Someone say Baghdad?
Posted on 02/07/2006 7:47:22 AM PST by SwinneySwitch
NUEVO LAREDO - Several masked men armed with machine guns stormed the newsroom at El Mañana on Monday night, injuring two reporters before they made good their escape.
No one was killed.
Earlier in the day, there were two people found dead in separate incidents as the violence continues to mount in this border city. At least one was a homicide, pushing the death toll to 25 so far this year.
It was the attack on the newspaper that created a furor Monday night.
The journalists refused to be cowed and went back to work.
"We're going to make a newspaper. We're reporters," said Rene Martinez of La Tarde, El Maña-na's afternoon sister paper, which has offices in the same building. "We don't carry guns or grenades, we're just going to do our job.
"We have to live, we have to work. We don't know another way of living."
It started at about 7:50 p.m., near deadline, three and possibly more gunmen entered through the main doors of the two-story El Mañana building in downtown Nuevo Laredo.
Mariano Almanza Arrieta, the A-section editor at El Mañana, said it appeared the men may have opened fire as they first came into the building, then moved toward editorial.
When they reached editorial, Almanza Arrieta said, the men opened fire again, raking the newsroom with their cuernos de chivo and tossing a hand grenade into the room. The men were yelling obscenities, threatening those in the room but no one in particular.
Windows shattered as the estimated 30 people on duty scrambled for cover.
Jaime Orozco Tey, a nightside reporter with more than 10 years of experience, was shot four or five times in the shoulder and back and was taken to a local hospital, where he was listed in serious condition Monday night.
Another reporter, Osvaldo Rodriguez, was injured by flying glass and possible shrapnel from the grenade, officials said. Rodriguez was treated by paramedics at the scene.
Local, state and federal police as well as soldiers descended on the newspaper offices, securing the area and gathering evidence.
Ramon Dario Cantú, executive editor of El Mañana, said he had no doubts about who sent the gunmen.
"What's the point of investigating? We know it was an assault by drug traffickers," Cantú said.
The gunmen ran out and left in at least two different vehicles. No arrests were made Monday night.
In the other cases, one man was found dead Monday afternoon with several gunshot founds to the head and body and signs of torture in a ditch in Ejido la Unión, north of the airport. His hands and feet were tied, and his face was covered with a green rag.
At the scene, investigators found five spend .40-caliber shells.
The victim, believed to be between 20 and 25 years old, had not been identified as of late Monday night.
Ricardo Mancillas Castillo of the state police ordered that the body be taken to a local funeral home for autopsy.
Several hours before that, at about 1 p.m., police found the body of a second man, who showed signed of a beating. Investigators said, however, the cause of death was unclear and stopped short of calling it a homicide, pending the results of the autopsy required by law.
Cuauhtémoc Cuin Vázquez, 40, was found dead in his house in the 4600 block of Baja California; family members said he was related to a high-ranking state police official.
"I cannot determine if death was caused by violence or not," Mancillas Castillo said. "We are waiting for the results of the medical examiner, who will conduct the legally mandated autopsy and who will determine whether the blows were caused by an object or accident."
Family members would not allow more than one officer per agency into their home, except for the forensics team members.
(To reach Miguel Timoshenkov, call (956) 728-2583 or e-mail timo1@lmtonline.com.)
Sure seems that way. Wonder what kind of vehicles they got away in. HMMVEEs?
Pablo Escobar Lives!
"We have to live, we have to work. We don't know another way of living."
Uhhhh, faced with a choice of getting shot and killed, I could think of a million other ways to earn a *living*, fellas. Call me for some ideas.
This colorful Mexican slang translates as "goat's horns" and typically means AK-47s. Could also be other automatic weapons though.
California now has an offshoot of these thugs threatening businesses if elected officials don't back off their decision to enforce immigration laws. I forget what town they are working over. In addition, these thugs have threatened to harm the volunteers on the border. We are going to see Mexico go nuts on us if we don't permit the free flow of drugs and criminals across our border.
In Texas they are threatening to kill police officers AND THEIR FAMILIES if cops interfere in their illegal border activity. An article I read claimed that if these thugs hit US police officers, police in border towns would really get serious about illegals so acting on the threats would backfire on the Mexicans.
Border Ping!
Please FReepmail me if you want on or off this South Texas/Mexico ping list.
Will the Grenades and AK47s cross the border, eventually?
Thanks for the ping. What a sad state of affairs our borders have become. We used to visit Laredo sometimes when we lived in Corpus Christi, and occasionally walk across the bridge to N.L. for Mexican chocolate and vanilla. It's just hard to imagine those sleepy little places becoming what they apparently are now.
Someone say Baghdad?
Of course but the man in the White House isn't concerned because he won't be running for re-election.
Said it before, here goes again....Wonder why nothing is being done to seal the borders? Follow the money.
He would look awesome with a sombrero, but I don't have photoshop.
We could use a talented attempt at this as it is my understanding that during the war Bagdad Bob was a real hit with President Bush. He will "get it" as soon as he sees the "adjusted" pic.
Here is a link to my new post on it.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1572629/posts?page=32#32
Oh those crazy Mexicans and their colorful metaphors!
How are we suppose to stop this crap, kiddnap a couple of Mexican Mafia types and behead them on TV?
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