International Law
Top Cop Resigns Over Death Threats; Mexican Official’s Bodyguard is Slain
Posted Feb 23, 2009, 06:48 pm CST
By Martha Neil
In the wake of news last week that the police chief of a major Mexican city in Chihuahua had resigned rather than face the threat of another police officer being slain every 48 hours, a bodyguard for the state's leader was murdered Sunday as he traveled in a convoy with Gov. Jose Reyes Baeza Terrazas.
Meanwhile, the mayor of Ciudad Juarez has vowed to stay in office even though he, like the now-former police chief, Roberto Orduña Cruz, is being threatened, according to Los Angeles Times articles Friday and today.
An already-bloody battle between the government and drug traffickers has gotten even worse recently in Chihuahua, as rival gangs battle over turf and resist officials' efforts to conduct a war on drugs. The violent tactics used by gang members include, but are not limited to, beheadings.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: "Failed US-Led Drug War Harms Foreign Judicial Systems, Report Says"
Wall Street Journal (opinion, sub. req.): "The War on Drugs Is a Failure "
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