Pubdate: Thu, 20 May 2010 Source: El Paso Times (TX) Copyright: 2010 El Paso Times Contact: http://www.elpasotimes.com/townhall/ci_14227323 Website: http://www.elpasotimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/829 Author: Daniel Borunda 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. - --- MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart