Violence down in Sonora state; 4 die

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

While violence has gone down overall in the Mexican state of Sonora, in some municipalities murders have increased as much as 94 percent, according to Mexican news reports.

A new report posted Monday on the website of El Imparcial news daily said that intentional homicides statewide are down from  2012 going from 338 to 284 between January and July, a reduction of almost 16 percent.

The report came from information provided by the Sonora state Procuraduria General de Justicia de Estado or attorney general's office.

Although the overall rate has gone down, murder  in key municipalities have soared, including Cajeme and Hermosillo, while Nogales and Navojoa have registered a modest year over year decline.

Cajeme's intentional homicide rate went to 94 percent with 97 murders in the first half of 2013 with 97 against 50 the same period last year.

Similarly, in Hermosillo, the state capital of Sonora murders have risen 31 percent going from  48 in 2012 to 63.

A total of four individuals have been killed in drug and gang violence in Sonora state.

• One man was shot to death and another was wounded in a shooting in Magdalena municipality Sunday.  Juceth Montero Ruiz, 27 was shot to death and Iber Montero Ruiz was shot and wounded aboard this Jeep Cherokee in Villa Trento colony as they were traveling aboard a Jeep Cherokee SUV  near the intersection of Calle Alberto Bello and Carretera Internacional.  Armed suspects traveling aboard a GM brand SUV fired on the pair, then apparently fled the scene.  Police later found the SUV, which had been hit by small arms fire.
• A man was shot to death in Pueblo Yaqui Sunday.  Eduardo Castro Leyva, 27, was found in Heros de 47 colony wounded with packages of drugs said to be marijuana.  A handgun was also found nearby.  He later died at a hospital in Ciudad Obregon.  News report say the victim was a known criminal who had served time in prison for carjacking.
• A man in his teens was found apparently beaten to death in Pueblo Yaqui.  Jorge Alberto Mendivil Ibarra, 19, has been kidnapped last Saturday by armed suspects who forced him into a vehicle before speeding away.  The victim was found near the intersection of Calle 500 and Carretera Internacional in Valle del Yaqui.  Mendivil Ibarra had a prior criminal problem involving cattle rustling.
• A man in his 30s was shot to death while trying to stop a burglary at his home in Esperanza Friday.  Mario Alberto Castro Leyva, 30 came home with his wife to find two men leaving his residence on Ampliacion Alameda.  When he tried to stop them, one of the men shot  Castro Leyva in his chest and then fled aboard a bicycle.
• A man was shot and wounded In Caborca municipality Sunday.  Daniel Romero Martinez, 38 was shot in he backyard of his residence in San Rafael colony where several armed suspects dismounted from a Nissan Xterra and shot him using a handgun and a rifle.

Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com and BorderlandBeat.com. He can be reached at grurkka@gmail.com His latest work of non-fiction, The Wounded Eagle: Volume 2 went on sale Sunday at Amazon.com and Smashwords.com