"Mexican mayor fears massacre of 16 was random."

Here is an excerpt from Alicia A. Caldwell's Associated Press article in The Washington Post:

"The mayor of a violent Mexican border city said Monday he fears a shooting that killed 16 people in a working class neighborhood may have been random because many of the victims   were 'good kids' with no apparent ties to drug gangs. The dead included at least eight teenagers, the youngest a 13-year-old girl. Mayor Jose Reyes Ferriz said police were pursuing all lines of investigation. But he said none of the victims of the attack Saturday night had criminal records, and the teenagers were 'good kids, students, athletes... 'There is no logical explanation, a concrete reason for this event. This is something that worries us, gratuitous or random criminal acts,' Reyes told MVS Radio. 'It goes way beyond what had been happening and puts Ciudad Juarez in even greater danger.'" Link to Full Article

Analysis: Until the results of the investigation start coming out, it's almost impossible to say whether or not these kids were or weren't involved with organized crime. This truly is a sad, no-win situation either way. If the kids weren't involved in the drug trade, then someone decided it would be a good idea to just randomly shoot and kill a bunch of people in Juárez. That would be a significant development because it's a clear sign that DTO tactics are degenerating further, and delving into terrorist tactics.

If any of the kids were involved in the drug trade, then it becomes a sad reflection of the state of things in Juárez - the age of perpetrators and victims becoming lower and lower, and opportunities for Mexico's youth in such places declining. The allure of the DTO lifestyle to many teenagers in Mexico can't be denied, and is just one of the many aspects of the drug war the Mexican government has to figure out how to combat. 

In this case - if any of those kids were involved with organized crime - sending in the Mexican army isn't going to cut it. This is a profound sociological issue that can only be dealt with at a cultural - i.e. a familial - level.

Comments

[buggs]

Another possible motive might be revenge for a witness who might had testified or to silence further testimony, or to send a message for the ones who dare to testify, all typical motives of organize crime.

"Officials told local reporters that one of the students killed had recently testified about another gangland killing in Juarez. The city, which borders El Paso, in recent years has become one of the world's most violent cities as gangsters fight for control of the local narcotics trade."

http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2010/02/teens-among-14-killed-at-juarez-party.html

[P]

Yes ... the slaughter of the students was especially terrible, and extremely cold blooded.

But several aspects of the killing point to precise planning and "professional tactics. For one thing, two vehicles were used to block the ends of the street where the victims' house was located. Meanwhile, other SUV's carried the killers to the house - allowing a quick hit and and a guaranteed escape. Also, the killers apparently separated the male victims from the females at the house, before murdering people.

The whole incident appears to be carefully planned, and intended to deliver a very serious message from one of the cartels.

For this reason, it's more than a little surprising that Mexican authorities are claiming that they already have a "suspect" in custody. If the killers were professionals working for the cartel - surely they would have escaped? And just as surely, any witnesses at the house would be completely intimidated from identifying the perpetrators. It is also surprising, and in fact almost unbelievable, that the mayor is saying that this was a random killing. That is nonsense ... it looks a lot more like the authorities are desperately trying to cover up the true nature of the crime.

But who knows ... we'll see if any real light is shed on this awful incident.

[P]

Well, the news today confirmed that at least one (and probably several) of the killers in the incident were from La Linea, and therefore directly tied to the Juarez Cartel. Hence my earlier comments about "professional tactics" were correct.

What is disturbing, and still hard to understand, is that the reported motive for the killing was a "gang vs. gang" dispute. In other words, a fight between the Aztecas and a rival gang.

If the Juarez Cartel is now transferring the "know how" for these brutal assassination methods down to its street-level enforcement gangs, then Mexico is headed for a very bloody future. But the real motive remains unclear, and you have to wonder if La Linea does not have another underlying reason for what happened this week.