allende mexico massacre victims

Among the evidence posted today are the first complaints filed by the loved ones of those who went missing, the sworn declarations of Zetas members, Allende police and other city officials, the statements of firefighters and others who witnessed the violence, along with hundreds of pages of forensic reports, crime scene photos and related material. He recognized some of them: El Pala, El Cubano, El Pjaroall of them local men who worked for the Zetas. As ocurri la brutal y olvidada masacre de Allende - BBC News Mundo Somos ("We are" or "We Exist" in English) is a Spanish Television Mini-Series based on the ProPublica article " How the U.S. triggered a massacre in Mexico. And I did not know exactly what happened with them.- Declaration of Allende firefighter Jess Gerardo De Len Ramos, December 17, 2014, 14:50, The former fire department volunteer described a similar scene as the victims, including several elderly captives, were led to slaughter. [His mother] told him that they were shooting up the house I could hear the shots and that she was shouting very desperately. By Theodore Bunker | Friday, 06 August 2021 02:11 PM EDT. Thats the last thing I know about my family., Almas brother, Hctor Reynaldo Prez Iruegas, also witnessed part of the attack and was one of the first to file a missing persons report in the case. In 2011, Drug Enforcement Agency officials informed Mexican . A center for car manufacturing northwest of Mexico City, Guanajuato averaged at least nine homicides a day in 2020, one of the highest murder rates in the country. 6/27/2017 (written by Lucy Clement La Rosa)- Over six years ago, a small ranching community near the Texas border of Mexico bore witness to the vengeful assault of Las Zetas, one of Mexico's historically violent drug trafficking organizations. In 2019, the state had a homicide rate of about 61 . And each estaca is made up of four assassins, but there were trucks that brought more people in the trailers. Thompson later turned the original report into amulti-episode podcast. That things were going to get ugly.-Declaration of former Allende police shift commander, September 18, 2016. And the mayor commented on what was happening in the city, but never said if he was going to ask for help or if he had advised anyone of what was happening. Oscar nominated screenwriter/producer James Schamus makes his television debut with 'Somos,' a six-part Netflix drama about a real-life cartel massacre in the Mexican town of Allende. In return for the departments cooperation, most officers received 2,000 to 3,000 pesos per month (about $175-260 USD) from Los Zetas. Among others, I remember that there was Jos [deleted,] the owner of the ranch, [deleted,] his wife, [deleted,] [Vctor Manuel] [deleted,] an employee of the [Garzas] by the name of [deleted,] a man by the name of Hctor [deleted,] among other people from the family of the [deleted] and people from the town whose names I dont remember, but who I know on sight, other people that I had not seen before, and people of advanced age, who they were putting inside the large bodega.- Declaration of former Allende volunteer firefighter, December 17, 2014, 11:37. Mexican cartel war transforms Guanajuato into a deadly place - Los Garza Gaytnwas a member of a Los Zetas cell led by Mario Alfonso Poncho Cuellar, a former Mexican federal police officer. Later we took these people to the Garza ranch where we put them in the same house where we had the others. Lpez said he knew all of the municipal police very well, owing to the fact that there was a lot of contact with them.[14], Upon seeing all of those police, I realized that they were keeping watch or guarding the place. Report Criticizes Mexican Officials for Ignoring 2011 Massacre Contemporaneous records from the Mexican military, obtained through a separate access-to-information request, confirm that the Army receivedmultiple reports about the ongoing violence in and around Allende. THE DOCUMENTS. The story of the Allende Massacre from the words of eye witnesses It is not clear why members of the the military unit thatexamined the ranch did not secure the property or, evidently, take any additional steps to comprehend what was happening in Allende. Oct. 27: A police officer is seen outside a car wash after gunmen burst into the shop and killed at least 15 people in Tepic, Mexico. The Massacre In Allende | VICE on HBO (Extra) - YouTube Villa Unin, just a 20-minute drive from Allende, has been the site of numerous acts of