Five Families Have Been Gunned Down In Mexico In Two Weeks

Guerrero, Michoacán y Sinaloa have the highest number of homicides linked to organized crime.

Cuartoscuro/Archive photo

Translated by Valor for Borderland Beat

A couple and their three children were assassinated in Michoacán.  It is the fifth family gunned down in the last two weeks in the country.

Criminal groups in Mexico had previously avoided attacking the families of their rivals.  But in recent weeks, armed men have indiscriminately assassinated fathers, mothers, and their children.

Michoacán state prosecutors reported on Friday, July 22, that the latest killings occurred in the town of Arteaga, a town infested with drug trafficking and was once the headquarters of the leader of the Caballeros Templarios.

One person survived the attack perpetrated by unidentified gunmen, and is receiving medical care in the hospital.

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The families of Allende take the Moreira's to the International Court of Justice at the Hague

Translated by Otis B Fly-Wheel for Borderland Beat from a Sinembargo article

Subject Matter: Allende massacre, Governors of Coahuila
Recommendation: See link to article about Allende by BB reporter Valor

Reporter: Juan Luis Garcia Hernandez
The organization Families United, a group of families of victims of disappearances in Coahuila, prepares a complaint before the Internation Penal Court for crimes against humanity in Coahuila. The Lawyer of the association, Ariana Denise Garcia Bosque, detailed that the complaint is against the perpetrators, but also the public functionaries that had responsibility for the omission, like the brothers Humberto and Ruben Moreira. Recently, Sergio Aguayo, an academic from the College of Mexico, was sued by the ex Governor Humberto Moreira for defamation. For his part, the columnist argues that the cause of the action is an investigation into what happened at Allende.

Humberto Moreira announces his withdrawal as president of the PRI

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Río Bravo: Armed Group Attacks Federal Police; 7 Dead

Translated by Valor for Borderland Beat

Federal police forces belonging to the Federal Forces Division were attacked Wednesday by an armed convoy in the municipality of Río Bravo, resulting in a bloody battle that left seven armed men dead.

This new wave of violence raised the death toll to 33 during the last three weeks in Ciudad Victoria, Río Bravo and Valle Hermoso, accounting for shootouts against troops and executions arising from the drug war that drug gangs carry out.

The epicenter of the fighting occurred Wednesday at approximately 16:00 hours in the public land Raúl Muñiz (Plan del Alazán), south of the town of Santa Apolonia, when federal police were carrying out ground reconnaissance and detected four vehicles manned by armed civilians, signaling them to stop.

The Tamaulipas Coordination Group (GCT) confirmed that crew members of three vehicles managed to escape, while the ones from the fourth vehicle began to attack the federal police, “who in defense of their lives, repelled the attack and shot dead seven of the suspects who until now, remain unidentified.”

The federal police reported no casualties or injuries on their side.  There weren’t any arrests from the criminal group.

At the scene, according to the GCT report, a truck was secured that was manned by the now deceased, as well as four rifles with their respective magazines, cartridges, and other items that were made available to the federal public ministry.

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More Than 66 Thousand Dead During EPN Administration; A Murder Every 25 Minutes

By: Paris Alejandro Salazar | Translated by Valor for Borderland Beat

During the 43 months of Enrique Peña Nieto’s administration, there have been 66,433 murders recognized by the federal government and the state prosecutors, and 2016 is aiming to be the most violent year so far of EPN’s presidential term.  Intentional homicides increased 14% in comparison to 2015, which had been the most violent, in 2016, a murder is committed every 25 minutes.

According to the National Public Security System (SNSP), from January to June 2015, 8,979 murders were committed, while in the same period of 2016, 10,301 were committed, ie, 1,322 more than the previous year.

Mexico on average experiences 56 murders a day, representing a murder every 25 minutes.

Throughout 2015, 18,665 murders were committed, while in the first six months of 2016, there have been 10,301 intentional homicides reported, representing an increase of 55.1% of the total of last year.

With 18,665 murders in 2015, it was placed as the most violent year of the administration of EPN; followed by 2013, with 18,447 murders; followed by 2014, with 17,324; and in December of 2012, with 1,696.

In 2016, the State of Mexico ranks first nationally in intentional homicide with 1,136; followed by Guerrero with 1,052; Chihuahua with 592; and Michoacán with 594.

Source: La Silla Rota

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Mexican musician decapitated, wife and son killed

Posted by DD Republished from  Yahoo News

Oaxaca (Mexico) (AFP) - Gunmen burst into a musician's home in southern Mexico before dawn on Thursday, decapitated him and killed his wife and son, police said.

