53 SLAIN IN 72 HOURS IN JUAREZ

In one of the deadliest three days that officials can remember, more
than 50 people were killed in Juarez.

Among the 53 victims between Thursday and Saturday were a Juarez
police officer, a municipal patrolman and a state investigator.

According to Chihuahua state officials it was the most violent
three-day period seen this year. State police reported that on average
eight people are killed in Juarez every day.

More than 150 people have been killed in Juarez this month, according
to the state police.

Since a war broke out between the Juarez and Sinaloa drug cartels in
2008, more than 7,600 people have been killed in Juarez. Last year,
3,112 people were murdered in Juarez.

The violence began to pick up Thursday with 14 slayings, including a
municipal police officer and an investigator with the state police.

A shootout between police and hit men Thursday morning left a police
officer and two alleged hit men dead. Two other police officers and
two suspects were wounded during the attack that occurred at the
Arroyo Sur and Moro Macho streets in the Las Lilas
subdivision.

Chihuahua police identified the officer as Ricardo Torillo Sandoval,
who had worked for the Juarez police department since 1998.

Later that day, state police investigator Jesus Manuel Cruz Landin,
28, was shot and killed on his way home in the Lazaro Cardenas
neighborhood.

Police arrested Jesus Agaton Juarez, 18, in connection with the
homicide. Police said Agaton Juarez was in possession of the
investigator's handgun at the time of his arrest Thursday night.

Friday was the bloodiest day, with 20 homicides, including a violent
attack where a couple was shot to death with AK-47 rifles at a home in
the Papalote neighborhood.

On Saturday, Benjamin Nunez Nunez, a municipal patrolman, was shot and
killed by a driver at a traffic stop on Oscar Flores Boulevard and
Sierra Madre Sur street. Four men were killed at a party in the La
Cuesta neighborhood Saturday. Chihuahua police officials said a total
of 19 people were killed in Juarez that day.

Despite the continuous violence and attacks against officers, Juarez
Mayor Hector Murguia announced Saturday that the police will keep
fighting crime.

Murguia said the city recently received 100 million pesos (about $8.3
million) as part of the social program "Todos Somos Juarez" to create
a single police unit where all levels of government will be involved.

As of Sunday afternoon, state police had reported three more
homicides, including the death of a man who was wounded in one of the
multiple attacks Saturday. He died at a hospital, police said.

Also Sunday, a man was found dead about 5 a.m. in the middle a dirt
road and another man was killed and three people were wounded at a
tire repair shop on Oscar Flores Boulevard.