Police Chief shot dead hours after taking office

[nofx]

NUEVO LAREDO, Mexico ? Alejandro Dominguez was the only person brave enough to apply for the job of police chief of this lawless border city.

He took office Wednesday afternoon, declaring he wasn't afraid of anything. Shortly after nightfall, he was dead, gunned down by assailants in this city on the front line of a turf battle between Mexico's two main drug gangs.

Early today, most city officials channeled all questions to Mayor Daniel Peña, who was holding private meetings and hadn't made a public appearance.

Councilman Joaquim Treviño called on President Vicente Fox to do more, two months after the federal government sent in 700 soldiers and federal agents.

"The reality is that there isn't anyone who wants this job," he said.

Only a few people ventured out into the streets, and a handful of federal authorities made routine patrols.

A spokesman at the federal Attorney General's office refused to say if his office planned to take additional measures.

"We are defenseless," said Zorina Medrano, a lawyer interviewed at City Hall. "It's obvious that the criminals are better organized (than the authorities.) They sent the national army and even they weren't respected. Who else can we ask for help?"

Today, most residents hadn't even heard of the killing, and those who had weren't surprised. Bloody battles and shootouts have become commonplace here: Since January, more than 60 people have been killed in Nuevo Laredo, including Dominguez and six other police officials. A man and a woman were shot around midnight, in a sign of the continuing violence.

Eliseo Serrato, who shines shoes near a bridge linking the United States and Mexico, said he used to work late into the night. Now, he heads home before dark.

"I don't know what the solution is," Serrato said. "Sometimes I think there is none."

City officials had searched for weeks before hiring Dominguez, 52, the leader of the local chamber of commerce and a former anti-drug official at the federal attorney general's office.

Jose Valdes left the police chief's post in early May to become City Council secretary.

Dominguez was the only applicant for the job, which many saw as a death sentence.

"When someone takes that position, the first thing you think is: 'How long will they last?" Serrato said. "Now, anyone who takes that job is risking their life."

Officials had no suspects in Dominguez's death, although the assault rifles used were similar to those popular among drug hit men.

"I don't owe anybody, anything," Dominguez had said before taking office. "My duty is to the citizenry. I think those who should be afraid are those who have been compromised."

A witness told The Associated Press that Dominguez had climbed into his pickup truck late Wednesday when a group of men arrived in three dark Chevy Suburbans and blocked his car.

The witness, who asked not to be identified for fear of retribution, said the assailants opened fire from inside their cars, then got out to shoot some more.

Dominguez was hit dozens of times. An autopsy was being conducted today.

The witness said that after the attack, the gunmen climbed back into their cars and headed west slowly, with their lights turned off.

The endless violence has become a sensitive topic for Mexico, which has criticized the United States for warning tourists and others to be careful in the border region.

Nuevo Laredo is the busiest border crossing for cargo trucks heading to the United States from Mexico, and U.S. officials have said the violence could threaten trade.

Chris Amundsen, 57, of San Antonio, said he knew of the warning, but didn't take it seriously.

"You can be in the wrong place at the wrong time anywhere in the world," he said while drinking a beer with his girlfriend during an afternoon shopping trip to the Mexican town.

While drug violence has increased all along the border, Nuevo Laredo has been the center of a turf battle between the Juarez and Gulf cartels.

A 19-year-old liquor store clerk, who refused to give his name for fear of retribution, said tourists have stopped crossing over from Texas and sales have dropped more than half since January, when the violence intensified.

The clerk shrugged off news of the killing, saying his friend was shot and wounded last week while driving down the street. The motive for that shooting was unknown.

Authorities say drug-related violence in Nuevo Laredo worsened after the 2003 arrest of Osiel Cardenas, the alleged leader of the Gulf Cartel, in the nearby city of Matamoros.

They say accused drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman has been fighting Cardenas to gain access to drug smuggling routes in Nuevo Laredo and other border cities.

A group of Mexican soldiers who defected to join the drug trade have become know as the Zetas, and police say they are responsible for carrying out much of the Gulf Cartel's killings.

http://killpolice.com/blog/index.php?p=30


ole dude got fucked up

[BVF]

I'll take the job and let the mexicans know that I'm willing to be bought....I wouldn't give a FUCK about policing them.

[Doctor Dre]

Originally Posted by BVF

I'll take the job and let the mexicans know that I'm willing to be bought....I wouldn't give a FUCK about policing them.

Or they could just kill you for the price of a bullet and no1 would do shit ?!

[BIGTYMER]

I saw shit about that on the news... that makes it 4 chiefs this week...