Americans Killed in Ciudad Juárez

On Sunday, three people associated with the US Consulate in Ciudad Juárez, including two US citizens, were murdered in what is believed to be a targeted attack against Americans in this border city.  According to Juarez Mayor Jose Reyes Ferriz, the murders were carried out by a local gang known a Los Aztecas, which is allied with the Juarez drug cartel.

The victims include Lesley Enriquez, a four month pregnant employee at the consulate, and her husband, Arthur Redelfs, who was a detention officer for the El Paso County Sheriff’s Department. The couple’s 10 month old baby was in the vehicle at the time but was not injured.

The third victim was identified as the husband of a Mexican employee of the consulate. His wife was not with him but two of their children who were in the car were wounded.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a statement, “These appalling assaults on members of our own State Department family are, sadly, part of a growing tragedy besetting many communities in Mexico. They underscore the imperative of our continued commitment to work closely with the Government of President Calderon to cripple the influence of trafficking organizations at work in Mexico.”

President Obama also expressed his outrage vowing to work with the Mexican government, “to break the power of the drug trafficking organizations that operate in Mexico and far too often target and kill the innocent.  This is a responsibility we must shoulder together, particularly in border communities where strong bonds of history, culture, and common interest bind the Mexican and the American people closely together.”

Ciudad Juarez has become the most violent city in Mexico with more than 2,600 drug-related deaths in 2009. On January 31 of this year, 15 people, mostly students who had no ties to organized crime were killed, sparking outrage throughout the nation.  Mexican President Felipe Calderon was expected to visit the city in wake of the murders.

CNN