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Juarez Police Commander Likely Shot As Retaliation

By Mónica Ortiz Uribe / Senior Field Correspondent
Published January 31, 2013 at 7:56 AM PST
This story was published more than 11 years ago.
Juarez Police Commander Likely Shot As Retaliation
Rafael Ochoa Leyva has reduced car thefts in Juárez by 70 percent and arrested more than 200 suspects in the last two years.

A Juárez police commander is in a local hospital today recovering from a gunshot wound.

Rafael Ochoa Leyva is the police commander who heads the auto theft unit in the Mexican border city of Juárez.

Wednesday morning he was driving to work when two vehicles opened fire on his police truck. He was wounded but managed to escape and get to a hospital where he is currently being treated.

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A police spokesman says Ochoa Leyva has reduced car thefts in Juárez by 70 percent and arrested more than 200 suspects in the last two years.

Investigators say there is strong evidence that the police commander was targeted in retaliation for his success. As of Thursday morning police hadn't made any arrests in the case.

Mónica Ortiz Uribe
Senior Field Correspondent Mónica Ortiz Uribe (Las Cruces) is a native of El Paso, Texas, where she recently worked as a freelance reporter. Her work has aired on NPR, Public Radio International and Radio Bilingue. Most of her stories examined the effects of drug-related violence across the border in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. Previously, she worked as a reporter for the Waco Tribune Herald in Waco, Texas. She graduated from the University of Texas at El Paso with a degree in history.
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