wire and there would still be a flood of illegal immigration as long as Mexico is corrupt. We should take a hard line with the political leaders of Mexico - especially Vincente Fox. Instead of letting him set the agenda, demanding that the US do this or that, we should make a few demands of our own. Mexico needs to guard the border too. They need to reform their polical system and thereby, their economy. We can play an integral role in their reform, but it shoudn't be in the form of handouts. With the current political climate, spending money on Mexico is throwing it down a rathole. It never ceases to amaze me that we are the world's one remaining true "superpower" and yet we don't have the guts to wield the power. |
| Posted by: Theretch Cloluting3605 2005-06-09 09:08 |
| #2 The 2 June 2005 incident is worst of all -- MS-13?? I need a link ... |
| Posted by: Edward Yee 2005-06-09 09:06 |
| #1 I'm sick of this stupid drug war. It's time to end the prohibition on drugs. Why do we care if people want to ruin their own lives. Time to make the drugs available in a sane manner and stop the illegal trade. Even in societies where they will kill you for drug use, people continue to use them. The demand exists, time to create a supply system that harms only those who choose to harm themselves. |
| Posted by: 2b 2005-06-09 08:40 |