THE WAR ON OUR SOUTHERN BORDER: GUNMEN KILL 17 IN MEXICO
Mexico’s Drug Killings
Nearly 23,000 people have died in drug-related violence since 2006, according to the government, with northern border states experiencing the worst of the violence.
Gunmen opened fire during an outdoor party at the Italia Inn in Torreón, Mexico, on Sunday.
Gunmen opened fire early Sunday on a gathering in the northern Mexican city of Torreón, killing at least 17 people, government officials said.
The attack occurred about 1:30 a.m. at a venue called Italia Inn when the gunmen arrived armed with assault rifles and opened fire, they said. An additional 18 people were wounded in the attack.
Photos from the local press showed pools of blood in a walled garden patio. Upturned chairs and musical instruments were scattered under an outdoor tent where the party had been taking place.
The gunmen blocked the exits to the venue before firing their AK-47 and AR-15 assault rifles, according to Mexican news reports.
More than 120 bullet casings were found by investigators at the scene. A partial list of the dead placed the victims’ ages between 20 and 38 years.
The motivation for the killings was unclear Sunday. Organized attacks with assault rifles are usually the work of drug organizations.
The shooting was similar to a strike on a party in Ciudad Juárez on Jan. 31 that left 15 students dead.
The teenagers had gathered to watch an American football game when a group of gunmen arrived and opened fire.
That attack prompted public outcry in Ciudad Juárez and a visit from President Felipe Calderón, who originally described the incident as a conflict between gang members. Authorities later said it was a case of mistaken identity.
Earlier this month, police said a local gang member had confessed to the killings, saying that the target had been a rival drug group and that the students were killed by accident.
The past week has been particularly bloody in northern Mexico.
On Thursday, a car bomb exploded among police vehicles in Ciudad Juárez, killing four people and marking what was believed to be the first such attack during the drug war.
On Friday, four more people were killed in other towns throughout the state of Chihuahua. Also that day, gunmen burst into a party at a house in Ciudad Juárez, killing five factory workers.
Torreón too has been the site of escalating violence. The big industrial city is the site of a conflict between the Zetas and Gulf cartels, two drug-trafficking organizations.
In May, eight people were killed when three gunmen opened fire into a local bar. That month, police officers in the city held a strike, saying they had no protection from drug hit men.
More than 25,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence in Mexico since 2006, the year that President Calderón escalated the government’s fight against organized crime. A large part of the violence occurs in northern Mexico, near U.S. border crossings where drugs and firearms cross illegally.
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