Except for some wounded people brought to the Columbus Port of Entry, the escalating drug-related violence in the Mexican border town of Palomas hasn't spilled over into the United States, the Deming Headlight reported.

Several area law enforcement agencies met Monday at the U.S. Border Patrol station in Deming to discuss the latest wave of killings in Palomas -- seven people gunned down on Friday and Sunday -- to review contingency plans already in place, Border Patrol Agent in Charge Rick Moody told the Headlight.

Meeting Monday were representatives of the Border Patrol, New Mexico State Police, Luna County Sheriff's Office, the Deming and Columbus police departments and Port of Entry personnel, the Headlight reported.

"The purpose is, again, to make sure our borders are safe, that our communities are safe," said Moody, who told the Headlight that the Border Patrol is in constant contact with its Mexican counterparts.

"It looks as if the violence has been very specified and targeted," said Moody of the shooting deaths of a father and son on Friday, and the killings of five men who were leaving a wake for Friday's victims around 2:20 a.m. Sunday.

Gov. Bill Richardson's office released a statement Monday afternoon regarding the renewed drug-related violence just over Mexico's border with New Mexico.

"Governor Richardson is deeply concerned by the violence in Mexico and has directed all New Mexico public safety officials to be vigilant to ensure the problems don't spread into the United States," spokesman Pahl Shipley said in a news release.

Richardson supports "strong measures" being taken by Mexican authorities and plans to ask the next Legislature to fund an increased state and local law-enforcement presence on the border, Shipley said.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of State has issued a travel alert for Mexico, particularly for the border areas:

"U.S. citizens are urged to be especially alert to safety and security concerns when visiting the border region. While Mexican citizens overwhelmingly are the victims of these crimes, this uncertain security situation poses risks for U.S. citizens as well. Thousands of U.S. citizens cross the border safely each day, exercising common-sense precautions such as visiting only legitimate business and tourist areas of border towns during daylight hours. It is strongly recommended that travelers avoid areas where prostitution and drug dealing occur."

7:15am 5/13/08 -- 7 Dead in Renewed Palomas Violence: Five men found dead Sunday in Mexican border city; father and son slain on Friday.

The drug turf wars that had appeared to subside with the arrival in March of Mexican troops in the border city of Palomas erupted with a vengeance over the weekend, the Deming Headlight is reporting.

Five men were found dead Sunday morning, and a father and son were gunned down around 1:30 p.m. Friday, according to the Headlight.

Sunday's victims were identified as Leonel Martinez Chacon, 30; Gabriel Martinez Chacon, 28; Armando Carreon Caraveo, 41; Luis Carreon Caraveo, 39; and Eduardo Saldivar Porras, 25, the Headlight reported.

The Carreon Caraveos were related to Friday's victims, 57-year-old Arnoldo Carreon Renteria and his 25-year-old son, Arnoldo Carreon, who had attended Deming schools but was more recently living in Arizona, Luna County sheriff's Capt. Arturo Baeza told the Headlight.

Arnoldo Carreon Renteria was the brother of Epifanio Carreon, who was shot to death in an earlier incident in Palomas, the paper said.

"This is still a spill-over event, an ongoing feud," Baeza told the Headlight on Saturday.

And despite assurances last month from Palomas' mayor Estanislao Garcia that the city was safe enough for tourists to return, the feud appears to be continuing.

Luna County sheriff's investigator Gary Leyba said his sources in Palomas told him that 162 shell casings were found at the scene of the 2:20 a.m. Sunday bloodbath, and that at least 67 casings were found at the scene of the father-and-son killings, the Headlight reported.

The casings were from heavy-duty automatic weapons, Leyba told the Headlight.

The killings appear to be part of an overall pattern of violence wracking the U.S.-Mexico border and in Mexico City itself, attributed to a savage war for territory by Mexican drug cartels.

In Ciudad Juarez, Police Director Juan Antonio Roman, 54, was killed just before 2 a.m. Saturday when he was ambushed near his home, and Mexico's acting federal police chief, 41-year-old Edgar Millan Gomez, was killed and two of his bodyguards wounded when he opened the door to his apartment just before dawn last Thursday, the Headlight reported. 

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