Juárez mayor wants federal help to curb street violence

By Louie Gilot / El Paso Times

Article Launched: 01/16/2008 12:00:00 AM MST

Juárez Mayor José Reyes Ferriz said Tuesday that he would ask the Mexican federal police to intervene and try to stop a recent rash of street executions in Juárez.

Reyes Ferriz said local police were not equipped to deal with violent drug cartels.

"We will ask the federal government to send federal officers to Juárez. They have a great number of federal police in Tamaulipas (where federal police and soldiers clashed with drug traffickers this month), but they have less than 100 in Juárez.

"We need the intervention of the federal government," he said.

Reyes Ferriz said he would like to see 200 to 300 more federal officers in Juárez.

There were 26 homicides in Juárez in the first 15 days of 2008 -- or 1.7 homicides a day, double the average of 0.8 homicides a day last year. So far, none of this year's murders have been solved. In El Paso, there has been one homicide since Jan. 1.

Many of the victims in Juárez were young men and died in what appeared to be drug- and gang-related incidents.