The police chief in Mexico's violence-torn Ciudad Juárez quit Feb. 20 after several officers were slain this week and hand-painted posters left in prominent places in the city pledged an officer would be killed every 48 hours until he resigned. Roberto Orduña Cruz, the city's public safety secretary, said he didn't want to risk more lives. "Respect for the life that these brave officers risk every day on the streets for Juarez residents obliges me to offer my permanent resignation," Orduña said.

Between the appearance of the signs and his resignation, 12 were killed in Chihuahua state—five in Ciudad Juárez. Among the seven killed elsewhere in the state was a Federal Agency of Investigation (AFI) agent in the state capital, Ciudad Chihuahua. The last two—a Juárez city police officer and a prison guard—were killed by AK-47 fire just as the first 48 hours ran out. (LAT, Feb. 21; La Jornada, Rotativo de Queretaro, Feb. 20)

See our last post on Ciudad Juárez and the narco wars.

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