Jeers, outbursts interrupt Mexican president at public meeting in violence racked border city

Mexico prez presents new plan for violent city

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico — Relatives of youths killed in a recent massacre interrupted and jeered President Felipe Calderon as he pledged Thursday night to spend more on social programs to curb runaway drug gang violence in this border city.

“If you had a son killed, you would have looked for the murderer even under rocks,” a sobbing Luz Davila, whose two teenage sons were among 15 killed in the Jan. 31 attack, told Calderon. “But I don’t have the resources.”

Inside a convention center, Calderon said the government will invest in sports centers for youths, more schools and day care centers and provide financial aid to 25,000 families living in poverty. He was widely criticized for not visiting Ciudad Juarez sooner after the massacre, in which gunmen burst into a party and opened fire with automatic weapons.

Many of the victims were teens with no known criminal ties, and the attack outraged even hardened residents of Juarez.

Police have arrested two men in the attack. One of them, told investigators that drug cartel gunmen went to the neighborhood looking for a member of a rival gang but that once they arrived they were ordered to kill everyone.

Those listening Thursday demanded the president do more to stop the wave of violence that killed more than 2,300 people last year. The bloodshed has the city of 1.3 million people across the border from El Paso, Texas, one of the world’s deadliest metropolises.

Outside the meeting, police dragged away dozens of demonstrators demanding that Calderon resign. The protesters held signs reading “Calderon out!” Police forced them across the street, shoving them through muddy puddles.

Calderon also met privately with relatives of some of the youths killed in the massacre and apologized for initially saying the attack was a result of a fight between rival drug gangs.

“Whatever may have been the meaning of my words, I offered the parents my most heartfelt apology if any of my words offended them or the memory of their children,” he said afterward.

When Calderon referred to the apology at the public meeting, a group of women stood up and turned their backs to the president.

Human rights activists at the meeting demanded the army leave Juarez, saying soldiers have abused their power and gone after scapegoats. But Calderon again said he won’t withdraw troops despite criticism that their presence has exacerbated violence.

“If I were certain that withdrawing the Mexican army would end the violence in Juarez, be sure that I would do it. But I’m afraid the opposite would happen,” Calderon said.

Calderon has deployed 5,500 soldiers to Ciudad Juarez trying to stop vicious gangs battling for drug-dealing turf and lucrative trafficking routes into the United States, but violent crime has surged.

The president said 400 federal agents will focus on investigating kidnappings and extortion in the city.

Businessman Manuel Ortega said thousands of Juarez businesses have closed because of extortion. “Juarez won’t be able to stand another year like last year,” he said.

Calderon urged Ciudad Juarez residents to let him know of ways to improve on his proposal and said he would return next week.

Mexico’s government has arrested or killed the leaders of several drug cartels, but drug-related killings have continued. More than 15,000 have died since Calderon launched his crackdown in December 2006.

Also Thursday, federal police arrested a rural strongman who allegedly led a group of marijuana and opium poppy growers in southern Guerrero state who sold their crops to the Sinaloa and La Familia drug cartels.

The Public Safety Department said in a statement it arrested Rogaciano Alba as he drove near the western city of Guadalajara.

It said Alba had been hiding in the state of Jalisco with the help of the leaders of the Sinaloa cartel. Alba hadn’t been seen since gunmen killed 17 of his relatives and associates in two attacks in Guerrero state in 2008.

Until recently, Alba was the most powerful man in Petatlan, a mountain town near the resorts of Ixtapa and Zihuatenejo, known for drug trafficking and illegal logging.