Mexico: Local police involved in 2011 migrant massacres
10 years, 2 months ago

Mexico: Local police involved in 2011 migrant massacres

Associated Press  

MEXICO CITY — Local police in the city of San Fernando in northern Mexico were involved in the 2011 massacres of 193 mainly Central American migrants whose bodies were found in mass graves, according to federal prosecutors. In San Fernando, a city of 60,000 inhabitants in Tamaulipas state near the Texas border, local police worked as lookouts for the brutal Zetas drug cartel, as well as turning a blind eye to cartel activity, according to members of the Zetas cited in the memo. In the memo, detained Zetas told authorities that local police helped in the “intercepting of people.” This is the first time the Attorney General’s Office has declassified documents related to the mass killings of migrants in northern Mexico in recent years. The group’s director, Ana Lorena Delgadillo, told The Associated Press that the memo confirms “the degree of participation by the police.” “This is a very important step toward finding the truth,” said Delgadillo, lamenting that the declassified memo didn’t give much more information than that 18 local police officers were being investigated.

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History of this topic

Convictions in Mexico fail to quell demands for justice in massacres of migrants
6 months, 2 weeks ago

Convictions in Mexico fail to quell demands for justice in massacres of migrants

LA Times  

Activists place an “anti-monument” outside the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City in 2020 to mark the 10th anniversary of the San Fernando massacres. “The government plan for years has been to render these criminal acts and extreme violations of human rights as invisible as possible.” The protracted episode has been “shameful,” said Marcela Turati, a Mexican journalist whose book “San …

Mexico's traditional and Indigenous community police come under fire from drug cartels
6 months, 2 weeks ago

Mexico's traditional and Indigenous community police come under fire from drug cartels

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Mexico’s traditional and Indigenous community …

Mexico convicts 11 cartel gunmen in killings of 122 bus passengers near US border over 2 years
6 months, 3 weeks ago

Mexico convicts 11 cartel gunmen in killings of 122 bus passengers near US border over 2 years

Associated Press  

MEXICO CITY — Mexican prosecutors finally won convictions — and 50-year prison sentences — Wednesday against 11 drug cartel gunmen for the 2010-2011 massacre of 122 passengers who were pulled off passing buses and forced to fight each other to the death with sledgehammers. Prosecutors in Tamaulipas state said at the time that members of the now-splintered Zetas cartel began …

Mexican president says a fight over drug and migrant trafficking was behind the massacre of 19
8 months, 1 week ago

Mexican president says a fight over drug and migrant trafficking was behind the massacre of 19

Associated Press  

MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s president said Tuesday a fight between gangs over drug and migrant trafficking routes was behind the massacre of 19 men in the southern state of Chiapas. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said the killings were part of a long-running dispute between two drug cartels. López Obrador said federal forces were “protecting the population” in Chiapas, despite …

Thousands of displaced residents in southern Mexico fear returning to their homes after violence
9 months ago

Thousands of displaced residents in southern Mexico fear returning to their homes after violence

Associated Press  

YAJALON, Mexico — Thousands of residents displaced by violence that intensified this week in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas remained fearful Tuesday of returning to their homes. “They tell us to return but who can guarantee that we will be safe, that there won’t be problems?” said Gómez, speaking from a sports court turned camp for the displaced in …

Mob in Mexico beats kidnapping suspect to death hours before Holy Week procession
11 months, 2 weeks ago

Mob in Mexico beats kidnapping suspect to death hours before Holy Week procession

LA Times  

A woman suspected in the kidnapping and killing of an 8-year-old girl is dragged out of a police vehicle by a mob in Taxco, Mexico, on Thursday. A mob in Taxco beat a woman to death because she was suspected of kidnapping and killing a young girl, rampaging just hours before the Mexican tourist city’s famous Holy Week procession. “This …

Wave of transgender slayings in Mexico spurs anger and protests by LGBTQ+ community
1 year, 2 months ago

Wave of transgender slayings in Mexico spurs anger and protests by LGBTQ+ community

