Assassins linked to 70 murders arrested in Mexico

CIUDAD JUAREZ - Mexican army has arrested two alleged assassins accused of murdering at least 70 people in this northern border city.

Mexican army soldiers captured the two suspects after they murdered a man Friday afternoon, the National Defence Secretariat, or Sedena, said in a communique.

The men - identified as Sergio Omar Ramos Arredondo, 25, and Luis Hernan Romero, 31, both originally from the town of Ahome in Sinaloa state - confessed to being members of the “Gente Nueva” (New Guys), a group of assassins working for the Sinaloa drug cartel in Ciudad Juarez.

According to Sedena, Ramos said he had participated in at least 40 murders, including a bloody shootout with soldiers Feb 10.

In that incident, Mexican army personnel confronted a group of kidnappers who were holding nine people, resulting in 21 deaths, six of them kidnapped civilians, 14 criminals and a soldier.

Meanwhile, Romero admitted that he had carried out 30 killings, including the murders of four state policemen.

The arrests were made after troops received an anonymous call alerting them to the presence of a group of armed people in a mechanic shop located in the Cuauhtemoc neighbourhood, in northwestern Ciudad Juarez.

On noticing the presence of the soldiers, the assassins tried to flee in an automobile, but crashed and were arrested unharmed.

The authorities seized two assault rifles and more than 400 rounds of ammunition from the two suspects.

On Sunday, more than 1,000 people gathered in Ciudad Juarez to participate in a demonstration entitled “Solution for Juarez” at which they demanded that the authorities find solutions for the wave of violence and murders that is besetting the city across the border from El Paso, Texas.

–EFE