Posted on 07/14/2009 3:59:16 PM PDT by SwinneySwitch
MORELIA, Mexico Twelve people tortured, slain and dumped along a mountain road were soldiers, a state official said Tuesday. But the army quickly denied the announcement.
The bound and blindfolded bodies of 11 men and one woman were found late Monday near the town of La Huacana in President Felipe Calderons home state of Michoacan, which has been a center of his crackdown on organized crime.
Interim Michoacan state prosecutor J. Jesus Montejano told reporters Tuesday the 12 were soldiers gathering intelligence in the state. But a Defense Department official said they were not soldiers and a statement would be issued shortly. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not yet authorized to speak on the issue.
Montejano said the case was turned over to the federal attorney generals office. There have been no arrests so far.
Initial reports indicated the victims were likely killed over the weekend, when federal agents arrested Arnoldo Rueda Medina, a chief of operations of the Michoacan-based La Familia cartel.
Police say his arrest Saturday set off a string of brazen attacks against federal forces that left six federal police officers and two soldiers dead. Heavily armed gunmen threw grenades and fired on federal police stations and hotels where the agents were staying in three states.
Federal forces arrested politicians in several of those cities, including La Huacana, during an unprecedented sweep in May. Seven mayors, one former mayor and the state prosecutor remain jailed accused of protecting the La Familia cartel.
(Excerpt) Read more at chron.com ...
“Set back for Obama: Taliban lose 33”
Ping!
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It’s posted on the Chronicle article, Norwegian, I’m not that savy.
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