SHOOTOUT, POLICE SUPERVISOR'S SLAYING ADD TO JUAREZ VIOLENCE

A shootout erupted in the middle of a busy avenue in Juarez on
Wednesday afternoon, another day in one of the world's most dangerous
cities while the presidents of Mexico and the United States met in
Washington, D.C.

The shootout was part of a day that included the killing of a Juarez
police supervisor, a triple murder and an announcement that Mexican
federal police had arrested an alleged Juarez drug cartel member
accused in 10 murders.

President Barack Obama and Mexican President Felipe Calderon are
meeting in Washington to discuss economic issues, immigration and the drug war.

In Juarez, the drug war raged.

Federal police and gunmen were reportedly involved in a shootout
about 1:30 p.m. in the bustling area of Avenida de la Raza and
Avenida Valentin Fuentes in the central part of the city.

Juarez police officials said the gunfire lasted at least five
minutes, causing a massive response by heavily armed federal police
searching nearby neighborhoods while a helicopter flew overheard.

By Wednesday night, federal police officials had yet to release
information about the encounter. Unconfirmed information stated
gunmen attacked a hotel housing police. As a result, federal police
arrested several suspects in a car and then they raided a house,
rescued a man who had been kidnapped and arrested 10 people.

It was unknown whether there were any injuries.

Wednesday began violently with another deadly attack on police,
attacks that have become increasingly common since the start of a war
between the Sinaloa and Juarez drug cartels in 2008.

The cartels frequently target law enforcement officers they believe
are working for the rival side.

Cesar Rodriguez Prospero had been in the Juarez police department for
12 years and was the morning shift coordinator at the Benito Juarez
police district in the southern part of the city, department
spokesman Jacinto Segura said.

About 7:30 a.m., Rodriguez was in his car when he was killed by
gunmen who fired 43 rounds, state police said.

"He was leaving his home in uniform headed to work," Segura said.

About 11:30 a.m., gunmen with AK-47s killed three unidentified men on
a street in the Melchor Ocampo neighborhood, Chihuahua state police said.

There had been at least six slayings by Wednesday evening, raising
the year's death toll to about 980.

More than 5,240 people have been killed in the Juarez area since the
cartel war began.

In related news, federal police arrested an alleged killer for La
Linea, or the Juarez cartel, accused in 10 homicides. Juan Padilla
Juarez, alias "La Paulina," was arrested Monday in the Bella Vista
area near the downtown, officials said Wednesday.

Federal police alleged Padilla, 28, also provided weapons,
communication devices and transportation for three types of cartel operatives.

The first group of operatives are known as "halcones" (falcons), or
lookouts, whose job is keeping surveillance on targets and authorities.

The second group comprises the gunmen who carry out the killings. And
the third group is composed of men who provide security during the
attacks and other crimes.

Late Wednesday, the Associated Press reported that Chihuahua state
police found the mummified bodies of two women and three men in
plastic bags in a stolen pickup on a road south of Juarez.

The unidentified bodies were apparently mummified by the desert climate.