Mexico sends police to combat Tijuana violence
Source: Reuters
TIJUANA, Mexico, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Mexico sent hundreds of police reinforcements to the border city of Tijuana on Tuesday following a recent rash of organized crime killings. Some 500 additional officers arrived in the first wave of 1,000 reinforcements, which will more than double the number of federal police already dispatched to Tijuana, located just across the border from San Diego, California. "It's part of the stepping up of actions against organized crime in this border area," Rommel Moreno, attorney general for Baja California state, told Reuters. "The fight against abductions will continue to be the priority." Three police officers were abducted and murdered in Tijuana over the New Year. Hundreds of troops were deployed there last month after the attempted murder of a police chief raised suspicions that local police had been infiltrated by drug traffickers. Baja California is Mexico's most violent state with more than 400 gangland-style murders were recorded there last year. Over 2,500 people were killed nationwide in turf wars between drug cartels. Mexican President Felipe Calderon has been battling organized crime since he took office a year ago and has sent some 25,000 troops and federal police to the country's worst trouble spots. (Reporting by Lizbeth Diaz; Writing by Catherine Bremer)
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