Drug war mayhem instills a new fear

Drug-related killings have taken thousands of lives, but now those uninvolved in the cartel battles are falling victim, even children.

By Tracy Wilkinson
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

July 16, 2008

CIUDAD JUAREZ, MEXICO — Scooped up by gunmen as she walked near her home, 12-year-old Alexia Moreno hardly had a chance. The gangsters were driving straight into a shootout. Within minutes, she was dead, shot in the head as she cowered in the back seat.

It was two weeks before her sixth-grade graduation.

Alexia's death in a city so accustomed to death struck a nerve because she was, in this city tortured by killings, broad-daylight gun battles and rampant kidnappings, an innocent victim.

That description isn't redundant in a country in the grip of a raging drug war: The vast majority of the thousands of dead are thought to have some connection to the cartels. They have been hired hit men, drug runners, corrupt police officers.

Suddenly, however, this rough-and-tumble town and other Mexican cities have become citadels of fear even for many who thought they were safe from the mayhem: a pregnant woman washing her car, a 4-year-old, a father and son in their home. And Alexia, who was killed last month.

"Over the years you get used to the violence, but then, in 10 minutes, everything changes," said Alexia's aunt, Cecilia Rodriguez, 37.

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