Mexico investigates whether cartel mistakenly killed siblings
Three siblings whose dead bodies were found dumped on the side of the road ‘may have been mistakenly targeted by Mexican cartel members’
- José González 29; Ana Karen González, 24; and Luis Angel González, 32, were kidnapped by armed men Friday from their house in Tlaquepaque, Mexico
- The siblings were found dead on the side of a road in San Cristóbal de la Barranca
- The Jalisco state prosecutor said they were abducted by an armed group wearing bulletproof vests with initials of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel
- The state prosecutor’s office is investigating whether the cartel henchmen kidnapped them by mistake
- A half hour after the incident, gunmen attacked a security detail for the siblings’ neighbor and another individual
Mexican authorities are looking into whether armed members of a cartel mistakenly kidnapped and killed three siblings whose bodies were later found on the side of a road in the western state of Jalisco.
José González 29; Ana Karen González, 24; and Luis Angel González, 32, were abducted Friday night from their home in the Guadalajara suburb of Tlaquepaque by gunmen who were wearing bulletproof vests with the initials of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Jalisco state prosecutor Gerardo Octavio Solís Gómez said Monday.
CNN Español reported that the woman and her two brothers were forced into a vehicle and driven away.
José González (left), his brother Luis Angel González (right) and sister Ana Karen González were kidnapped Friday from their home in Tlaquepaque, a suburb in the western Mexican city of Guadalajara. The Attorney General for the state of Jalisco said an investigation is underway as authorities seek to find out if members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel were responsible for the abduction. The González siblings were found dead Sunday on the side of a road in the town of San Cristóbal de la Barranca
Ana Karen González, one of three siblings who were reportedly kidnapped from their home in Jalisco, Mexico, last Friday. She and her two brothers were found dead Sunday
Authorities in the western Mexico state of Jalisco cordon off the area where the bodies of José González 29; Ana Karen González, 24; and Luis Angel González, 32, were found Sunday, two days after they were abducted from their home by an armed gang
Shortly after the incident, armed men returned and wounded their next door neighbor’s bodyguards. The two security agents were assigned to the Jalisco state prosecutor’s office.
The federal agents and the other person survived because they were traveling in an armored van, Solís Gómez said at a news conference.
Solís Gómez said authorities also are investigating whether the siblings were directly targeted.
‘We know that these organized crime groups have to act fast and there’s always a chance that they made a mistake,’ he said.
People participate in the March for Peace and Justice in Guadalajara on Wednesday to protest the murders of José González 29; Ana Karen González, 24; and Luis Angel González and other victims of kidnappings and murders
Demonstrators gathered Wednesday in Guadalajara, the capital of the western Mexican state of Jalisco, in protest of people who have been kidnapped and murdered
The bodies of the González siblings were found bundled in bedding and dumped on the side of highway in San Cristóbal de la Barranca on Sunday morning. A message left by the cartel with the bodies included a warning to the government.
Solís Gómez said it did not appear to be a ransom attempt, because there was never any attempt to contact their family.
The abductions came as hundreds of people fled villages in the northern part of Jalisco to escape shootouts between drug gangs, and thousands of white-clad demonstrators marched through the state capital, Guadalajara, to protest the killings of the three young people.
The killings caused outrage among students in Guadalajara, many of whom joined the protest march Tuesday to demand justice in the case. Wearing white, the protesters lit candles as a way to remember the thousands killed or disappeared in Jalisco after years of gang-fueled violence.
The Jalisco New Generation Cartel, based in the state, is one of Mexico’s most powerful and has a reputation for extreme violence. It is currently fighting one of its own break-away factions in Guadalajara.
Last June, the criminal organization launched a war-like assault before dawn and wounded Mexico City’s police chief, Omar García Harfuch, while he was in his armored vehicle on his way to work.
Mexican students hold a sign depicting José González (left), Ana Karen González (center) and Luis Angel González (right) who were kidnapped Friday and found dead Sunday in Jalisco
Demonstrators form a cross with votive candles after a march to demand justice for the kidnappings and murders of José González 29; Ana Karen González, 24; and Luis Angel González
Farther north, near Jalisco’s border with the neighboring state of Zacatecas, the Jalisco state human rights commission said Monday that about 600 residents fled their villages after gun battles broke out between rival gangs.
The area has been plagued by turf battles between the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and the rival Sinaloa Cartel, but it came to a head Friday when gunmen armed with assault rifles and home-made armored cars battled in the border region.
The fleeing villagers first took shelters at church buildings in the town of Teocaltiche, where Jalisco Governor Enrique Alfaro visited Monday and pledged increased security.
‘The confrontations between criminal groups have shattered this town’s peace,’ Alfaro said.
The situation got so bad that the local priest, Reverend Manuel Sandate, was leading near daily prayers for peace. Many of the villagers have gone to live with relatives.
The rights commission said that if a solution to the violence wasn’t found soon, the villagers risked becoming displaced people who might need housing and food support.
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