The Attorney General for Military Justice has arrested 16 soldiers over the events in Nuevo Laredo. On May 18, a military convoy arrested five men after a pickup truck chase. The men were armed. The soldiers took their pistols and rifles and overpowered them. Minutes later they are said to have shot at her. Four died instantly and one in hospital moments later. The soldiers involved have been incarcerated in Campo Militar prison number 1-A in Mexico City since Friday.
The Minister of Defense (Sedena) reported on the arrest in a statement released on Saturday. The agency did not provide any further details. He has not explained what crimes the military prosecutor’s office attributes to his elements or what ranks the detainees hold. It says only that “the arrest warrants were issued by the First Control Court of the First Military Region for alleged offenses contrary to military discipline.”
Meanwhile, the Attorney General’s Office (FGR), which is responsible for investigating common law crimes such as murder or abuse of office, has yet to make a decision on the matter. Although it happened in May, the case came to light this week when EL PAÍS released a video showing the latter part of the persecution, the accident involving the civilians’ vehicle, the arrival of the military, the arrest of the others and then his apparent execution . Neither then nor now did the FGR report the case, although it is keeping open an investigation into the matter.
The bureaucratic choreography of statements and arrests is based on another episode of alleged military misconduct in February. Then, on a Sunday morning, also in Nuevo Laredo, soldiers attacked a group of young people with bullets as they were returning home. The boys, who didn’t carry guns, had spent the night at a disco. Five died from the gunshots, another was seriously injured and another, who was unharmed, told what happened. The latter also said that after the initial attack, the military shot at one of his companions as he got out of the truck, seriously wounded, and asked for help.
In light of the events, the Sedena arrested the four soldiers who were allegedly shot dead and locked them in the military prison in Mexico City. As with the events in May, the FGR, which is responsible for the investigation, left the military institute. In Saturday’s statement, the Secretariat said: “These actions are independent of the investigation by the Attorney General of the Republic, with which this Secretary of State is working to establish the relevant responsibilities in the federal order.”
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