The armed group entered the family's home in Juchitan, Oaxaca state, at 2:30 am and killed Victor Sanchez, 40, the singer of the tropical band Sensacion Caribu, the police said in a statement.

His wife and 11-year-old son were gunned down.

It was the second slaughter of a family this week in Oaxaca, a state that has been relatively spared of the drug violence afflicting other regions of Mexico.

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6 Tortured Bodies Found In Veracruz

By: Noé Zavaleta | Translated by Valor for Borderland Beat

Xalapa, Veracruz— The bodies of six people were found this morning in the ranch Los Limones, located in the village of Tenenexpan, in the municipality of Manlio Fabio Altamirano, near the rural area of the port of Veracruz.

The report from the naval police and of the Attorney General’s Office of the State of Veracruz sent to Xalapa indicates that “anonymous calls” gave notice that the bodies of six people with signs of torture and several gunshot wounds were found on a dirt road, naked, and with their hands tied.

Members of the naval police, civil force, and the forensic medical service cordoned off the concrete bridge Limones-Tenenexpan in order to carry out rigorous measures and to lift the bodies.

Near the site, various cartridges and abundant traces of blood were found, so it’s presumed that the victims were executed at the same site.

The remains are already at the forensic medical service (SEMEFO) waiting to be identified.

Yesterday, two youths who were reported as kidnapped 10 days ago in southern Veracruz, appeared executed in a safe house in the port of Coatzacoalcos.

Roberto Cristián Luis Guillén and José Luis Sánchez Guillén, both 27, were found face down, with ribbon tied at their hands and feet, with traces of multiple blows to the body.  As they didn’t find any gunshot wounds, ministerial authorities presume that they died of asphyxiation.

Source: Proceso

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Mochomo's sentencing postponed for evidentiary hearing

Lucio R Borderland Beat for CE Martinez

There is a continuance of sentencing in Alfredo Beltrán Leyva case.  It was continued by the judge in the case,he determined an evidentiary hearing would be necessary, this can be viewed as a favorable move for Alfredo."We will have more hearings. This could take two years. But it does not surprise me because nothing in this case has been easy, "said Judge Leon.

One problem is the 10B the U.S. wants set as forfeiture amount.  The figure was estimated based on “testimony” of cooperative witnesses who cut deals in their own cases to testify against Mochomo.  read further about this using the link below for court filing)

The case has been litigated in Washington D.C.

Status conference of July 20, 2016, filed today

“Minute Entry for proceedings held before Judge Richard J. Leon: Case called for Sentencing, but not held. Status Conference as to ALFREDO BELTRAN LEYVA held on 7/20/2016. Pre-Sentencing Hearings are scheduled for 9/14/2016 and 9/15/2016 at 10:00 AM in Courtroom 18 before Judge Richard J. Leon. Bond Status of Defendant: Defendant Committed/Commitment Issued; Court Reporter: William Zaremba; Defense Attorneys: A Eduardo Ballarezo and William Purpura, Jr.; US Attorneys: Adrea Goldbard, Adrian Rosales and Marcia Henry; Probation Officer: Renee Moses-Gregory. Interpreters: Benjamin Engelsberg and Maria Krismancich.”

Read sentencing aid file using this link

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Veracruz Journalist Assassinated; 17 So Far During Duarte Administration

Translated by Valor for Borderland Beat

Journalist Pedro Tamayo Rosas was gunned down outside his home in front of his wife and two children in Tierra Blanca, Veracruz.  So far during the administration of Governor Javier Duarte, there have been 17 people who worked in the media that have been assassinated.

According to initial investigations, two men arrived at Pedro’s home, who then greeted him and then gunned him down, fleeing the scene.  Tamayo Rosas was taken to the hospital where he died.

At the site of the attack, police found several 9mm shell casings and tracks from the car that the assailants fled in.

The 45 year old journalist’s work involved documenting cases of violence in the region and wrote under a pseudonym in En la Línea de Fuego.  He also worked with the newsoutlets Al Calor Político and El Piñero de la Cuenca.

According to information from AFP, Pedro Tamayo covered for days the discovery of the several clandestine graves in June 2014, from which 35 people were allegedly killed by Los Zetas in the municipality of Tres Valles.

On January of this year, he received several threats against his life, for which a police patrol made daily patrols, however, this didn’t stop him from being assassinated.

It should be noted that since May 17, the organization Artículo 19 had counted 16 journalists assassinated during the administration of Javier Duarte, with Pedro Tamayo, it adds up to 17.

Source: Michoacán 3.0

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