Associated Press  

MEXICO CITY — Authorities in Mexico said at least three transgender people were killed in the first two weeks of 2024, and rights groups were investigating two additional such cases. Around 100 people marched chanting: “Samantha listen, we’re fighting for you” and carrying signs reading “your hate speech kills.” Another group of protesters earlier in the day spray painted the …

11 ex-police officers sentenced in 2021 killings of 17 migrants and 2 others in northern Mexico
1 year, 4 months ago

11 ex-police officers sentenced in 2021 killings of 17 migrants and 2 others in northern Mexico

Associated Press  

MEXICO CITY — A court in Mexico sentenced 11 former police officers to 50 years in prison each for the 2021 slayings of 17 migrants and two Mexican citizens, authorities said Tuesday. It later came out that the state police officers involved in the killings knew their shell casing might give them away, so they apparently picked them up. The …

Gruesome video circulating on social media recalls darkest days of Mexico’s drug cartel brutality
1 year, 6 months ago

Gruesome video circulating on social media recalls darkest days of Mexico’s drug cartel brutality

Associated Press  

MEXICO CITY — A gruesome video circulated Wednesday on social media may have recorded the last moments of five kidnapped young men, and has transported Mexico back to the darkest days of drug cartel brutality in the 2000s. Luis Méndez Ruiz, the Jalisco state attorney general, said Tuesday that the men seen in the video “could be the five men …

Roadway bombs planted by drug cartel in Mexico kill 4 police officers, 2 civilians
1 year, 8 months ago

Roadway bombs planted by drug cartel in Mexico kill 4 police officers, 2 civilians

Associated Press  

MEXICO CITY — A drug cartel set off a coordinated series of seven roadway bombs in western Mexico that killed four police officers and two civilians, officials said Wednesday. It appeared to be the first time that a Mexican cartel killed law enforcement personnel with improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, and was the latest example of the increasingly open, military-style …

Some 50 migrants kidnapped by gang in northern Mexico, president says
1 year, 9 months ago

Some 50 migrants kidnapped by gang in northern Mexico, president says

Associated Press  

MEXICO CITY — A busload of about 50 migrants were kidnapped by a gang in northern Mexico in the latest of a series of mass abductions, though nine were later found, Mexico’s president and police said Wednesday. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said National Guard troops were searching for the migrants in an area around the northern city of Matehuala. …

Over 2,000 migrants kidnapped in Mexico last year
1 year, 10 months ago

Over 2,000 migrants kidnapped in Mexico last year

Associated Press  

MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s government said Friday over 2,000 migrants were kidnapped by smuggling gangs and drug cartels last year, as authorities mounted a successful search for 10 Colombians abducted in northern Mexico this week. Mexico’s national immigration agency said authorities had freed 2,115 migrants of all nationalities kidnapped by gangs in 2022. Prosecutors in the northern border state of …

Mexico investigates 8 workers and officials over the fatal fire at a migrant facility
1 year, 11 months ago

Mexico investigates 8 workers and officials over the fatal fire at a migrant facility

NPR  

Mexico investigates 8 workers and officials over the fatal fire at a migrant facility Enlarge this image toggle caption Christian Chavez/AP Christian Chavez/AP CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico — Mexican authorities said Wednesday that eight employees or officials are being investigated for possible misconduct at a migrant detention center where a fire killed 39 detained men. Anger and frustration in the northern …

3 police dead in Mexico City shootout with cartel gunmen
1 year, 11 months ago

3 police dead in Mexico City shootout with cartel gunmen

Associated Press  

MEXICO CITY — Three police officers and one suspect were killed and seven suspected drug cartel members were arrested Friday following a dramatic running gun battle on the eastern edge of Mexico City. The suspects then fled in a vehicle into Mexico City, and continued shooting at pursuing officers, killing one capital police officer. City police chief Omar Garcia Harfuch …

2 kidnapped Americans found dead in Mexico; 2 others rescued and returned to the U.S.
2 years ago

2 kidnapped Americans found dead in Mexico; 2 others rescued and returned to the U.S.

