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Security incident forces Chihuahua governor off the road
 For a map, click here. For a map of Chihuahua state click here. By Chris Covert A convoy in Chihuahua, Chihuahua carrying Chihuahua governor Cesar Duarte Jaquez was forced to seek refuge in a shopping mall Monday evening, as unidentified armed suspects fired their weapons nearby, according to Mexican news account. Mexican news agencies were informed of the incident Tuesday by Duarte Jaquez's communications secretary, Juan Ramon Flores. Chihuahua city is the capital of Chihuahua state and was where Governor Duarte and Hector Murguia Lardizabal, Juarez's combative mayor, were to meet to hear a speech by Murguia Lardizabal. Duarte's convoy was near the intersection of avenidas Tecnologico and Ejercito Nacional at about 1900 hrs, heading to the gymnasium at Colegio de Bachilleres when the shooting took place. Members of Duarte's security moved the convoy to the shopping mall at Tec Galleria, laagered up, then called in security reinforcements, which arrived shortly after, including local and state police agents, and army units. After about 10 minutes the convoy resumed its travel itinerary. It was later determined the shooting was some distance from Duarte's convoy, and that the shooters had been firing in the air. Governor Duarte came to power in Chihuahua via last year's midterm elections on a platform of cracking down on crime, including stiffening penalties for kidnapping. His crusade to date has been somewhat a personal one: his nephew, Humberto Medina Vela, was shot to death on July 14th, 2010 in a botched kidnapping by a Sinaloa Cartel affiliated group in Chihuahua city. At the moment the security situation has improved with violent crime down 50 percent, according to Duarte himself. The security situation has improved so much that nearly 75 percent of the Polica Federal detachment has been moved out of Juarez city, albeit after months of haranguing by Murguia Lardizabal that Duarte make the request from the federal government. The last of the Polica Federals is due to leave left this weekend, as Chihuahua state and Juarez municipal police have taken over patrol duties in Juarez. Posted by: badanov 2011-10-12 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=331458 |
