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Nuevo Laredo Chief of Police Resigns

The police chief who resigned from the city of Nuevo Laredo, on the border with the United States, says he was simply tired of trying to control an overwhelming turf war between drug cartels. Nuevo Laredo, just across the border from Laredo, Texas, is caught in a turf war between cartels vying for the profitable drug route into the United States.

Omar Pimentel, 38, resigned Wednesday. "The truth is that I was tired. It`s a tough job and with so much pressure that it becomes mentally overwhelming." Pimentel says he plans to go back to school and spend more time with his family.

The police department in Nuevo Laredo has struggled to find and keep qualified police officers after at least half of the force was let go on corruption charges and ties to drug cartels. Mexican police are considered some of the most corrupt of officials in a country that has largely allowed lax border controls in order to facilitate illegal immigration - Mexicans send millions of dollars home every month from jobs to the north.