Oil services company manager killed in Mexico

Veracruz, Agency
Gunmen killed a manager of oil services company Weatherford International in the eastern Mexican Gulf state of Veracruz and left his body inside a car, officials told.

Francisco Ruiz Palacios, a 36-year-old billings manager for the Geneva-based company, was the victim, spokespersons for the Public Safety Secretariat and the Veracruz state Attorney General's Office said Wednesday.

Authorities said they ruled the death a homicide based on evidence gathered inside the vehicle, which was found near the Tihuatland-Poza Rica highway.

The state AG's office said the body bore bullet wounds but that authorities have not yet been able to establish a motive or identify any potential suspects.

Weatherford is drilling 500 wells in the promising onshore Chicontepec region of Veracruz as a contractor for state oil monopoly Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex.

In recent weeks, Veracruz's northern region has been the scene of clashes between rival drug gangs and attacks by criminal outfits on police.

Mexico has been plagued in recent years by drug-related violence, with powerful cartels battling each other and the security forces, as rival gangs vie for control of lucrative smuggling and distribution routes.

Nearly 30,000 people have died since President Felipe Calderon declared war on Mexico's cartels shortly after taking office in December 2006.