Mexico News-Apr.14

Posted by the Generals on April 16, 2011, 11:03 am
206.116.64.118

Subject: Mexico News DAILY April 14, 2011 LatinNews Daily - 14 April 2011 PGR reveals shortcomings in Tamaulipas Development: On 13 April, Mexico’s attorney general, Marisol Morales, announced that 16 police officers are to be investigated in the case of the mass graves found in San Fernando, Tamaulipas. Significance: It appears that with the recent appointment of Morales, on 31 March, Mexico’s Procuraduría General de la República (PGR) has only just begun a proper investigation into the case involving the extortion and murder of illegal migrants by the drug gang Los Zetas. The case first came to light when a mass grave containing 72 bodies (mostly Central Americans) was discovered in August 2010. Moreover, as President Felipe Calderón continues to push for the reorganization and revamping of the country’s security forces, the discovery of new mass graves not only provides more evidence of the failures of Mexico’s security officers, but also of its judiciary. Key points: • Since being appointed, Morales launched an extensive forensic investigation in the municipality of San Fernando. As a result a second mass grave containing 59 bodies was found on 6 April. As the investigations continue yet more mass graves have been found in the area. As of today (14 April), the PGR reports it has found 126 unidentified bodies. • Felipe Calderón has ordered the federal police and the army to be deployed in Tamaulipas. Explaining the executive decision on 13 April, Interior Minister Francisco Blake Mora said that the situation in Tamaulipas “provides evidence of the fragile local institutions and the incapacity to act promptly and efficiently against crime”. • Morales revealed that after interrogating local policemen, the PGR believes that some of them had provided protection for Los Zetas. Morales also announced that four Zetas, suspected of being responsible for the murders, have been identified. She offered a M$45m (US$3.8m) reward for information on their whereabouts. • Morales also said that following DNA and other tests to determine the identities of the bodies, Mexico’s foreign ministry would be in contact with its Central American counterparts to inform them if any of the victims were Central American citizens. • Elsewhere, in the states of Sinaloa and Sonora, the PGR reported that it has found another 16 bodies in unmarked graves.

91

Be sure to visit www.lamanzanilla.info