MEXICO HOMICIDES JUMP 47 PERCENT

MEXICO CITY (AP) - Homicides related to organized crime jumped 47
percent in 2008, Mexico's attorney general said Friday in a rare
confirmation of how bad violence has become.

Attorney General Eduardo Medina Mora told Radio Formula that 1,378
people have been killed so far this year, compared with 940 in the
same period last year.

The statistic reflected what many in Mexico already knew: Drug-related
killings have soared in recent months.

But the details were the first official snapshot on the rise in
killings. The Mexican government has been reluctant to release
homicide statistics, leaving the public to rely on informal tallies by
the news media.

Medina Mora broke that silence, saying 4,152 people have been killed
since President Felipe Calderon took office in December 2006 and
declared war on drug cartels that controlled entire regions of Mexico.
About 450 of those were police, soldiers, prosecutors or
investigators.

Medina Mora said many of the recent killings have been concentrated
along the U.S. border, while homicides in the central part of the
nation have subsided.

The government says the violence reflects drug gangs' desperation amid
the nationwide crackdown, carried out by more than 20,000 soldiers and
federal police.

"Evidently when they are cornered and weakened, they have to respond
with violence," Medina Mora said.

Analysts say recent arrests have created a power vacuum and gangs are
battling for valuable drug routes and territory.

One of the hardest hit cities is Ciudad Juarez, across from El Paso,
Texas. A recent e-mail warning of a weekend bloodbath has alarmed many
residents there.

Nobody seems to know who wrote the e-mail, which says gunmen will fire
at malls, restaurants and other public places in "killings all over
the city." But many people have forwarded it to friends.

Juarez Police Chief Roberto Orduna said the threats must be taken
seriously and issued a news release Thursday assuring residents that
police would be more vigilant.

More than 200 people have been killed so far this year in
Juarez.

Associated Press writer Marina Montemayor contributed to this report
from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.