Promising to weed out corruption and make this violent border hub safe for residents and tourists alike, Omar Pimentel took over Nuevo Laredo's police force -- a post few others would dare to take.
His predecessor died in a hail of gunfire after only a few hours on the job last month and while Omar Pimentel made it through his first day without incident Wednesday, five hours after he was sworn-in, gunmen killed one city police officer and wounded two others.
Authorities on both sides of the border say Nuevo Laredo, a community of 330,000 people across from Laredo, Texas, is caught in the middle of a turf war between two powerful Mexican drug gangs fighting for control of smuggling routes into the US. Drug-related violence has left at least 70 people dead here since January.
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2005/07/08/2003262678
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