car bomb attack in Nuevo Laredo...
molly
(AP) – 16 hours ago
CIUDAD VICTORIA, Mexico (AP) — Suspected drug cartel gunmen opened fire on a hotel being used as a police barracks then attacked it with a car bomb Thursday, wounding eight officers less than 4 miles (6.5 kilometers) from the U.S. border, Mexican officials said.
A Tamaulipas state official said authorities believed the Zetas cartel, one of Mexico's two most powerful criminal organizations, carried out the attack on the Hotel Santa Cecilia in Nuevo Laredo, a city across the border from Laredo, Texas.
The Zetas, founded by Mexican special forces defectors, have carried out a number of sophisticated attacks, but Thursday's assault appeared to be one of the most elaborate. It also appeared to be the first attack directed against Tamaulipas' new state police force, which took over a year ago from a municipal police force in Nuevo Laredo that was accused of ineffectiveness and corruption.
The newly commissioned officers, who hail from around the state, were staying in the hotel until permanent barracks were built. Mexican police frequently requisition hotels in the absence of official barracks, or when threats make it unsafe for them to live at home.
The head of state police and Tamaulipas' attorney general said three of the wounded officers had third-degree burns, while the rest had minor injuries.
The attack on the hotel took place around 7:15 a.m. on one of the main streets in Nuevo Laredo, less than four hours after unknown gunmen hurled gasoline bombss at the Maranho, one of the city's most popular nightclubs. The club, which was closed at the time, was badly damaged by fire but there were no injuries, authorities said.
Minutes after the hotel attack, gunmen opened fire on the Nuevo Laredo Institute of Technology, a science-focused university.
Nuevo Laredo is a stronghold of the Zetas. It has been the scene of vicious turf battles between the gang and its former ally, the Gulf cartel, which is now allied with the Zetas' biggest rival, the Sinaloa cartel led by Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.
The border city has seen a series of gruesome mass killings in recent week. Fourteen bodies were found in a van in downtown Nuevo Laredo on April 17, and 23 people found hanged or decapitated in the border city on May 4.
Thursday's attack came less than a week after a high-ranking member of the Zetas was arrested and accused of orchestrating the dumping of 49 mutilated bodies in a northern Mexico town square in order to create terror and confusion as part of a battle with the Gulf and Sinaloa cartels.
Copyright © 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
http://www.milenio.com/cdb/doc/noticias2011/c18034fe3cd5795e5df4a83b70a228ef
Incendian antro y explotan auto en hotel de Nuevo Laredo
Una jornada violenta se ha registrado en la ciudad fronteriza, luego de incendiarse una discoteca y la explosión de un coche que dejó heridos a 7 policías estatales y dos funcionarios del transporte público.
Nuevo Laredo • Después de los hechos registrados la mañana del jueves en donde la discoteca “Maranhao” se incendió y se presumía de otro siniestro en el hotel Santa Cecilia en la zona sur de Nuevo Laredo, este último hecho fue confirmado.
El auto bomba explotó en el interior del hotel, lesionando a siete policías estatales que se encontraban hospedados en el lugar. Trascendió que también dos funcionarios de transporte público en el estado, que se hospedaban ahí tras una reunión que se llevaría a cabo este día, resultaron afectados.
Alrededor de las 10:20 de la mañana unos sujetos se introdujeron al Instituto Tecnológico de Nuevo Laredo ubicado en Avenida Reforma entre Fidel Velázquez y Avenida Tecnológico, que eran perseguidos por las fuerzas castrenses, y causaron alarma entre los estudiantes; los elementos detuvieron a por lo menos tres personas.
El alumnado fue desalojado del plantel, ya que se comenzó con la búsqueda del resto de los delincuentes que se presume se camuflajearon con los estudiantes.
El edificio fue rodeado en su totalidad por elementos del Ejército y policías estatales, incluso se apreciaban tanquetas en el estacionamiento del lugar.