Lest we forget about the drug war raging in Mexico and the number of lives it costs, consider this:
MONTERREY, Mexico — For weeks, no one came forward to apply for the Nuevo Laredo police chief job because many saw it as a death sentence.
But Alejandro Dominguez proudly took office Wednesday, saying he was not afraid of anything. Nine hours later, he was ambushed and killed by gunmen who fired three dozen times. Officials were conducting an autopsy today.
They don’t waste any time, do they? AND:
Dominguez’s violent death was the latest blow to Nuevo Laredo, a city across from Laredo, Texas, that has been crippled by a wave of drug-related violence. Since January, more than 60 people — including several police officers — have been killed there.
President Vicente Fox’s administration sent in 700 soldiers and federal agents in March to try to restore law and order.
Of course the prevailing question in any administration in Mexico (and TMV covered several when he was on the San Diego Union) is who battling the drug war and who is on the inside working to thwart it. Some people do come foward who want to make a difference but they’re literally risking their lives. To wit:
Dominguez, a businessman who once worked at the federal Attorney General’s office, was sworn in Wednesday afternoon and promised to weed out corruption in the city.
“I don’t owe anybody anything. My duty is to the citizenry,” he said. “I think those who should be afraid are those who have been compromised.”
After dark, a group of assailants opened fire as he climbed into his Ford Lobo pickup truck outside the local chamber of commerce, which he led.
State police director Fernando Vallejo said officials recovered 35-40 casings from assault rifles similar to those used by drug gangs. Nuevo Laredo has been the front line of a turf battle between Mexico’s two largest drug gangs, the Gulf and Juarez cartels.
Officials had no suspects in the case.
Surprised?
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.