FBI: NO LEADS ON CONSULATE DEATHS

No one has been arrested in connection with the slayings 10 days ago
of three people with ties to the U.S. consulate in Juarez.

There are no developments yet that the FBI can report on, FBI Special
Agent Andrea Simmons said Sunday.

Shortly after the deaths, Mexican officials said they suspected Azteca
gang members were involved in the shooting deaths, based on
information provided by U.S. officials. No motive was given.

Later, Juarez Mayor Jose Reyes Ferriz and U.S. Consul Raymond McGrath
told reporters in Juarez that the deaths may have resulted from a case
of mistaken identity, but without citing proof.

The State Department declined an El Paso Times' request to interview
McGrath.

Lesley Enriquez Redelfs, 35, who worked for the U.S. consulate in
Juarez, and her husband, Arthur Redelfs, 34, were chased and killed by
armed men in a vehicle on March 13. They were driving back to El Paso
from a children's party in Juarez, which was sponsored by the consul's
office. Arthur Redelfs worked for the El Paso County Sheriff's Office
as a detention officer.

A third person, Mexican citizen Jorge Alberto Ceniceros Salcido, 37,
who se wife, Hilda Antillon Jimenez, also worked for the U.S.
consulate, was killed at nearly the same time as the Redelfs in
another part of Juarez, also after leaving the party. Antillon was at
the party, too.

The deaths were a topic of discussion on "Tercer Grado," a roundtable
of prominent journalists televised nationally in Mexico by Televisa
network.

During the recent program, other possible theories for the murders
were mentioned, including a provocation by an unknown group, and
retaliation for the incarceration of Barrio Azteca members in El Paso.
During the roundtable, the Mexican journalists said they did not agree
with the mistaken identity theory.

The Aztecas are considered enforcers for the Carrillo Fuentes cartel,
and the Barrio Azteca gang is a brother organization to the gang in
Juarez.

Last week, U.S. federal agents and other law enforcement officers
conducted an unprecedented operation in El Paso aimed at generating
leads by shaking down Barrio Azteca members for information. U.S.
investigators are limited to the U.S. side of the border.

The El Paso County Sheriff's Office featured manhunt this week focuses
on Eduardo "Tablas" Ravelo, a Barrio Azteca capo and fugitive who is
suspected of hiding in Juarez.

State Department officials dismissed another theory that the consular
employees may have been targeted for denying visas or other services
to organized crime members. State Department officials said the
attacks had nothing to do with the employees work, but again, without
offering evidence.

On Tuesday, a high-level U.S. delegation is expected to announce new
major policies for U.S.-Mexico bilateral relations that will include
the war against drug cartels.

The escalation of drug-violence in Mexico has prompted travel warnings
by the State Department.