Free Republic

NUEVO LAREDO - The mayor of this Mexican border town said Friday he does not believe that the murder of the city's police chief was the work of three known criminal groups here. Nuevo Laredo Mayor Daniel Peña Treviño, speaking to reporters at a new briefing at City Hall, said the shooting death of Alejandro Dominguez Coello, 52, probably was a case of mistaken identity. Dominguez Coello was gunned down Wednesday evening after he boarded his pickup truck on Obregon Avenue in front of his place of business. He had just returned from a visit to City Hall where seven...

Nuevo Laredo's new police chief was on the job nine hours before he was shot dozens of times and killed. The dramatic murder of the top law enforcement officer in the increasingly violent Mexican border town, just across the river from Laredo, Texas, provided another stark illustration of the way the drug cartels are vying for power with law enforcement authorities. Alejandro Dominguez, a businessman who once worked at the federal attorney-general's office, was sworn in Wednesday afternoon, saying he wasn't afraid of anything. With many top police officials being ambushed and killed in the town recently, Mexican President Vicente...

Mexican police chief killed hours after taking job Last Updated Thu, 09 Jun 2005 17:39:00 EDT CBC News The only person to apply for the post of police chief in the violent Mexican border city of Nuevo Laredo was shot and killed seven hours after taking the job. Alejandro Dominguez was shot dozens of times late Wednesday evening after leaving work. He's the city's seventh police official to be killed this year. As he took office on Wednesday afternoon, Dominguez had declared he wasn't afraid of taking the job. Since January, more than 60 people, including the police officers, have...

Seven police commanders killed Since the beginning of the year, ambush-style shootings have claimed the lives of seven police commanders in Nuevo Laredo, including Dominguez. The position of police chief stood vacant for weeks after Jose Valdez left to take another municipal position. The city had a hard time finding applicants who weren’t afraid to take the job. In all, shootings have claimed the lives of 61 people this year in Nuevo Laredo. The U.S. government has issued a warning to tourists traveling to the border, which has seen a rise in drug violence amid a turf war between the...

At least 40 shots were fired at newly-appointed leader NUEVO LAREDO - Alejandro Domínguez Coello, a former federal Attorney General aide in Mexico City, was named Nuevo Laredo's chief of public safety, the equivalent of the chief of police, only to be killed less than 6 hours later Wednesday. Domínguez Coello had just exited an office building at 2048 Obregon when he was shot as he attempted to start his vehicle. Officials report that 40 bullet casings from an AR-15 assault rifle were recovered at the scene of the shooting. Domínguez Coello's death marks the city's 60th homicide this year....

MONTERREY, Mexico — For weeks, no one applied for the Nuevo Laredo police chief job. Many saw it as a death sentence. But Alejandro Dominguez proudly took office on Wednesday, saying he wasn't afraid of anything. Nine hours later, he was ambushed and killed by gunmen who fired some three dozen times. Dominguez's violent death was the latest blow to Nuevo Laredo, a city across from Laredo, Texas, that has been crippled by a wave of drug violence. The city is on the front line of a turf battle between Mexico's two largest drug gangs, the Gulf and Juarez cartels....

NUEVO LAREDO - A day before city officials were expected to choose a new police chief, Nuevo Laredoans marked the death of homicide victim No. 59. Witnesses reported hearing gunfire near the corner of Héroes de Nacataz and Insurgentes at about 1:15 p.m. Tuesday. When officers arrived, a neighbor led them to the 400 block of Héroes de Nacataz, where they found a man who apparently had been shot dead. The victim, who was believed to be between 20 and 25, has not been identitifed. With a skyrocketing number of homicides as well as increasing numbers of burglaries, armed robberies...

NUEVO LAREDO - City officials are having a tough time finding a police chief. The wave of violence between criminal gangs has made the job not very desirable, acknowledged Nuevo Laredo Mayor Daniel Peña Treviño in his regular Monday news conference. "I'm waiting for recommendations," Peña Treviño said, adding that he wants to be able to present three candidates to the City Council and Gov. Eugenio Hernández Flores. Peña Treviño said he's looking for someone who's honest, fair and courageous. Courage is key; so far, six law officers have been killed in Nuevo Laredo violence this year. All told, there...