Last week, I posted the article "Miscellaneous News from Coahuila" in which I reported that Salvador Ríos Núñez was arrested in Piedras Negras by the Group of Specialized Arms and Tactics (Grupo de Armas y Tácticas Especiale, known as GATES) and that they claimed that he confessed to being a financial operator for Los Zetas.
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The following day, I received an email from his brother, who wished to correct false information being reported. Since then, I had the privilege of corresponding with this brother, who has not hesitated to answer any of the questions I have asked. He strikes me as a fair, unbiased individual, who is naturally worried about the health and safety of his brother, yet has remarkably been able to keep his emotions in check. The following is their side of the story:
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Salvador Ríos Núñez is the son of Juan Ríos, a native of Piedras Negras, Coahuila and former Judicial Police officer who passed away in 1984 due to complications from diabetes. Despite sharing the name with Salvador "Chava" Ríos, the former sheriff of Maverick County, Texas, of which Eagle Pass is the county seat, there is no family connection between the two individuals.
Growing up, Salvador was a gifted student, making straight A's, and he graduated from Eagle Pass High School in the year 2000. Thereafter, he moved to the Dallas-Fort Worth area, where he obtained a Bachelors in Science in Telecommunications from DeVry University and then proceeded to work at Avaya, a multinational corporation specializing in business communications equipment. During that timeframe he suffered a motorcycle accident, which left him partially blind in his left eye, and he returned to Eagle Pass to heal up, under the care of his mother.
After the several months it took to recover from the accident, he held several different jobs. At one point he pursued a career as a United States Customs Officer and, following a rigorous application
process (including a required Certificate of Criminal History Record Information, a copy of which is seen here and indicates he had no criminal background), he was accepted, but was unable to complete the physical.
After the several months it took to recover from the accident, he held several different jobs. At one point he pursued a career as a United States Customs Officer and, following a rigorous application
process (including a required Certificate of Criminal History Record Information, a copy of which is seen here and indicates he had no criminal background), he was accepted, but was unable to complete the physical.
Salvador is currently employed by the Union Pacific Railroad in Eagle Pass, where he is a Yard Manager. He is married to a Mexican citizen from Piedras Negras, who continues to own a home there, and, for the past two months, he has rented an apartment in Eagle Pass, where they live as her United States residency application is being processed.
According to the account Salvador provided to his brother, around 6:00 PM on Monday, December 22, he left Eagle Pass and crossed the border to Mexico, stopping by a duty free shop to pick up some bottles of liquor before heading to La Tachuela restaurant (located in the Guillén colonia, near the Manuel Pérez Treviño bypass) to meet with some friends for dinner. Via instant messaging, he chatted with his wife and let her know that he would soon be heading back to the United States as soon as he stopped by her Piedras Negras home for some personal items and over the counter medication.
Salvador and a married couple, part of the group of friends whom he was giving a ride, left the restaurant in his white 2014 z71 Silverado pickup, followed by the rest of his friends who traveled in a separate vehicle. While driving on the Manuel Pérez Treviño bypass, a GATES patrol pulled behind the vehicle in the rear and signaled for the vehicles to stop.
Assuming that the patrol was only pulling over that vehicle, he continued to drive on, yet the GATES pursued him and he stopped his pickup on República boulevard. When the leader of the GATES patrol saw Salvador, he said something to the effect of "Wow what a surprise, I’ve been looking for you and now I have you, we’ve been watching you all since you were having dinner".
The entire group was then taken to an empty lot on the outskirts of Piedras Negras. There, the GATES questioned them for money, went through the pickup, took the bottles of liquor, and then proceeded to beat them, one by one. Eventually the married couple was released, but the GATES continued to hold Salvador. The female then made the situation known and one of Salvador's family members begins notifying the rest of the family.
Meanwhile, according to Salvador, the GATES ask where he lived and then load him as a passenger in his own pickup, which they drove to his wife's house in Piedras Negras. There, they ransacked the home and took all the liquor they found. He was then taken to another house, where he was beaten and tortured. A plastic bag was repeatedly placed over his head and only removed each time he nearly passed out. While his face was covered, he was beaten on his head, kicked in his stomach and back, and hit with clubs on his legs.
He was also placed in handcuffs; the officers would jump on his wrists and stomp on the handcuffs. At one point a pistol was shoved into his mouth and towards the end he was water boarded. During this torture process, he was repeatedly questioned about money, asked where the title of the pickup was, and ordered to pay them 1 million pesos ($67,675 at the current exchange rate). When he told them he did not have that amount of money, he was told that if no one claims him he would be killed.
Sometime around 4:30 to 5:00 AM on the morning of Tuesday, December 23, the GATES handed him over to agents of the PGR. It was while being held in their custody that Salvador's brother visited him "When I saw him, he showed signs of bumps on his head, could barely speak because of damage and soreness to his mouth, his left hand was swollen to twice its size from the damage of the handcuff stomping and both wrists were heavily bruised one small cut on the bottom right wrist. He complained of stomach, leg and head pain".
Salvador was quickly processed and taken to federal prison without being assessed by any medical staff. The Public Ministry turned over his personal items to his mother: credit cards, various identification, his United States passport, 5 thousand pesos, and his iPhone for use in the United States. A number of items were missing: jewelry, including a gold bracelet and rings, his watch, two credit cards, a cell phone for use in Mexico, American currency, and his keys, which included ones to his pickup, house, and post office box. Salvador's brother inquired about his pickup and was told that it had not been impounded but was in safe hands. Upon being questioned what that implied, the officer of the Public Ministry responded "I have it under my control".
On Monday, December 29, Salvador's brother spoke with a representative of the United States embassy in Nuevo Laredo. He was told that a representative in Piedras Negras visited Salvador while he was under the custody of the PGR and that they had received a document in which Salvador denounced being kidnapped by the GATES and that they had planted false evidence.
However, the rep never made us aware they were present or even tried seeking some relative or other. They did not provide medical help, I am unaware whether he denied help or was aware the rep could provide that or if the rep ever asked him about medical assistance. If the person saw him as I did, she would have asked, as we did, upon which he requested some pain relief for his headache and stomach ache due to the injuries he received".
However, the rep never made us aware they were present or even tried seeking some relative or other. They did not provide medical help, I am unaware whether he denied help or was aware the rep could provide that or if the rep ever asked him about medical assistance. If the person saw him as I did, she would have asked, as we did, upon which he requested some pain relief for his headache and stomach ache due to the injuries he received".