LA Times  

A Red Cross worker closes the door of an ambulance carrying two Americans found alive after their abduction in Mexico. Two of four U.S. citizens kidnapped at gunpoint in northern Mexico last week were found dead Tuesday, Mexican authorities said, while two others were rescued after an intense manhunt that renewed U.S. focus on violence south of the border. With …

Mexico kidnapping: Americans ‘buying medicine’ were not ‘intended target’ when kidnapped by cartel in Matamoros
2 years ago

Mexico kidnapping: Americans ‘buying medicine’ were not ‘intended target’ when kidnapped by cartel in Matamoros

The Independent  

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The four US citizens …

Seven bodies found dumped at Mexico tourist area
2 years, 9 months ago

Seven bodies found dumped at Mexico tourist area

The Independent  

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Seven bodies have been …

19 Bodies Found After Shooting in Central Mexico
2 years, 11 months ago

19 Bodies Found After Shooting in Central Mexico

News 18  

Nineteen people were shot and killed in central Mexico on Sunday, the State Attorney General’s Office said in a statement. The attack was believed to be motivated by “revenge” by one cell of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel against another, deputy security minister Ricardo Mejia said. Earlier this month gunmen killed nine people in an attack on a house in …

Questions remain about videotaped Mexico ‘massacre’
3 years ago

Questions remain about videotaped Mexico ‘massacre’

Associated Press  

SAN JOSE DE GRACIA, Mexico — Mexicans were left wondering Monday what happened to about a dozen men who were seen lined up against a wall by drug cartel gunmen toting assault rifles. State Prosecutor Adrián López Solís said that the hitman apparently died at the scene and that any other bodies were piled into pickup trucks and carted off …

What’s behind the spike in journalist murders in Mexico?
3 years, 1 month ago

What’s behind the spike in journalist murders in Mexico?

Al Jazeera  

Four journalists were killed in January, highlighting a dangerous culture of impunity in the country, rights groups say. About 99 percent of crimes against journalists are not prosecuted, Ruiz said, “Anyone can decide, ‘I’m just going to silence this journalist, because there are not going to be consequences.’” Hootsen visited Tijuana last week after Martinez and Lopez were killed. Criminal …

2 police hanged from bridge in Mexico, 7 killed in shooting
3 years, 8 months ago

2 police hanged from bridge in Mexico, 7 killed in shooting

Associated Press  

MEXICO CITY — Authorities in northern Mexico said Wednesday they found the bodies of two abducted police officers hanging from an overpass, and the bodies of seven people shot to death in a neighboring city. The killings in Zacatecas came one day after prosecutors in Mexico’s most violent state, Guanajuato, reported seven men were shot to death at a mechanic’s …

Gunmen Ambush Police Convoy Near Mexico City, Killing 13
3 years, 11 months ago

Gunmen Ambush Police Convoy Near Mexico City, Killing 13

News 18  

Gunmen apparently from a drug gang ambushed a police convoy Thursday in central Mexico killing eight state police officers and five prosecution investigators in a hail of gunfire, authorities said. The massacre of the 13 law enforcement officers in the State of Mexico was the country’s single biggest slaying of law enforcement since October 2019, when cartel gunmen ambushed and …

Families begin burying murdered Guatemalan migrants
4 years ago

Families begin burying murdered Guatemalan migrants

Associated Press  

COMITANCILLO, Guatemala — Families of some of the 16 Guatemalan migrants killed near the Mexico-U.S. border in late January began burying their remains Saturday in the town of Comitancillo, where 11 of the victims were from. The migrants’ charred bodies arrived Friday night to the region near Guatemala’s border with Mexico after being sent from the other side of Mexico, …

Families begin burying murdered Guatemalan migrants
4 years ago

Families begin burying murdered Guatemalan migrants

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Families of some of the …

Guatemala: 5 migrants survived January massacre of 19 people
4 years ago

Guatemala: 5 migrants survived January massacre of 19 people

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Guatemalan authorities said Tuesday that …

Guatemala: 5 migrants survived January massacre of 19
4 years ago

Guatemala: 5 migrants survived January massacre of 19

Associated Press  

GUATEMALA CITY — Guatemalan authorities said Tuesday that five migrants survived the Jan. 22 massacre of 19 people, including 16 Guatemalans, in northern Mexico. The migrants were being taken toward the U.S. border by people smugglers when one or two of the trucks came under fire, apparently from a state police unit. But it was unclear whether the survivors had …

