The attorney general of Nuevo Leon said it was confirmed the identities of the 17 bodies recovered pulled from a water well in a rural area north of Monterrey.
The 17 slain musicians are: José Antonio Villarreal Villarreal, 39 ;back up vocalist; Heiner Iván Cuéllar Pérez, 24 años, keyboardist, originario de Colombia; Víctor Ángel Santamaría Cruz, 43 , staff; José Baudelio Santos López, 38 años, saxofonista; Javier Flores Valerio, 29, trompetista; Édgar Dimas Montes, 31 años, trombón; Francisco Javier Alfaro Hernández, acordeonista. also Saúl Reynoso Sáenz, 30 , second voice; Reyes Alejandro Mendoza Rodríguez, 25 años, staff; Mario Alberto Beltrán Ortega, 24 años, guacharaca; Juan Ignacio Herrera Ortiz, 42 años, staff; Juan Tomás Carrizales Rodríguez, guitarrista; Ricardo Alfonso Verduzco Sáenz, 27 años, congas; Carlos Alberto Sánchez Aguirre, 37 años, primera voz. Y José Rodríguez Rostro, timbales, Federico Iván Méndez, trompetista, José Francisco Jiménez Díaz, audio engineer
Funerals took place, musician friends dismissed beloved cumbias choosing to play different pantheons of the suburbs of the state capital.The families of the musicians demanded justice from the authorities and denied that their relatives were related to a group of organized crime.
Mexican authorities yesterday announced the arrest of a person allegedly linked to the killing of seventeen members of the musical group Kombo Kolombia and attributed the crime to Los Zetas.
The person they detained was not directly involved in the murder of the members of the band, but he allegedly acted as a "lookout" for the criminal organization responsible for the multiple murders.
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Jorge Domene Zambrano, spokesman for the northern state of Nuevo Leon, said in a Security Council press conference,
"The main line of investigation is that Los Zetas murdered them,"
"The main line of investigation is that Los Zetas murdered them,"
The suspect was not identified except as "El Erus" (the spy), but Domene said the suspect worked as an informant for the criminal group, one of the most violent Mexican cartels.
Information provided by the State Investigation Agency (AEI) indicated the reason for slaughter of the Kombo Kolumbia is that they performed in places controlled by the Gulf cartel, a rival of Los Zetas.
Los Zetas is a group that began as an armed wing of the Gulf cartel, but split up in March 2010 with the criminal organization and since then keeps a bloody struggle for control of various regions of Mexico.
Jorge Domene, spokesman for the State Government Security, indicated suspect was arrested by the Highway Patrol after stealing a truck and being involved in a car chase on the road to Monclovia, but he was not directly involved in the actual kidnappings and murders of the musicians.
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| Photo: Tex |
"When the informant's job of monitoring the area where the members of Kombo Kolombia were deprived of life, and after Los Zetas concluded the killing, they told him to leave."
The investigation indicates that Jose Isidro Cruz Villarreal, "El Pichilo", alleged leader of Los Zetas in the the municipalities of El Carmen, Hidalgo and Abasolo Mina was who orchestrated the murder of Kombo Kolombia.
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Villarreal Cruz fled from prison last February 19, 2012 in the town of Apodaca, Nuevo Leon, with thirty prisoners, butchering 44 Gulf Cartel inmates as they were leaving.
According to the Attorney General of the State of Nuevo Leon (PGJE) on Thursday January 24 the band "was hired by a man" to perform and liven up a party at the bar "La Carreta", in the municipality of Hidalgo 35 kilometers from the metropolitan area of Monterrey.A little before midnight on Thursday the musician's performance came to an end as the party winded down. There were about 50 people left, at 12:30 pm on Friday, an armed group composed of 10 men arrived and forced the18 members of the group in vansand took them to a ranch located in the nearby town of Mina. According to the survivor, while at that place, they were questioned about whether they belonged to "an organized criminal group" or had a relationship with drugs, and then deprive them of life.
Kombo Kolombia performed many times in nightclubs that have been linked to organized crime, which in the past have been attacked by armed men.
Following the recent tragic events, the State Investigation Agency collected statements from people in the region, as well as testimonials from people recently arrested linked with the criminal organizations Los Zetas and the Gulf Cartel.
In the first instances, the hypothesis was that Kombo Kolombia had been "finished off" by leaders of the Gulf Cartel (CDG) because of its close relationship with rival gangs.
But the most recent investigations are now pointing in a different direction. Versions collected by the authority reported that Los Zetas have reprimanded musicians for playing in bars and clubs operated by the CDG in the metropolitan area. It is what they saw as a betrayal and who paid with their life. Jose Isidro Cruz Villarreal, "El Pichilo" is thought to have been in charge of recruiting Kombo Kolombia for the performance in the municipality of Hidalgo, and would been the leader who led the convoy of gunmen that kidnapped the band.
Kombo Kolombia performed many times in nightclubs that have been linked to organized crime, which in the past have been attacked by armed men.
Following the recent tragic events, the State Investigation Agency collected statements from people in the region, as well as testimonials from people recently arrested linked with the criminal organizations Los Zetas and the Gulf Cartel.
In the first instances, the hypothesis was that Kombo Kolombia had been "finished off" by leaders of the Gulf Cartel (CDG) because of its close relationship with rival gangs.
But the most recent investigations are now pointing in a different direction. Versions collected by the authority reported that Los Zetas have reprimanded musicians for playing in bars and clubs operated by the CDG in the metropolitan area. It is what they saw as a betrayal and who paid with their life. Jose Isidro Cruz Villarreal, "El Pichilo" is thought to have been in charge of recruiting Kombo Kolombia for the performance in the municipality of Hidalgo, and would been the leader who led the convoy of gunmen that kidnapped the band.
The Mighty Kombo Kolombia played continuous live dates and also appeared on regional television programs. Teenage fans danced onstage with them during appearances on “El Club del Italiano,” a music and comedy show. On a Youtube video with footage from “Futbol al Día,” a local soccer program, the musicians, in band shirts, jeans and white sneakers, groove through “Va Que Va,” one of their most requested songs, with accordion, congas, drums, a horn section, electric guitars, keyboards and three back-up vocalists. As they wrapped up, the show’s host, a white-haired commentator sitting behind a laptop, put his fists in the air and excitedly shouts “Long live youth!”
This was the largest collective kidnapping since 20 tourists from Michoacan were kidnapped in Acapulco in 2010. Most of the hostages were found a month later in a mass grave. Authorities said they were confused with members of a cartel.