"Two Weeks Left to Live:" Mayor

"Juárez officer slain; mayor gets threat: '2 weeks left to live'

Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua - A police officer killed, a threat against the mayor and an attack on a family were parts of the latest violence in Juárez.

Police officer Luis Alberto Adame Rubio was off duty when his car was sprayed with gunfire by men with assault rifles Wednesday afternoon in the Jilotepec area, a Juárez city spokesman said. Adame died at the scene.

Adame, 32, was a patrol officer who had joined the police department a year ago among recruits intended to replace corrupt officers.

The cleansing of the police department could be a motive behind a death threat made against Juárez Mayor José Reyes Ferriz.

City officials said that the mayor's security team was looking into the threat and that security had been increased.

"We know the topic of cleaning up the police to have a trustworthy department is something that has affected a lot of criminal interests and we take very seriously these" threats, Reyes said in a statement.


Reyes has been threatened before.

Wednesday morning, a pig's head was found next to a sign for the mayor stating in part "you have two weeks left to live," the Internet news Web site arrobajuarez.com reported.

Drug kingpin Joaquin "Chapo" Guzmán's Sinaloa drug cartel uses the term "marranos," or pigs, as a derogatory reference to members of the rival Juárez drug cartel.

Since 2008, both cartels have been fighting for control of a drug-smuggling corridor in a wave of bloodshed that has turned Juárez into Mexico's most violent city. Mexico President Felipe Calderón is scheduled to visit Juárez next Tuesday. He recently visited the city twice.

More than 75 homicides have occurred this month in Juárez. Chihuahua state police said there had been at least four killings by Wednes day evening. On Tuesday, there were 14 homicides, including an attack on a family.

Two women were killed and a 3-year-old girl was wounded in a shooting Tuesday in a home near the airport, officials said. Maricruz Avalos Mendoza, 34, and Janet Perez Avalos, 19, who are reportedly mother and daughter, died after being shot in the head. The wounded girl was taken to a hospital in undisclosed condition.

Also on Tuesday, the body of an unidentified man was found "100 percent burned" at the edge of an irrigation canal in colonia Partido Romero in the northern part of the city. A cause of death had not been determined.

Police said a bottle smelling of gasoline was found nearby.

Death threat against Juárez mayor spurs security increase

Juárez Mayor Jose Reyes Ferriz's security team is looking into a death threat made against the mayor, and security has been increased, city officials said.

On Wednesday morning, a pig head was found next to a sign stating in part "you have two weeks left to live," the Internet news Web site arrobajuarez.com reported.

Drug kingpin Joaquin "Chapo" Guzman's Sinaloa drug cartel uses the term "marranos," or pigs, as a derogatory reference to members of the rival Juárez drug cartel.

Since 2008, both cartels have been fighting for control of a drug smuggling corridor in Juárez in a wave of violence that is believed to be behind the murders in the region.

Chihuahua state police said there had been four killings in the Juárez area as of Wednesday afternoon. There were 14 homicides on Tuesday.

Categories: ciudad juarez, jose reyes ferriz, Mexican Crime