Dozen state police charged in the massacre of 19 in Mexico
4 years, 1 month ago

Dozen state police charged in the massacre of 19 in Mexico

Associated Press  

CIUDAD VICTORIA, Mexico — A dozen state police officers were being questioned Wednesday following their arrests in connection with the killings of 19 people, including Guatemalan migrants, whose bodies were found shot and burned near the U.S. border late in January. “In the aforementioned acts of Jan. 22, at least 12 state police officers participated,” Barrios Mojica said. But Barrios …

Mexico arrests 12 police in connection with migrant killing
4 years, 1 month ago

Mexico arrests 12 police in connection with migrant killing

Al Jazeera  

Mexican officials have arrested a dozen police officers for suspected involvement in the killing of 19 people in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas last month. Irving Barrios, attorney general of Tamaulipas, told a news conference on Tuesday investigations showed at least 12 state police were likely involved in the killings in the municipality of Camargo. Authorities have so far identified …

Mexico confirms at least 2 Guatemalan migrants among 19 dead
4 years, 1 month ago

Mexico confirms at least 2 Guatemalan migrants among 19 dead

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Prosecutors in northern Mexico confirmed …

Prosecutors: gunmen in Mexico massacre of 27 had a target
4 years, 8 months ago

Prosecutors: gunmen in Mexico massacre of 27 had a target

Associated Press  

MEXICO CITY — The gunmen who killed at least 27 people in an unregistered drug rehabilitation center in the central Mexican state of Guanajuato last week were looking for someone in particular, state prosecutors said Monday. In a statement, the Guanajuato state prosecutor’s office said that three suspected gunmen were in custody and allegedly belong to a criminal organization operating …

AP Explains: Mexican women to march against gender violence
5 years ago

AP Explains: Mexican women to march against gender violence

Associated Press  

MEXICO CITY — Protests against gender violence in Mexico have intensified in recent years amid an increase in killings of women and girls. “The context of violence against women and against girls in Mexico is especially grave,” said Nira Cárdenas, coordinator of the gender unit at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Mexico. “We …

Criminals Target Migrants In Mexico Seeking U.S. Asylum
5 years, 6 months ago

Criminals Target Migrants In Mexico Seeking U.S. Asylum

NPR  

Criminals Target Migrants In Mexico Seeking U.S. Asylum Enlarge this image toggle caption John Burnett/NPR John Burnett/NPR One day last week in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, a fearsome gun battle broke out on the main boulevard to the airport, as drivers careened off the thoroughfare in terror while rival narcos blasted away at each other. Sponsor Message National Cities Laredo And …

Mexicans protest over alleged rape of teenage girls by police officers
5 years, 7 months ago

Mexicans protest over alleged rape of teenage girls by police officers

The Independent  

Sign up for the Independent Women email for the latest news, opinion and features Get the Independent Women email for free Get the Independent Women email for free SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Mexico City calling for …

El Paso shooting: Mexicans among 20 dead as police investigate massacre as race hate crime
5 years, 7 months ago

El Paso shooting: Mexicans among 20 dead as police investigate massacre as race hate crime

The Independent  

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Three Mexicans have been …

Gunmen kill eight people in Mexico
5 years, 7 months ago

Gunmen kill eight people in Mexico

India TV News  

Gunmen killed eight people and wounded two others early Wednesday in Bacalar, a town in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, state prosecutors said. The victims were travelling in an SUV with tags from Yucatan state when they were stopped by the gunmen and shot, the Quintana Roo Attorney General's Office said. The area is close to the intersection outside …

Migrants face violence as US makes them wait in Mexico
5 years, 8 months ago

Migrants face violence as US makes them wait in Mexico

Associated Press  

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico — Roberto Escalona Moreno says he witnessed a double murder on the street last week near the hostel where is staying. Moreno, 22, is among more than 30,000 migrants who are pressing for asylum in the U.S. but are stuck in Mexico’s drug- and gang-infested border cities under Trump administration policies intended to stem the flow. “It’s …

Mexican Authorities Arrest 3 Suspects In The Murder Of 2 Honduran Teenagers
6 years, 2 months ago

