US Warns Of Cartel Shootings In Mexico Border City

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (AP) – The U.S. Consulate in the northern Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez warned U.S. citizens that Mexican drug cartels were possibly planning random shooting attacks.

The Consulate said in a Warden’s Message posted on its Web page that cartels “may target random vehicles in drive-by shootings or may call in bomb threats in an effort to distract law enforcement officials.”

The Consulate said that the threat appeared only to apply Wednesday. Without elaborating, it said its warning was based on information it had received and recommended U.S. citizens exercise caution when driving through the city.

It was unclear whether the warning was in any way related to Wednesday’s attack on a vehicle carrying Chihuahua state police intelligence unit Commander Luis Prieto.

Gunmen opened fire on the vehicle as Prieto left a restaurant, said Samuel Delgado, spokesman for the state Public Safety Department. Prieto and two other officers were wounded while a fourth official died, he said.

A police vehicle escorting the wounded officers to a hospital was involved in a crash that injured two other officers, and gunfire was reported near the hospital where the victims were taken for treatment.

Following the attack, police found a hand-lettered message on the door of a school that read “This is a warning for Luis Prieto, for hanging around with (reputed drug lord Joaquin) el Chapo Guzman.”

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)