JUAREZ, Mexico (Border Report) – Soldiers set up unannounced checkpoints on busy Juarez streets Sunday, as the city experienced unusual violence this weekend.

Fifteen people were murdered between Friday and Sunday – most through gunfire, some through beatings and strangulation – to bring the homicide count to 925 so far this year.

Witnesses reported checkpoints manned by members of the Mexican National Guard on Avenida de las Torres, Niños Heroes and near the Downtown Juarez Monument Park. The soldiers were looking for illegal drugs and guns.

Juarez news media report 1,400 National Guard members are now in Juarez to deal with migrant trafficking and drug violence, which again is on the rise.

  • Mexican soldiers man a checkpoint on a busy Juarez highway Sunday evening. (Border Report photo)
  • National guard troops question a man at one of the checkpoints. (Border Report photo)
  • Soldiers in Juarez check a truck with New Mexico license plates. (Border Report photo)
  • A soldier wielding a semi-automatic rifle observes vehicles passing through a drugs and weapons checkpoint next to a park in Juarez on Sunday. (Border Report photo)

A KTSM camera crew witnessed soldiers inspecting vehicles at checkpoints and patting down motorists at random, including some who got off vehicles with U.S.-issued license plates.

Local officials like Juarez Mayor Armando Cabada said they support the presence of the National Guard as a deterrent to drug-related violence. Two major drug cartels and four to five major criminal gangs are known to operate in the city.