6 Charged in Shooting of Pig in Mexico
by JAMES C. McKINLEY
New York, United States
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/13/world/americas/13mexico.html?ref=world
MEXICO CITY
Six people with links to a Sinaloa drug kingpin have been arrested and
charged in the
killing of the acting federal police chief last week, investigators
announced Monday
night.
Investigators said the group that carried out the assassination was led by
a federal
police officer, Jose Antonio Montes Garfias, 41, who was arrested with
several
incriminating documents. Among them were lists of cars used by top
commanders in the
federal police and records of drug ****pments in and out of Mexico City's
international air****t, said Gerardo Garay Cadena, the coordinator of the
antidrug
division of the federal police.
The police chief, Edgar Millan Gomez, 41, was shot as he entered his
apartment early
Thursday morning after a long day coordinating the arrests of several
members of the
Sinaloa drug cartel, which is overseen by Arturo Beltran Leyva.
Though the police at first said there were several gunmen, investigators
now say a
lone gunman, Alejandro Ramirez Baez, was waiting inside Mr. Millan's home
when he
entered and switched on the lights, Mr. Garay said.
Mr. Ramirez wore latex gloves and had a gun in each hand, the police said.
As the
unsuspecting Mr. Millan turned on the lights, the gunman pumped nine
rounds into Mr.
Millan and wounded his bodyguard, who was behind him, the police said.
Though
bleeding, the bodyguard wrestled Mr. Ramirez to the ground and arrested
him.
The police found a radio on Mr. Ramirez, along with a set of keys to the
house. The
radio was traced to two brothers, Jorge and Josue Ortega Gallegos, who
deal in
unlicensed radios; they were also arrested on charges of being part of the
conspiracy.
Under pressure from the police, the Gallegos brothers led investigators to
a woman
who had rented the radio, Juana Virginia Gonzalez Chicuelar, known as La
Vicky. Mr.
Garay said investigators believed she was in charge of logistics for the
assassination, including procuring radios and vehicles.
She was apprehended with $8,000 in her car, which she said was payment to
the
Gallegos for nine radios. She also had a list of firearms with prices.
Another woman,
Maria Teresa Villanueva Aguirre, was arrested with her.
Ms. Gonzalez agreed to cooperate with the police and set up a meeting with
a man she
knew as El Senor, who had provided money to buy the gunman's radio.
When apprehended at a rendezvous, the man turned out to be the federal
officer, Mr.
Montes Garfias, who served for years as a federal agent at Mexico City's
air****t and
then was transferred to Culiacan, in Sinaloa State, where Mr. Beltran
Leyva's cartel
is based.
Mr. Garay said there is evidence the group was also involved in the
assassination of
the head of the organized crime division, Roberto Velasco Bravo, two weeks
ago.
Investigators were tight-lipped about the nature of the evidence linking
the federal
police officer to the gang of Mr. Beltran Leyva. "We have information
under wraps
that they are linked," Mr. Garay said.
Mexico has been plagued by a wave of drug violence since President Felipe
Calderon
launched an offensive against drug cartels a year and a half ago. More
than 3,000
people have been killed, among them 170 police officers and more than 30
federal
agents.
But the assassination of Mr. Millan, who coordinated all of the operations
against
drug dealers across the country, was the most brazen attack on a
high-level official
since the campaign started. It shook the country, causing many Mexicans to
question
whether any official was safe from assassins hired by the drug kingpins
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I intend to last long enough to put out of business all COck-suckers
and other beneficiaries of the institutionalized slavery and genocide.
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"The army that will defeat terrorism doesn't wear uniforms, or drive
Humvees, or calls in air-strikes. It doesn't have a high command, or
high security, or a high budget. The army that can defeat terrorism
does battle quietly, clearing minefields and vaccinating children. It
undermines military dictator****ps and military lobbyists. It subverts
sweatshops and special interests.Where people feel powerless, it
helps them organize for change, and where people are powerful, it
reminds them of their responsibility." ~~~~ Author Unknown ~~~~
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