violence linked to the CDN in recent years. A self-described foca (lookout) for the Zetas, he had been found sleeping on the job. Later, [El Comandante Pala (ordered) El Ruso, El Blue, Chaln, Cabe, Meo, Flacaman, Cubano and Canelo] to take them from the house and walk them to the inside of a bodega near the house, and later to kill all of them, shooting them in the head. Inside the gate, a small building was burning. So they formed them into rows of people and later took them to the ranch of the [deleted] where they killed and burned them together with people from Allende. Three and a half years later, what stood out to these firefighters was the conspicuous police presence, the brutal treatment of the captives, and the threats directed at them by Zetas members. Or do you want the same thing to happen to you or to your families?-Declaration of Allende fire chief, December 17, 2014. See reference here. Somos. You know who they are., Still other witnesses said that they saw Lozano standing calmly outside his house on the night of March 20 talking on a mobile phone while the Zetas sacked a house across the street. As CrimeOnline previously reported, the victims were part of a faith group who lived in Sonora, an established faith-based city in Mexico, around 70 miles from Douglas, Arizona. She said Andrea, the six-year-old, blames herself for what happened to him. No one would tell her anything about the person who left the kids at the orphanage.[10]. After about a half an hour, my husband called my son on his cell phone but he did not answer his phone, which worried us since he always answered.- Complaint of Claudia Snchez, October 18, 2013, Snchez soon learned that there had been a number of disappearances around the city that night, and that one of Gerardos friends had also gone missing. [12]- Statement of Jos Alfredo Jimnez Aguilar (El Pjaro), June 13, 2014. Remembering the Allende Massacre - BlogTest We continued to advance until we arrived at the ranch, where I saw that there were several police patrols from this city, colored white and blue, and a number of police, among others I remember [deleted], [Mara Guadalupe Avalos,] [deleted,] the director And it seemed like the police were guarding the place. It was approximately 7:00 or 7:20 in the evening, which is the hour of the shift change. He said his hands were tied, so he stepped aside . How the U.S. triggered a massacre in Mexico | War in Context Zetas - InSight Crime 35+ YEARS OF FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACTION, FOIA Advisory Committee Oversight Reports, Document 40: Field Criminology Opinion Report, January 28, 2014, Document 41: Forensic Anthropology Technical Report, April 11, 2014, Declaration of Allende volunteer firefighter, December 17, 2014, -Declaration of Allende fire chief, December 17, 2014, 2017 investigation by Ginger Thompson of ProPublica, - Declaration of Zetas member Jos Alfredo Jimnez Aguilar (El Pjaro), June 13, 2014, - Declaration of Germn Zaragoza Snchez (El Canelo), April 8, 2014, 10:00am, - Complaint of Sarah Angelita Lira, November 11, 2014, - Complaint of wife of victim Csar Alfonso Garca Ramrez, May 23, 2014, - Declaration of wife of heavy machinery mechanic for Rodolfo Garza, July 23, 2014, - Complaint of wife of victim Rodolfo Snchez Robles, November 10, 2014, - Complaint of Claudia Snchez, October 18, 2013, - Complaint of Elvira Espinoza, November 4, 2011, -Complaint of Yuliana Lpez Ibarra, October 14, 2014, - Complaint of Hctor Reynaldo Prez Iruegas, May 25, 2011, - Statement of Jos Alfredo Jimnez Aguilar (El Pjaro), June 13, 2014, -Declaration of Allende volunteer firefighter Luis Gerardo Herrera Estrada, November 23, 2014, -Revised declaration of Christian Alejandro Lpez Tamez, December 17, 2014, - Declaration of Allende firefighter Jess Gerardo De Len Ramos, December 17, 2014, 14:50, - Declaration of former Allende volunteer firefighter, December 17, 2014, 11:37, - Declaration of Zetas member, September 19, 2014, - Declaration of Jos Alfredo Jimnez Aguilar (El Pjaro), June 13, 2014, - Declaration of Germn Zaragoza Snchez (El Canelo), April 8, 2014, 10:00, Allende municipal official in charge of road maintenance, - Declaration of former Allende police official, November 12, 2014, 17:30, - Declaration of former Allende police official, November 12, 2014, 15:20, -Declaration of former Allende police official, July 22, 2014, -Declaration of former Allende police transit officer, July 31, 2014, -Declaration of former Allende police shift commander, September 