By IANS
Monterrey (Mexico) : A police chief in the northern Mexican state of Tamaulipas has been gunned down by some criminals masquerading as personnel of the federal police, officials have said.
The gunmen shot and killed Luis Eduardo Rodriguez Masso, commander of a state police unit in Tamaulipas, Saturday inside the Antrock nightclub in the border city of Matamoros, Spain’s EFE news agency reported Monday.
Initial reports said the gunmen entered the club and opened fire on Masso, who was a candidate for the post of public safety secretary in Matamoros, which is across the border from Brownsville, Texas.
Mexico has been plagued in recent years by drug-related violence, with powerful cartels battling one another and the police.
The killing of the police chief is also suspected to be an act of those drug lords in the region.
Last Friday, seven police officers were killed by gunmen while guarding a group of detainees at a hospital in the central Mexican state of Zacatecas.
Experts say tackling the problem of drug-related violence is a major challenge because of widespread corruption in Mexico’s enforcement set up.
According to an unofficial report in the possession of El Universal newspaper, nearly 2,700 people have been murdered in Mexico during 2007, with the majority of the killings linked to organized crime groups.