Ciudad Juarez: Three people with ties to the American consulate were killed in a drug-plagued Mexican city, including a US couple shot to death within sight of the border with their baby in their back seat, officials said.
US President Barack Obama expressed outrage over the killings, and Mexican President Felipe Calderon promised a swift investigation.
Several US citizens have been killed in Mexico's drug war, most of them people with family ties to Mexico. However, it is rare for American government employees to be targeted.
The three died during a particularly bloody weekend in Mexico, with nearly 50 people killed in apparent drug-gang violence. Nine people were killed in a gang shootout early yesterday in the Pacific resort city of Acapulco, one of Mexico's spring break attractions.
The US consulate employee and her husband were shot to death on Saturday in their car near the Santa Fe International bridge linking Ciudad Juarez with El Paso, Texas, said Vladimir Tuexi, a spokesman for Chihuahua state prosecutors' office.
Their baby was found unharmed in the back seat. Tuexi estimated the child was about 1-year-old.
PTI
First Published: Monday, March 15, 2010, 08:53