Mexican Army Arrests 9 Juarez Police Officers

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (AP) – Mexican soldiers have arrested nine police officers who were allegedly carrying drugs in their patrol cars in the violent border city of Ciudad Juarez.

That’s just across the Rio Grande from El Paso, Texas. Mayor Jose Reyes and city Public Safety spokesman Jaime Torres say the officers were detained over the weekend while carrying marijuana and radios with non-police frequencies.

Last week, the government sent more than 2,500 soldiers and federal police to crack down on soaring violence in the border state of Chihuahua, where Juarez is located.

About 200 people have been killed in the city of 1.3 million so far this year, and 47 policemen have resigned or requested retirement in the last month.

Chihuahua is also home to the town of Palomas, across the border from Columbus, New Mexico. That’s where at least 40 people have been killed this year and the city police chief recently sought asylum in the United States after his deputies abandoned him and he received death threats.