18, 2016, -Declaration of Juan Ariel Hernndez Ramos, Allende police commander, August 18, 2016, municipal official present at the March 22 meeting, - Declaration of Zetas safe house guard, part 2, March 2, 2016, - Complaint of wife of murdered Zeta, November 13, 2014, - Memorandum on links between various cases, March 5, 2015, Seminar on Violence of the Colegio de Mxico, gained control of authority structures in Coahuila, How the U.S. For the family members, nothing has changed. But he did not say anything to me. Many others disappeared and were presumably killed in the weeks and months that followed in the wake of the massacre. Witnesses describe in graphic detail how Los Zetas undermined and criminalized the public security forces of Allende, and how the latter routinely participated in kidnappings, murders, and other crimes on behalf of the group. Among the first to be rounded up were people connected to El Wichins uncle, Rodolfo Garza, who owned a ranch directly adjacent to that of his brother Luis. Gunmen open fire in a roadside eatery, leaving nine customers dead in pools of blood. We continued to advance until we reached the ranch, where I saw that there were a number of blue and white municipal police patrol cars and several police officers And these police, its like they were guarding the place. Some cooperated more than others. She told me that around 5:30 in the afternoon she came across the pick-up truck that came for my husband, and that had been circulating up and down Calle Independencia, and that her father was on board the truck together with about five other people, and that he was in the cabin in the back, in the middle, and that the truck was followed by two black late-model cars, Malibu or Impala, and the three vehicles headed for the mountain; this being the last time they saw my husband.- Complaint of wife of victim Rodolfo Snchez Robles, November 10, 2014. To date, prosecutors have managed only a handful ofconvictions in a case that involves dozens of crime scenes, hundreds of victims, and the documented participation of numerous Zetas and public officials. That if any citizens asked us for help that we would not pay attention to avoid getting into trouble. Netflix drama series Somos. The government should do more to find them. The cartel allegedly turned this storage shed, which held equipment and animal feed, into an incinerator for the . They found that the Zetas committed numerous human rights abuses in Coahuila with impunity and that public institutions and officials played a role, by actions or omissions in the abuses (p.24). Witnesses describe in graphic detail how Los Zetas undermined and criminalized the public security forces of Allende, and how the latter routinely participated in kidnappings, murders, and other crimes on behalf of the group. [10] How the U.S. Child survivors of massacred family spent 10 hours hiding in Mexican [18]Others have called on Mexico to prosecute top Coahuila state officials, including former governors, for allowing criminal violence to flourish. One evening in March 2011, dozens of assassins tied to the infamous Zetas drug cartel began to arrive in Allende, a small town situated in the northern Mexico state of Coahuila, a lucrative . [T]here was a red truck with wooden enclosures that was parked near the bodega or large barn that was inside the ranch. [1] Translations throughout the text by Michael Evans. [W]e passed by the entrance of the ranch where I saw people practically in the street with hoods and black vests who had rifles [W]e passed by again on the way back to Allende, and through the opening I could seebecause from the road you could see all the way to the backthat there were about five or seven trucks, many people with rifles, and I also saw people piled up, like this was where the fire was coming from [I]t was something big like a bodega. Allende is a small town southwest of Piedras Negras, Mexico and is the site of a massacre by the drug cartel, Los Zetas. The 2020 U.S. arrest of Mexicos former defense secretary, Gen. Salvador Cienfuegos, for alleged narcotics ties has led Mexicos president, Andrs Manuel Lpez Obrador, tofast-track a new lawimposing strict new restrictions on U.S. personnel in Mexico and that threatens to significantly curtail the exchange of intelligence and law enforcement information. But he never came back. They erected a monument in Allende to honor the victims without fully determining their fates or punishing those responsible. Source: ProPublica. Elizondos wife,Etelvina