State of Chihuahua in Chaos

In the last two days the violence in the state of Chihuahua cost the lives of at least 13 people in the hands of suspected members of organized crime.

Police authorities reported that a baby survived a shooting in which the parents died.

Just yesterday it was reported that an armed group of men burst into a funeral home in Ciudad Juarez and executed the owners. Then at another time, gunmen stormed inside an IMSS hospital in Ciudad Juarez to shoot two men that minutes before had left wounded.

According to police reports two men that had been shot and injured were transported by private car to the regional hospital 66 of the IMSS and once admitted, they were attacked by gunmen in the emergency room.

The attackers had been pursuing them from blocks back.

The attack occurred at the IMSS hospital, located on Avenida Ramon Rayon, causing a scene of panic and alarm.

Up until last tonight, the Deputy Attorney General for Justice in the State had not released an official report of the facts.

In other incident local authorities reported that yesterday a baby survived a shooting attack in which the parents were killed in Ciudad Juarez.

According to police reports, the family was traveling in a vehicle and was attacked by gunfire on the neighborhood of Rinconada de las Torres, which is located southeast of the city.

According to the report, the father tried to avoid the bullets but was killed along with his wife.

Subsequently, a group of onlookers approached the vehicle because they heard the sound os a child crying. The child, about two years, was rescued by paramedics.

Meanwhile, yesterday morning police found the bodies of four men. They were tied together to form a cross, next to State Highway Cuauhtemoc, Chihuahua, near Ciudad Juárez.

"The bodies were tied to a fence forming a cross near a pasture and both bodies had impacts from a firearm," said a spokesman for the Attorney General of the State (PGJE).

The victims, ages between 30 and 40 years old, were discovered by a driver traveling on the road.

In this series of violent incidents, police authorities of Chihuahua reported that an armed commando killed five men on a ranch in the municipality of Villa Ahumada, about 110 kilometers from Ciudad Juárez. The bodies were located in the vicinity of Rancho La Capilla. An anonymous caller alerted authorities about the multi-execution.

Also in the state of Durango two people were killed inside a bar. According to eyewitnesses, an armed group entered the bar and opened fire killing at least two people. The attack occurred in the early hours inside the "Bar Poolerama", located on Palafox Street, in the neighborhood of Altamira, in the town of Santiago Papasquiaro. In the bar the bartender José Antonio Herrera, 32, and the waiter Jose Luis Aguilera, 42, were pronounced dead at the scene. Also, seriously wounded in the attack was the employee Gandarilla Abel Barraza, 35, who was listed in critical condition.

It was also reported that in the same township of Santiago Papasquiaro police found the body of a person inside a 1993 GMC truck with U.S. plates. The Attorney General of the State (PGJE) reported that the victim was identified as David Herrera Corral, 19, who also was an employee of the bar.

In another case police reported finding three totally dismembered human bodies.

The discovery was made Monday afternoon on the street "Primero de Mayo" in the neighborhood Nueva Esperanza de Santiago Papasquiaro, where they found seven sacks containing three human bodies that were mutilated and beheaded.

The bodies were taken to the Forensic Medical Service (Semefo) of the City of Durango for an autopsy. The bodies have not been identified.

In Cancun, Quinta Roo., The state attorney general's office reported that one person was executed and left inside a black plastic bag in the area of Rancho Viejo, on the outskirts of this city, where similar findings have recently been made.

The man was between 20 and 23 years of age. The body was found in a green pasture in the neighborhood El Paraiso, in the city limits of Benito Juárez and Isla Mujeres just after 1630 hours. According to preliminary reports the victim had been dead for about 24 hours.