Officials:

AZTECAS GANG SUSPECTED IN KILLING OF 3 WITH U.S. CONSULATE TIES IN JUAREZ

The deaths of three people with ties to the U.S. consulate over the
weekend is making Juarez the focal point for the deadly violence that
has gripped Mexico for the past two years.

As the pressure mounts to solve the slayings, the United States and
Mexico have sent top investigators to work hand in hand to find the
killers.

On Monday, Mexican officials said they suspect that the powerful and
violent Aztecas gang is behind Saturday's fatal shootings, which
President Barack Obama and Mexican President Felipe Calderon
vigorously condemned.

U.S. and Mexican officials have not determined the motives in the
deaths of Lesley A. Enriquez, 34, who worked for the consulate and was
four months pregnant; her husband, Arthur H. Redelfs, 30, a detention
officer for the El Paso County Sheriff's Office; and Jorge Alberto
Salcido Ceniceros, 36, whose wife worked for the consulate.

But Juarez Mayor Jose Reyes Ferriz said Monday that he was told in
police briefings that the Aztecas, who provide the muscle to the
Juarez drug cartel, are responsible for the slayings.

Mexican officials also confirmed that U.S. agencies -- including the
FBI; Drug Enforcement Administration; Immigration and Customs
Enforcement; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and
Sheriff's Office -- are assisting.

Mexican federal Attorney General Arturo Chavez Chavez arrived Monday
in Juarez to discuss the investigation with law enforcement and
military officials. They are expected to update Calderon on any
progress during his visit to Juarez today.

U.S. officials would not discuss any investigation details, but they
and Mexican officials said the Aztecas gang is affiliated with the
Carrillo Fuentes drug cartel. As foot soldiers for the cartel, they
have carried out numerous murders, kidnappings, arsons, extortions and
drug and arms trafficking.

The gang also has connections with the Barrio Aztecas in El Paso, a
brother organization. Two years ago, the FBI spearheaded an
investigation that led to the convictions of several Barrio Azteca
leaders and proved their ties to the Juarez drug cartel.

Last year, Eduardo "Tablas" Ravelo, presumed leader of the Barrio
Aztecas, was placed on the FBI's Most Wanted fugitives list. He is
believed to be hiding in Mexico, and a former gang member testified
that he controlled the gang's operations in Juarez.

According to Mexican police reports, the victims died within short
distances of a children's party they attended and within 22 minutes of
each other. Dispatchers reported the attack against Salcido at 2:20
p.m. and the attack against Redelfs and Enriquez at 2:42 p.m.

The party took place at the Barquito de Papel (Paper Ship), an events
hall in the 4700 block of Insurgentes. A woman who answered the phone
at the hall on Monday said investigators had stopped by to interview
employees.

"We told them we don't know if (the consular) employees were here,
because there were a lot of people, at least 100," said the woman who
would not give her name.

Redelfs and Enriquez were in a white vehicle, and Salcido also drove a
white vehicle. Both vehicles had children in them.

Monday, Juarez city firefighters treated as suspicious a vehicle fire
at Malecon and Plutarco Calles, about four miles from where Redelfs
and Enriquez were killed. Authorities said the Ford Explorer was
reported stolen last month.

Witnesses told police a light-colored Ford Expedition or Explorer with
armed men followed the U.S. couple's white Toyota near the
intersection of 5 de Mayo and Malecon. The Toyota was hit with
multiple gunshots from at least one 9 mm firearm, and came to a stop
after crashing in front of Juarez City Hall. The government building
is about 300 feet from the Stanton Street bridge.

Information on the vehicle that followed Salcido was not available.
Police said his attackers used an AK-47 to spray his white Honda with
bullets when he was at Articulo 39 and Insurgentes, the same street as
the party hall.

The slayings drew swift reactions from Mexican and U.S. officials, who
vowed to solve the killings.

Obama said in a statement that he was outraged by the brutal slayings,
and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the U.S. would do
what it could to protect State Department employees in Mexico.

More than 4,700 people have been killed in Juarez since 2008, when
rival drug cartels began their brutal battle for control of the Juarez
drug-trafficking corridor.

In Mexico, the death toll has been put at more than
15,000.

In another slaying over the weekend in Juarez, El Paso resident Juan
Ramos was killed early Sunday. He was at the Billares Pockets sports
club on Avenida Torres and Palacio de Mitla when several armed men
stormed in and began shooting at everyone. Three people were killed
and seven others were injured in the attack.

His wife, Brenda Ramos, said she last heard from him on Saturday
evening, when he called from Juarez to let her know he would be
staying there longer to watch a boxing match on TV with his friends.

Her last words to him were to "take care."

"I told him to be careful because of all the violence that is
happening over there, to come home early. He said he would be fine,"
she said. "He told me he would be all right. I told him take care, and
then he told me that I should take care, too."

Brenda Ramos said her husband was a good man who worked hard to
provide for his five children. He also took care of his mother and a
sister, she said.

"I'm still in shock. I don't know what I feel," she said. "I still
think he's going to walk through the front door."

In light of the latest deaths, Texas Gov. Rick Perry on Monday called
on the federal government to take action to prevent spillover violence
on U.S. soil.

"How many Americans will have to die before our federal government
takes serious action along the Texas-Mexico border?" he asked. "The
federal government must immediately take steps to increase resources
along the border to protect American lives."