Top Chihuahua state law officer murdered in Juarez

Another top law enforcement official has been murdered in Juarez, Mexico, where more than 700 people have lost their lives this year -- most the result of a vicious war between two drug cartels vying for control of the city.

Many of the victims have been law enforcement officers targeted for assassination by the cartels.

Add Vidal Barraza Ortiz, 42, to that list. He was a commander in the Chihuahua State Investigation Agency of the Attorney General's office. Barraza was gunned down Tuesday night at his Juarez home, the El Paso Times reports. Barraza was a veteran law officer who had worked many assignments, the paper reports, including the task force that investigated the dozens of murders of women that city.

The paper reports that investigators found 28 shell casings at the murder scene.

Barraza has relatives in the Fort Worth area and in El Paso. A cousin in Fort Worth, who asked not to be identified, said that Barraza was buried on Wednesday.

"It's sad," the cousin said. "I still have family over there."

-- Lance Murray