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US Consulate in Ciudad Juarez
Closes Due to Security Threat
Source: AP/Yahoo! News
The US closed its consulate in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez pending a security review, an unexpected decision that comes months after drug gangs killed three people tied to the consulate. The US Embassy announced the consulate will "remain closed until the security review is completed" and said it would reschedule appointments for visa applications.
Closes Due to Security Threat
Source: AP/Yahoo! News
The US closed its consulate in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez pending a security review, an unexpected decision that comes months after drug gangs killed three people tied to the consulate. The US Embassy announced the consulate will "remain closed until the security review is completed" and said it would reschedule appointments for visa applications.
The embassy did not say what prompted the review, and a spokesman said there would be no comment beyond the statement.
A US employee of the consulate, her husband and a Mexican tied to the consulate were killed March 13 when drug gang fired on their cars as they left a children's party in the city across from El Paso, TX.
The US State Dept has taken several measures over the past months to protect consulate employees and their families from surging violence along Mexico's border with the US.
It has authorized the departure of relatives of US government employees in six northern Mexican cities. A turf battle between the Juarez and Sinaloa drug cartels has made Ciudad Juarez one of the world's most dangerous cities. More than 4,000 people have been killed in the city of 1.3 million since the beginning of 2009.