Mexican Authorities Arrest 3 Suspects In The Murder Of 2 Honduran Teenagers

NPR  

Mexican Authorities Arrest 3 Suspects In The Murder Of 2 Honduran Teenagers The two migrant youths were killed in Tijuana. Mexican authorities said they were found stabbed and strangled, highlighting the dangers facing unaccompanied minors waiting for U.S. asylum hearings. The death of the teens has drawn criticism from immigrant advocates, who say the slow U.S. asylum process is forcing …

Mexicans protest ‘epidemic’ of forced disappearances
6 years, 10 months ago

Mexicans protest ‘epidemic’ of forced disappearances

Al Jazeera  

Demonstrators across the country call on authorities to bring justice for the 15,000 missing young people in Mexico. Carrying signs with slogans like “Where is the justice?”, thousands marched in Guadalajara in Mexico’s Jalisco state on Thursday, calling attention to the murder of three university students, who has been missing since March 19, by a cartel named the “Jalisco New …

Mexico prison riot: 'Dozens killed' after fire breaks out in Monterrey jail
9 years, 1 month ago

Mexico prison riot: 'Dozens killed' after fire breaks out in Monterrey jail

The Independent  

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Dozens of people were …

Mexico police questioned in killing of 3 Americans
10 years, 4 months ago

Mexico police questioned in killing of 3 Americans

India TV News  

Matamoros, Mexico: Authorities are investigating a possible police connection to the killing of three U.S. citizens visiting their father in Mexico who were found shot to death along with a Mexican friend more than two weeks after going missing. Parents of the three siblings, whose bodies were identified on Thursday, have said witnesses reported they were seized by men dressed …

Federal agents take over city in Mexico after discovery of mass grave
10 years, 5 months ago

Federal agents take over city in Mexico after discovery of mass grave

Firstpost  

A person detained in the case had told investigators that 17 students were taken to the site outside Iguala, about 120 miles south of Mexico City, and killed there. Iguala: Mexico sent federal agents to take over security in a troubled city in southern Guerrero state after the discovery of a mass grave and charges that local police conspired with …

Mexico promises justice for unsolved murders
10 years, 10 months ago

Mexico promises justice for unsolved murders

Al Jazeera  

A hunger strike that lasted over two weeks prompted Mexico to pursue the murderers of two human rights activists. Human rights campaigners Alberta “Bety” Carino and Jyri Jaakkola were murdered on April 27, 2010 in the impoverished mountains of Oaxaca State. We are demanding nothing more than that the state fulfil its obligations to us, the Mexican people, and do …

Mass Kidnapping Puts Mexican Legal System On Trial
11 years, 9 months ago

Mass Kidnapping Puts Mexican Legal System On Trial

NPR  

Mass Kidnapping Puts Mexican Legal System On Trial Enlarge this image toggle caption Marco Ugarte/AP Marco Ugarte/AP Josephina Garcia Rodriguez and Leticia Ponce Ramos sip coffee and console each other at a restaurant in front of Mexico City's prosecutor's office. Enlarge this image toggle caption Eduardo Verdugo/AP Eduardo Verdugo/AP Despite the violence that rages in many parts of Mexico, the …

Body Count Rises In Northern Mexico
13 years, 11 months ago

Body Count Rises In Northern Mexico

NPR  

Body Count Rises In Northern Mexico Enlarge this image toggle caption Alexandre Meneghini/AP Alexandre Meneghini/AP Many more dead bodies are turning up in mass graves in the small community of San Fernando, Tamaulipas - that's the Mexican state just south of Texas. The Los Angeles Times says Mexican authorities suspect organized drug gangs. Sponsor Message The Herald reports the U.S. …

Gunmen kill 13 people in southern Mexican town
15 years ago

Gunmen kill 13 people in southern Mexican town

The Hindu  

The U.S. government warned its citizens on Wednesday against travelling to a northern Mexico border state where shootouts killed 19 people the previous three days. Oaxaca, a Pacific coast state with a picturesque colonial capital, ancient Zapotec ruins and pristine beaches, is considered a drug trafficking corridor, although violence has not risen to the levels plaguing Mexico’s northern border region. …

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