A FRIEND passed along a horrifying tale yesterday from
Ascensión, a small farming town in the northern Mexican state of
Chihuahua, which for years has been ground zero in the turf war
among the country's drug traffickers. In recent months, the town
has suffered a wave of kidnappings, and residents have been
pooling their savings to pay ransom after ransom. Local
authorities have not been able to stop the crimes.  On the
morning of September 21st, eight gunmen showed up at a
restaurant and abducted the owner's daughter niece in a car. Her
family immediately called the army and police. But with the
state's poor record of catching kidnappers in mind, they also
called their friends and neighbours to pursue the criminals
themselves. Some 20 people started giving chase, causing the
kidnappers to crash two of their three vehicles and flee on
foot.  Half an hour later, a mob then 200-strong found two
17-year-old boys they believed were part of the criminal group
and began attacking them. The police managed to get the