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| Arreygue during campaign for Mayor photo Mexico daily news |
The blackened corpses were discovered near a gas pipeline in Cuitzeo, said Michoacán Governor Silvano Aureoles according to reports on Tuesday (2 August).
Aureoles of said in an interview with Imagen Radio on Tuesday that authorities initially thought the bodies found in a pickup near a gas pipeline in Cuitzeo had been somehow connected to illegal pipeline taps. Authorities initially believed the vehicle had exploded during a fuel theft.
Aureoles of said in an interview with Imagen Radio on Tuesday that authorities initially thought the bodies found in a pickup near a gas pipeline in Cuitzeo had been somehow connected to illegal pipeline taps. Authorities initially believed the vehicle had exploded during a fuel theft.
However, Aureoles said that the investigation eventually revealed that police from the town of Álvaro Obregón had detained the victims. Speaking with Milenio television, Aureoles said that interviews “point directly to the mayor who gave the order”
Authorities said the mayor gave the order to the police to detain and kill the 10 victims, apparently as part of conflict over control of the illegal drug trade in Michoacán, which has long been wracked by violence linked to narcotics trafficking.
The victims were picked up at a local convenience store and driven away in 3 police cars on Friday 29 July, according to witnesses.
Aureoles said that interviews with people linked to the crime "point directly to the mayor," who officials believe was on the scene when the victims were murdered.
After the victims "were detained, on instructions from the mayor, the civilians were transported to a place in Álvaro Obregón where they were killed," said state prosecutor Jose Martin Godoy. The bodies were then taken to Cuitzeo "where they set them on fire."
The victims were picked up at a local convenience store and driven away in 3 police cars on Friday 29 July, according to witnesses.
Aureoles said that interviews with people linked to the crime "point directly to the mayor," who officials believe was on the scene when the victims were murdered.
After the victims "were detained, on instructions from the mayor, the civilians were transported to a place in Álvaro Obregón where they were killed," said state prosecutor Jose Martin Godoy. The bodies were then taken to Cuitzeo "where they set them on fire."
The state's attorney general, Jose Martin Godoy, said the mayor of the municipality of Alvaro Obregon and four police officers, including a commander, were arrested over the deaths.
Michoacan Governor Silvano Aureoles had earlier said the town's police chief, his deputy, and an investigator were detained for questioning. He indicated that the mayor is believed to be linked to the Caballeros Templarios — or Knights Templar and that the motive appeared to be related to a rivalry over street-level drug sales, Aureoles said.
Michoacan Governor Silvano Aureoles had earlier said the town's police chief, his deputy, and an investigator were detained for questioning. He indicated that the mayor is believed to be linked to the Caballeros Templarios — or Knights Templar and that the motive appeared to be related to a rivalry over street-level drug sales, Aureoles said.
One of those detained by the officers had "differences of a personal nature" with the mayor, the prosecutor said.
Prosecutors are continuing the investigation to "determine the level of participation of public servants in this terrible event," Mr Godoy said.
Prosecutors are continuing the investigation to "determine the level of participation of public servants in this terrible event," Mr Godoy said.
The mayor ran for election last year under the banner of the Labor Party, but not until he had tried to run as the Democratic Revolution Party (PRD) candidate, according to Michoacán Governor Silvano Aureoles, himself a PRD member, who said yesterday that Arreygue had been rejected by the party after it detected he had connections with the Caballeros Templarios crime gang. -
That claim drew a response today from the Labor Party’s president in Michoacán, who charged that the governor was trying to create a political issue of the mayor’s arrest. Reginaldo Sandoval said Arreygue had been given a background check by federal authorities before the election and no evidence of criminal ties had been found.
That claim drew a response today from the Labor Party’s president in Michoacán, who charged that the governor was trying to create a political issue of the mayor’s arrest. Reginaldo Sandoval said Arreygue had been given a background check by federal authorities before the election and no evidence of criminal ties had been found.