Ciudad Juaréz, Mexico–
13 teenagers were shot to death during a party in Ciudad Juaréz, a city near the U.S. / Mexican border. The murders took place during a massive shooting at a private house where the party took place; 17 other victims were seriously injured. A police investigation is under way, and the motive for the violence is still under speculation. Authorities suspect that the leader of a local powerful drug cartel mistook the victims for members of a rival drug gang, and the gun battle was a coordinated effort to gain power in the black market.
The victims were mostly young people aged between fifteen and twenty five years old who were either celebrating a local American football victory or, according to other sources, they had gathered to watch a football match. Sources claim that the people had gathered for a normal sporting event, but the occasion was tragically interrupted in the early morning hours by a heavily armed group of gunmen. The gunmen suddenly broke into the party and began indiscriminately shooting into the group of celebrating teenagers.
Some of the survivers of this brutal attack are still in shock and, because of the apprehension and anxiety over drug cartel revenge, the hospitalized victims fear to give the authorities full testimony on what happened. However, some of the victims described the horrifying incident in some detail. According to these eye witnesses, many heavily armed gunmen arrived in seven SUV cars; some of the men blocked the nearby streets and secured the location while the rest of the gunmen — approximately 15 men — started a full assault on the building. The gunmen first shot into the building from the outside, and then moved inside for the final deadly assault. The assault had the appearance of a “military action”, and resulted in 13 dead teenagers, while another 17 mostly young people were seriously wounded.
The Mexican city of Juaréz is located at the U.S. borders of New Mexico and Texas, and the area is notorious for its permanent drug war problems. For years, conflicting Mexican underworld groups have been fighting amongst themselves for black market influence in drugs, and increased power. The recent incident is shocking in its brutality, and is rather rare since innocent civilians are not usually targeted, but this does not imply that the area is peaceful. Approximately 10,000 soldiers permanently guard the city of Juaréz; soldiers secure the streets and try to ensure the safety of the citizens. Juaréz is one of the most heavily guarded cities in Mexico, but unfortunately the city is still far from being considered a safe place. When the drug cartel violence began escalating, approximately 3 years ago, the Mexican government was forced to use permanent military forces that set up both defensive mechanisms and offensive procedures against the gangs. Nevertheless, the situation has not improved, and the recent trends in violence doesn’t make for an optimistic outlook for the future. It is estimated that, to date, approximately 16,000 people have died as victims of drug gang wars in this area, and the death statistics for the last year was approximately 2,000 people. The methods of brutality used by drug gang members are well known, though the violence usually takes place more hidden from public view, and also usually targets specific rivals or small groups, and not large anonymous groups of innocent people.
Authorities speculate that, in this recent dreadful incident, drug lords probably made a mistake in identifying the teenagers as drug gang members; according to police sources, most if not all the targeted people were probably not connected to drug gang members. According to one of the survivors, who gave to the officials only the name “Hector”, there must have been confusion and a mistake in identities of gang members. “The party was an innocuous gathering of friends targeted in error” he said. The authorities blame the Sinaloa cartel, a drug smuggling syndicate led by ill-famed drug trafficker Joaquin El Chapo Guzman, who is trying to overrule the power and influence of another Juaréz cartel which has been operating in this area since the 1990s.
