Once dubbed the murder capital of the world, Juarez, Mexico, has seen 400 murders in 2022 as drug-related violence once again grips the troubled border town, according to local reports.
In the past month alone, 60 people have been killed, including four people hit by Denny’s in the city, which is across the Rio Grande from El Paso, Texas, according to the El Paso Times.
Several gunmen entered the busy restaurant at lunchtime and opened fire on the dining area. Frightened patrons hid a video taken from the KFOX TV show under their tables.
Warring drug gangs are blamed for the wave of violence, state officials say. Currently, the Sinaloa, Juarez, and Jalisco New Generation cartels are vying for control of Juarez, an important gateway to the United States. In May, 107 murders were reported, most of them related to cartel violence.
In another recent massacre, five people, including a 17-year-old, were killed in a house in Juarez, but an 8-year-old and a 10-year-old were spared, the Times reported.
The Governor of Chihuahua sent state police and a special law enforcement helicopter to patrol Juarez following the shooting of Denny. Reinforcements will monitor shopping areas, restaurants, bars and nightclubs.
The cartel’s violence is spreading to other parts of Chihuahua, where two priests and a tour guide were killed by local members of the Sinaloa drug cartel.
