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Mexico-US border violence claims
4 more lives
Drug-related violence on the
Mexico-US border claimed four
more lives Monday to bring this
year's toll to 125, police
reported.
The victims, including a US
citizen, were killed in clashes
between drug-trafficking groups.
Police found the scorched bodies
in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas. One
of the slain apparently suffered
a coup de grace before being
sprayed with fuel and burned. It
was typical of killings by drug
pushers in gang fighting,
according to Eduardo Anaya, an
official of the regional
attorney general's office
To crack down on organized crime
along the border with the United
States, Mexico launched a "Safe
Mexico" program in June.
In Nuevo Laredo, officials say
the city is on the front-line of
a battle between Mexico's two
main drug gangs, who are
fighting to control coveted
smuggling routes into the United
States.
The local government and
business leaders, among others,
have set aside 2 million US
dollars to lure US tourists back
to this Mexican border city.
The money, which comes from both
public and private sources, will
be used to improve Nuevo
Laredo's image after a wave of
violence scared tourists away.
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