Mexican Drug War Starts In Juarez

EL PASO, Texas -- The attacks on three Juarez law enforcement officials has brought the Mexican military to Juarez. One expert said federal intervention may cause some individuals to try and cross over to the U.S.The most recent act of violence in Juarez landed a commander of the Chihuahua bureau of investigation, Fernando Lozano, in the hospital with life-threatening injuries. Lozano was shot and wounded Monday night as he was driving in a government vehicle. He's the third law enforcement official to be gunned down in the streets of Juarez.On Monday morning, Francisco Ledezma, operations coordinator for the Juarez police was shot as he was leaving his house. And on Sunday, police Capt. Julian Chairez was shot to death in his patrol car.

The spokesman for the municipal police in Juarez, Jaime Torres, said the attacks against police are isolated incidents."We cannot confirm who is doing this. They are isolated incidents. We are aware of groups in the city that will rebel and react with violence but it's something that's difficult to prevent," said Torres.KFOX talked to UTEP Political Science professor Dr. Tony Payan who said the drug cartels are fighting back."Juarez had been free from some of that but I think it's begun.

This may be another front in the war against drugs in Mexico," said Payan.As of last night, Mexico's military arrived in Juarez. We took a short trip there to find Mexican soldiers guarding the hospital where Lozano is fighting for his life. Torres said soldiers are conducting checkpoints and in some areas going door-to-door. Payan said this could cause some people to make a run for the border."There's going to be a lot of deaths, there's going to be people fleeing across the border, we may see a spike in violence," said Payan.

And the Mexican military could be a part of Juarez for a while."What you're going to see is the military is going to intervene heavy and you may see a few more deaths. I don't think it's over. I think this is the beginning," said Payan.Torres said Juarez police have been placed on alert and are now taking extra safety measures in the street.