Rodrguez, said she soon realized that many of the wives of those who worked at the Garza ranch were looking for their husbands.. A study from the Human Rights Clinic of the University of Texas Law School examined the trial transcripts of Zetas members prosecuted for drug trafficking, money laundering, and homicide in U.S. federal courts. Criminals were shooting up the street and two police officers . In exchange, Reyes passed DEA intelligence to the criminal groups, including, in at least one case, sensitive information about a pending DEA investigation. In 2020, a U.S. court also indicted Reyes Arzates boss, former public security minister Genaro Garca Luna, for taking tens of millions of dollars in bribes from Sinaloa Cartel chief Joaqun El Chapo Guzmn. One U.S. law enforcement officialsaid that [Reyes] Arzates corruption as the highest-ranking officer in the MFPs Sensitive Investigative Unit allowed violent cartels to continue the flow of drugs through the region without consequence.. Armando Castilla, the publisher of the newspaper Vanguardia de Coahuila, says his publication was the first to report the case, in December 2013. I would ask you the same thing, she replied. Juan Ariel Hernndez Ramos, commander of the Allende police, who reported to the police director, is the most senior public official sentenced in the case. Fax: 202/994-7005Contact by email. About five estacas[9]participated, and with [deleted] and [deleted] ten more joined. They erected a monument in Allende to honor the victims without fully determining their fates or punishing those responsible. [14] In many cases, the names of the people identified by firefighters Lpez Tamez and De Len Ramos are legible behind clumsily applied redactions. The perilous path Central American migrants take while traveling through Mexico to reach the U.S. border has been an area of . . There was a fire coming from a small building inside the ranch alongside armed men who did not seem like they were police, according to the former volunteers statement. Several said the police director ordered that officers should not do anything or say anything about the carnage. An important moment seems to have come in March 2015, when state investigatorssaw a familiar patternemerge in three seemingly unrelated cases. Chilling New Report by FXB's Sergio Aguayo Cites Greater Death Toll in The Allende massacre - in which, according to the families of the victims, there were more than 300 people dead or missing - remained hidden for almost two years. According to testimony, Vasquez did so because he and other Los Zetas wanted the father to suffer. The Zetas started out as an enforcer gang for the Gulf Cartel . What actions had they taken to guarantee the security of the people of Allende? He told me: "The United States . Alone on a remote mountain road after witnessing the slaughter of nine close relatives, the wounded children who had survived a cartel ambush in . Mexico Mormon massacre: US victims were shot at point-blank range The 2011 San Fernando massacre, also known as the second massacre of San Fernando, was the mass murder of 193 people by Los Zetas drug cartel at La Joya ranch in the municipality of San Fernando, Tamaulipas, Mexico in March 2011. His wife, Sarah Angelita Lira, said that Liliana had called to tell him that their uncles ranch was on fire, and that she was leaving the ranch, and that they were closing the gate., So my husband left. Lilianas husband, Arturo, had also been unable to reach his wife or her parents. . La masacre de Allende, Coahuila, forma parte de la historia ms siniestra de Mxico. PICTURED: Victims of Mexico massacre that left 3 moms and 6 children [A]nd how the Zetas were shouting at them and hitting and mistreating them, the then-chief of the department told investigators in his 2014 statement to state prosecutors. One former police official who attended the meeting said that Trevio told them that things were going to get hot that there had been a meeting with Los Zetas and the mayor, and that things were going to get ugly., As a result of the meeting with the mayor and Los Zetas, Trevio ordered police personnel not to leave the offices for anything, even if there were reports. The officer said they were told that if we went out it was under our own risk, and that they would fucking get us.. Warning: violence in San Miguel de Allende. The acrid odor of diesel fuel hung in the air. At that moment, I also realized that near a large bodega that was about 70 meters away from where I was there were various people from the town, who the Zetas were shouting at and mistreating, and who I knew because they were from the [deleted] family. The job netted Jimnez about eight thousand pesos ($700 USD) per month, plus expenses. Subscribe to our newsletter and join other 2,442 Justice in Mexico readers! In fact, the meeting only lasted around ten minutes.