El Diario , Norte (both: Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua) 11/5/09
Panic In A School; A Close Call
[An update in yesterday's report about homicides in Ciudad Juarez mentioned that there had been eleven such crimes but that there were still hours left in the day] Wednesday ended with a total of fifteen execution style murders in Ciudad Juarez. One other person was wounded but so far had survived. Yesterday's report had also mentioned that, in Juarez, four individuals were made to leave a car and were placed against a wall, where they were shot.
The wall happened to be made of cinder blocks and made up the outside perimeter of a grade school. There were some thirty children doing exercises on the other side of the wall at the time, and four of the rounds went through the wall and narrowly missed hitting the children.
At the sound of gunfire panic ensued and teachers immediately made all children hit the ground. Children inside classrooms were also made to be on the floor for ten minutes.
The killers on the other side of the wall used AK47 assault rifles; around one hundred shell casings were later found in the area. The killers escaped. Juarez has now had thirty-three homicides during November.
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Reforma , El Universal (both: Mexico City) 11/5/09
Police Chief Murdered
Just last Saturday, Juan Esparza, a Mexican Brigadier General and past escort for two presidents, took over as "Secretary of Security" [read: Police Chief] of the city of Garcia, a satellite community of Monterrey, Nuevo Leon. Yesterday (Wed.) he and four escorts were responding to an assistance call from the city's mayor; on the way, they were ambushed by a number of killers in other vehicles. All five were killed in a torrent of assault rifle fire. Some 200 shell casings were later found at the scene. Afterward, the city's mayor ordered the immediate relief from duty of all 70 city policemen and an investigation into their activities surrounding the killings. Military and state police took over law enforcement duties in Garcia.
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La Prensa Grafica (San Salvador, El Salvador) 11/5/09
Military Reinforcing Police In El Salvador
El Salvador's Minister of Defense stated that 2,500 military personnel will be assigned to combat crime in the five departments [states] of the country with the highest incidence of homicides. Yesterday, the country's president announced the assignment of the military to assist the National Police in law enforcement. El Salvador, (slightly smaller than Massachusetts) has had 3,673 homicides this year. A retired Salvadoran colonel, now a congressman, and the country's Economic and Social development Foundation, have both criticized the assignment of the military for civilian law enforcement duties. They stated it shows a lack of an integral plan to combat crime and that putting soldiers out to walk among the people will only cause frustration when the violence does not diminish.
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Prensa Libre (Guatemala City, Guatemala) 11/5/09
Cocaine Seizure Update
Some days ago, Guatemalan officials reported the seizure of a mini-sub smuggling cocaine in the Pacific off the coast of Guatemala. They now state that the DEA has informed them that the seized craft was transporting 4,992 kilos (10,982 lbs.) of cocaine, the largest load seized near Guatemala. [M3 Report of 10/23/09 relates]
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National Association Of Former Border Patrol Officers
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Foreign News Report
The National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers (NAFBPO) extracts and condenses the material that follows from Mexican and Central and South American on-line media sources on a daily basis. You are free to disseminate this information, but we request that you credit NAFBPO as being the provider.
