Drug war

The Mexican drug war manifests itself in many ways, harming innocent bystanders as well as gang members and police fighting against criminals.

On Saturday, armed men stormed a party in Ciudad Juarez, slaying 13 high school and college students. Two dozen young people were hospitalized after the assault.

Witnesses and relatives of victims interviewed after the attack told authorities the people killed had no connection to drug traffickers. Most of them were residents of the housing complex where the shootings occurred.

"It must have been a huge mistake," one resident said. One witness said the attack must have been the result of incorrect information.

More than 2,250 people were killed last year in Ciudad Juarez, a city of 1.3 million people across the border from El Paso, Texas, that is home to several druglords.

Also Saturday, heavily armed gunmen attacked a police station in the oceanside community of Lazaro Cardenas, killing a police officer and two civilians who had come to pay a fine. Five people were killed in a van near the western Mexican city of Navolato early Sunday.

Mexican troops and federal police are fighting desperately to stop the violent drug gangs. Until they succeed, no one is safe.