-Declaration of Juan Ariel Hernndez Ramos, Allende police commander, August 18, 2016. Texting with her husband throughout the night, Sarah learned bits and pieces of what he and Arturo were up to. 15 Killed in Mexican Car Wash Massacre | Fox News [T]hey brought them there to the Los ngeles Cemetery near the Piedras Negras city seminary, and also more people. MEXICO CITY The killers went to the town of Allende one weekend in March 2011 with orders to exact revenge. December 9, 2020, Advirti EU riesgo ante mandos mexicanos corruptos In April of 2014 . The Zetas organizational structure includes counterintelligence, intelligence and tactical enforcement units.. Her brother-in-law, who also worked for the Garzas, arrived later and told her that her husband had been kidnapped. I want to point out that all of the police at that time were getting money from the Zetas, some by obligation and some by choice. Witnesses said the recent killings came after CDN members entered the town days earlier in search of rival gang members. In November 2019, CDN gunmenriddled the city hall with gunfireand engaged in a gun battle with federal forces that leftat least 21 dead. Despite the unimaginable death toll and visible trail of destruction, for several years the case was largely ignored by federal, state, and local authorities. (AP) MEXICO CITY -- Gunmen killed 15 people at a car wash . Based on Ginger Thompson's 2017 oral history, "How the U.S. The Allende Massacre in Mexico: A Decade of Impunity | National Jos Alfredo Jimnez was one of the first of the Zetas to arrive at Luis Garzas ranch that night. 2130 H Street, NW And when we met with him, he told us that things were going to get hot. How a Mexican Cartel Demolished a Town, Incinerated Hundreds of Victims Prosecutors said at least a dozen specially trained police officials may also have been involved. Horrifying Allende massacre still haunts Mexico. The mini-series is created by James Schamus, who divides the real-life emotional fable into 6 . The destruction of the 2011 Allende massacre is still evident to this day. Another explained how the money was divided up among members of the Allende police. But a2017 investigation by Ginger Thompson of ProPublicafound that Cuellar and Junior weretargeted for another reason: Los Zetas leaders had discovered that members of Cuellars cell were cooperating with agents of the DEA and had provided them with secret PIN codes allowing the DEA to track the mobile phones of top Zetas leaders. [T]he municipal police received monthly payments of amounts that ranged from 2,000 to 3,000 pesos, and these were delivered in yellow envelopes [W]hen they arrived to divide it up they said, the little chicks [los pollitos] have arrived.- Declaration of former Allende police official, November 12, 2014, 15:20. [A]t that time I lived in La Colonia Presidentes, and I knew all of these people because they were from the town. [5] The Mexican government signaled its intention to soften some of the more severe restrictions imposed by the new law. And as I am originally from here in Allende, and this is a small town, for this reason I know these people. Mauricio, the infant son of Liliana lvarez and Arturo Espinoza, was never seen again. For years after the massacre, Mexican authorities made only desultory efforts to investigate. That is to say, to transfer them to the Los ngeles Cemetery of this city and later to the ranch of the [deleted] to finish them off. On the afternoon of March 20, aman reported the March 18 disappearance of his wifes parents and five other family members. Mexican President Consoles Family of Massacre Victims. Rodolfo Snchez Robles, who worked as a chauffeur and mechanic for the Garza family, seemed to know something was wrong on the day he disappeared. Vasquez then ordered that the father be killed. People from the town stole the furniture, vehicles, and machinery [from the houses] and sold it for scrap metal.- Declaration of Germn Zaragoza Snchez (El Canelo), April 8, 2014, 10:00am. And when I finished tying him up, I put him in the back of the truck, and there were already bodies in the trunk.- Declaration of Zetas member, September 19, 2014.