U.S. Reopens Consulate

The U.S. Consulate in this violence-racked border city reopened Monday, a week after the U.S. ambassador to Mexico ordered it closed, citing concern over the safety of employees and visitors to the facility.

Security had been tightened at the consulate and two Nuevo Laredo police officers kept watch on people waiting in line. Four other municipal officers circled the building on bicycles, and federal agents and troops drove by repeatedly.

U.S. Consul Michael Yoder said he had asked Mexican officials to send more officers to guard the structure.

“We will see between 100 and 150 people daily, and we want them to be safe and come in the building as soon as possible,” Yoder said.

The consulate suspended all but emergency operations last week after assailants fired machine guns, grenades and a rocket launcher at a house neighbors said was a hide-out for drug smugglers.

U.S. Ambassador Tony Garza said the closure was needed so officials could “assess the security situation for our employees, American travelers to the region, and visitors to the consulate.”

Since January, more than 100 people have been killed in Nuevo Laredo, a city of more than 300,000 across the U.S. border from Laredo, Texas.

Authorities say the violence stems from a war between two of Mexico’s most powerful drug cartels for control of key smuggling routes into the United States.