Pubdate: Sat, 24 Apr 2010 Source: El Paso Times (TX) Copyright: 2010 El Paso Times Contact: http://www.elpasotimes.com/formnewsroom Website: http://www.elpasotimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/829 Author: Aileen B. Flores Bookmark: http://mapinc.org/topic/Juarez 8 DIE IN JUAREZ SHOOTOUT Attack Is Considered Retaliation for Arrests Six federal agents, a female police officer and a man died in Juarez on Friday in a large-scale shootout in broad daylight -- an attack authorities described as an ambush in retaliation for arrests made Thursday. The ambush was one of the largest fatal attacks on law enforcement officers since a drug war began in the city in 2008. About noon, federal and municipal police vehicles were patrolling the Bosques de Salvarcar neighborhood in south Juarez when a street vendor at the intersection of Durango and Santiago Troncoso Avenues asked for help. When the officers stopped to assist, a group of armed men arrived in several vehicles, opened fire and killed five federal agents and the police officer. Officials said the agents tried to fight off the attack and fired their weapons at the attackers. In all, more than 300 shots were fired, officials said. Chihuahua state police said three other people were wounded, including a federal agent who died five hours later at a hospital. Federal officials said at least one hit man was wounded, but he and the others fled. It's not known how many attackers were involved in the ambush, a tactic that rarely takes place at such a large scale. According to a state police preliminary investigation, at least three types of weapons were used in the attack, including AK-47s, other high-powered rifles and 9 mm handguns. Federal agents were able to find two vehicles used by the gunmen in the shooting, but no arrests were reported late Friday. Municipal police spokesman Jacinto Segura said the local officer killed was Ana Gustina Nevares Soto, 22, who joined the force in August. Segura said Nevares Soto was a member of the Benito Juarez municipal police command in south Juarez. The federal agents killed were Romenio Velazquez Chavez, Pedro Balderas Gonzalez, Juan Garcia Sanchez, Ulises Garcia Martinez, Israel Alejandro Carbajal Cornejo and Jose Rivera Chavarria. The other man who was killed was identified Gabriel Ornelas Sotelo, between 25 and 30 years old. It's not known whether he was involved in the shooting or was a bystander. Mexican federal police spokes man Jose Salinas said authorities think the attack was a retaliation for the arrests of eight people Thursday. Police on Thursday arrested five men and three women on suspicion of possession of drugs and high-caliber weapons. Arrested were Jose Alfredo "Chito" Amaro Campos, 37, Alan Joseph Mena Martinez, 18, Carmen Patricia Ayala Chavez, 18, and five minors. "This (attack) is in response to the blows we have delivered," Salinas said. After Friday's attack, Mayor Jose Reyes Ferriz, said authorities will be more careful in the way they operate. Reyes Ferriz gave orders to the secretary of public safety to increase the number of federal and municipal officers working together when patrolling. The number of units -- vehicles that have from two to eight officers - -- will increase from two to at least three when they are on patrol, he said. "We will not stop working and won't let this type of attack affect the police work we're carrying out. However, we have to take precautions to make sure federal and municipal police are safe while patrolling the streets," Reyes Ferriz said. He said the city is patrolled by 8,000 police officers -- 5,000 federal and 3,000 municipal. Law enforcement officers have been killed in the past while on patrol, going to work or after their shift, but not in numbers as large as in the ambush on Friday. The city has been under a cloud of violence since Jan. 2008 when war broke out between the Juarez and the Sinaloa drug cartels. Since then, nearly 5,000 have been killed in an near Juarez. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake