Mexican Authorities Investigate Possible Extrajudicial Killing by Military in Nuevo Laredo

Authorities in Mexico were investigating whether members of the military killed five men in a possible extrajudicial killing in Nuevo Laredo last month, a federal official said.

A video, originally broadcast on Tuesday night by the American Spanish-language network Univision and the Spanish newspaper The countryapparently shows the incident that occurred during the day in the border city of Nuevo Laredo, in the state of Tamaulipas.

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A federal agent, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to testify, told The Associated Press that the Attorney General’s Office opened an investigation into the case. The official would not say when the investigation began.

In a video from a security camera, the moment in which a black van crashes into a wall at full speed is observed. Shortly after, a Mexican military vehicle with an artillery turret arrives and crashes into the truck, blocking the right front and rear doors. Immediately about eleven uniformed men armed with rifles begin to descend.

Also read: Roadblocks, hitmen attacks and more violence in cities of Tamaulipas

After shooting at the wheels of the truck, the soldiers open the doors and remove the five occupants one by one, including the driver, whom they push and apparently hit and kick on the ground. Then we see how the five civilians are pushed and dragged to a wall, where some of the soldiers allegedly shoot at them and later one of the uniformed men places rifles next to the bodies.

In another shot, the military can be seen taking cover behind the wrecked truck and starting to shoot into the street to repel an apparent attack, and one of the soldiers shoots at the civilians who are immobilized on the wall.

According to Univisión, the secretary of public security for the northern state of Tamaulipas, Sergio Hernando Chávez, told local television station Milenio that the military were attacked on May 18 in Nuevo Laredo and that after repelling the attack, “five of the attackers” died. ”.

The Secretary of National Defense (Sedena) said in a statement that it is cooperating with the Attorney General’s Office in the investigations in order to determine the responsibilities.

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The Sedena added that the Military Justice Attorney General’s Office officially launched an investigation into the facts. “For this reason, Mexican society is guaranteed that there is no impunity in the performance of military personnel, nor will any conduct overlap against the rule of law,” the statement said.

For its part, the Miguel Agustín Pro Juárez Human Rights Center — one of the most important humanitarian organizations in the country — considered the case “extremely serious” and demanded an investigation on its Twitter account.

This incident occurs almost two months after a violent event also registered in Nuevo Laredo, in which a young pregnant woman and a man died after members of the National Guard allegedly shot at the truck in which they were traveling.

A similar incident occurred in February when an army patrol shot dead five men in Nuevo Laredo, a city dominated by drug cartels. Four soldiers have been charged in connection with this shooting, which sparked criticism of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s position to give more public security responsibilities to the armed forces.

In another case, several soldiers were detained for the murder of 22 suspects in a warehouse in the town of Tlatlaya, State of Mexico, in 2014.

Although some of the 22 civilians were killed in an initial firefight with an army patrol – in which one soldier was wounded – a human rights investigation determined that at least eight and perhaps as many as a dozen suspects were executed after surrendering.

Seven soldiers were released and detained again years later on charges of abuse of authority.

By FABIOLA SÁNCHEZ / AP