AGENTS CLASH IN JUAREZ, CITE CORRUPTION

Things got a little dicey Saturday in Juarez when heavily armed
federal police agents squared off against each other -- their
loyalties divided because of the violence that has gripped the city
and alleged corruption in their ranks.

One group of about 150 armed federal agents accused their commanders
of corruption and grabbed one assistant commander, handcuffed him,
pulled his hair and slugged him.

Agents wearing ski masks told television reporters that their
commanders are corrupt, are taking their money and are putting them
in danger in the war between the Juarez and Sinaloa drug cartels.

They wanted the removal of their superior, who was identified only as
"El Chaman," and tried to get him out of his hotel room. Another
group of 100 heavily armed agents stopped them.

No shots were fired, but fists flew between the agents.

Several agents were injured during the confrontation, but the
injuries seemed minor.

Agents accused their commander of having ties with organized crime
and planting drugs on them.

The protest took place at La Playa Hotel on Adolfo Lopez Mateos
Avenue. Several blocks of the street were closed to traffic Saturday.

Agents shouted and requested the presence of Facundo Rosas Rosas, the
commissioner of the federal police, to investigate the situation.

In response, high-level officials with the federal police and a group
of internal affairs agents from Mexico City arrived in Juarez on
Saturday afternoon to investigate the accusations, said Jose Ramon
Salinas, a spokesman for the federal police in Juarez.

Salinas said that no arrests were made, but that four commanders were
removed from their duties while an investigation is completed.

"This is not a matter of arresting people," Salinas said. "These
agents were removed from their command until an investigation
determines if they are responsible of these accusation.

"If there was an inappropriate behavior or abuse of authority from
these commanders, then they will face administrative actions," he said.

The names of the commanders were not released Saturday.

Salinas said the protest did not affect the regular functions of the
agents who patrol the city.

"There are 4,500 federal agents patrolling the streets of Juarez.
This incident involved only a small group of agents who are now back
in the streets working as they normally do," he said.

Not too far from where the dispute was taking place, one agent was
killed in a traffic accident.

Federal agents were brought into Juarez to control the violence that
has gripped the city since 2008. The Juarez and the Sinaloa drug
cartels have been entangled in a bloody war, which has claimed the
lives of about 5,900 people.

Last month, a car bomb that killed three people apparently was aimed
at the federal agents. The Juarez drug cartel said it had detonated
the car bomb and threatened that others would be used if the U.S. did
not investigate high-level officials suspected of corruption.