Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Houston Chronicle
September 20, 2008
Gunmen's attack is latest in a spate of violence to push through Mexico
By Dudley Althaus, Houston Chronicle Mexico City Bureau
MEXICO CITY — A shootout erupted Friday afternoon near the ranch of former President Vicente Fox in central Guanajuato state when local police attempted to stop a convoy of suspected underworld gunmen.
Several policemen were injured in the initial clash in San Francisco del Rincon, Fox's hometown. Local, state and federal police, as well as soldiers, pursued the gunmen into the outskirts of the nearby city of Leon, where the chase ended.
In all, eight people were reportedly injured, and 12 arrested. There were no fatalities.
The rolling gunbattle was just the latest high-profile underworld incident to roil Mexico. Suspected drug gang gunmen late Monday threw grenades into a crowd at an independence day celebration in Morelia, the hometown of President Felipe Calderon, killing seven onlookers and wounding more than 100.
Authorities said the attack had the earmarks of a terrorist bombing, designed to sow panic and insecurity among the public to pressure Calderon into scaling back his campaign against the gangs of Mexico. Polls suggest that public support for Calderon's 21-month crackdown against the gangs is flagging.
The attorney generals office announced a $1 million reward in the attack.
Defining a generation
At a meeting of his Security Cabinet and the nation's governors in Mexico City, Calderon declared that the government's response would define his generation for posterity.
"This is a moment of historical definition," he said. "What we do or leave undone after this 15th of September will forever mark the way in which Mexicans will remember this moment in our history."
The Security Cabinet and the governors agreed on an anti-kidnapping strategy that includes a specially trained police unit that will operate in every state and the Federal District of Mexico City, improved communications systems and toughened prosecution of criminals.
Mexico's Defense Ministry also approved supplying local police forces with automatic weapons.
At least 5,000 killed
Friday's gunbattle near Fox's ranch was the third clash in the past three weeks between gunmen and security forces.
On Aug. 26, suspected drug gang gunmen opened fire and threw grenades at an army base in San Francisco del Rincon. Soldiers returned fire, killing four assailants. Two soldiers were reported wounded.
Last week, gunmen opened fire on a police patrol near Leon, wounding eight policemen before fleeing.
The gang-related violence has killed at least 5,000 people in the crackdown's 21 months, including about 3,000 this year.
Dozens arrested
Calderon on Friday listed achievements in the campaign, since a new accord on fighting organized crime was reached with Mexico's governors, Congress and judicial branch.
Those include the arrest of dozens of suspected kidnappers, the seizure of seven tons of cocaine and 30 tons of marijuana and the confiscation Sunday of $26 million in cash from one of Mexico's top gangsters.
Police said the money seized belonged to Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, who along with Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman heads the Sinaloa Cartel, based in that Pacific Coast state.
Acting on an anonymous tip, police in central Zacatecas state Thursday arrested three men suspected of involvement in the Morelia attacks. But the federal attorney general's office said investigators had determined that the men were not involved.
September 20, 2008
Gunmen's attack is latest in a spate of violence to push through Mexico
By Dudley Althaus, Houston Chronicle Mexico City Bureau
MEXICO CITY — A shootout erupted Friday afternoon near the ranch of former President Vicente Fox in central Guanajuato state when local police attempted to stop a convoy of suspected underworld gunmen.
Several policemen were injured in the initial clash in San Francisco del Rincon, Fox's hometown. Local, state and federal police, as well as soldiers, pursued the gunmen into the outskirts of the nearby city of Leon, where the chase ended.
In all, eight people were reportedly injured, and 12 arrested. There were no fatalities.
The rolling gunbattle was just the latest high-profile underworld incident to roil Mexico. Suspected drug gang gunmen late Monday threw grenades into a crowd at an independence day celebration in Morelia, the hometown of President Felipe Calderon, killing seven onlookers and wounding more than 100.
Authorities said the attack had the earmarks of a terrorist bombing, designed to sow panic and insecurity among the public to pressure Calderon into scaling back his campaign against the gangs of Mexico. Polls suggest that public support for Calderon's 21-month crackdown against the gangs is flagging.
The attorney generals office announced a $1 million reward in the attack.
Defining a generation
At a meeting of his Security Cabinet and the nation's governors in Mexico City, Calderon declared that the government's response would define his generation for posterity.
"This is a moment of historical definition," he said. "What we do or leave undone after this 15th of September will forever mark the way in which Mexicans will remember this moment in our history."
The Security Cabinet and the governors agreed on an anti-kidnapping strategy that includes a specially trained police unit that will operate in every state and the Federal District of Mexico City, improved communications systems and toughened prosecution of criminals.
Mexico's Defense Ministry also approved supplying local police forces with automatic weapons.
At least 5,000 killed
Friday's gunbattle near Fox's ranch was the third clash in the past three weeks between gunmen and security forces.
On Aug. 26, suspected drug gang gunmen opened fire and threw grenades at an army base in San Francisco del Rincon. Soldiers returned fire, killing four assailants. Two soldiers were reported wounded.
Last week, gunmen opened fire on a police patrol near Leon, wounding eight policemen before fleeing.
The gang-related violence has killed at least 5,000 people in the crackdown's 21 months, including about 3,000 this year.
Dozens arrested
Calderon on Friday listed achievements in the campaign, since a new accord on fighting organized crime was reached with Mexico's governors, Congress and judicial branch.
Those include the arrest of dozens of suspected kidnappers, the seizure of seven tons of cocaine and 30 tons of marijuana and the confiscation Sunday of $26 million in cash from one of Mexico's top gangsters.
Police said the money seized belonged to Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, who along with Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman heads the Sinaloa Cartel, based in that Pacific Coast state.
Acting on an anonymous tip, police in central Zacatecas state Thursday arrested three men suspected of involvement in the Morelia attacks. But the federal attorney general's office said investigators had determined that the men were not involved.
