FEDERAL COMMANDER SLAIN IN JUAREZ

A group of armed men fatally shot a Mexican federal commander Saturday
near the ProNaF area in Juarez, officials said.

The commander, who was with his wife and daughter, was ambushed at the
intersection of Hermanos Escobar and Las Americas avenues.

He was identified as Jonathon Gonzalez.

The killing comes a week after federal police took command of
anti-crime Coordinated Operation Chihuahua in Juarez.

The operation is in response to a crime wave unleashed in a war
between drug cartels across the state.

In other news, a Chihuahua police video that shows armed men killing
people in Creel, Chihuahua, is making the rounds in TV news programs
and on the Internet.

The 90-minute video was recorded by police cameras in the village
located in the Sierra Tarahumara, about 105 miles southwest of
Chihuahua City.

Cameras zoomed in on the alleged killers armed with AK-47s. Some of
their faces are clearly seen.

Police said the armed men were aboard more than a dozen vehicles when
they stopped in the village of about 5,400 people.

Televisa network's "Punto de Partida," a national news talk program
with host Denise Maerker, showed parts of it Thursday.

The video depicts men allegedly consuming drugs and stopping vehicles
at gunpoint on one of the roads.

Police said the armed men were responsible for the shooting deaths of
10 people and for injuring seven others in Creel and the vicinity on
March 15.

Creel is a tourist destination in Chihuahua state, and a railroad stop
for tourists headed to the Copper Canyon.

[sidebar]

BY THE NUMBERS

Mexican federal police in Juarez.

5,000 -- number of federal police officers.

412 -- number of patrol cars.

90 -- number of motorcycles.

8 -- number of bulletproof vehicles.

4 -- number of aircraft.
Source: Mexico Ministry of Public Safety.