Kidnappers in the Mexican coastal state of Veracruz dumped the body of a woman in a vacant lot inside of a garbage bag after her husband could not pay a ransom of 4 million pesos ($200,000 USD). The kidnappers also left a taunting message to the victim’s husband blaming not paying for his wife’s death.
The kidnappers beheaded the kidnap victim (identified as Susana Carrera, a businesswoman and mother of three) and dumped her remains in a vacant lot in a garbage bag. Officials found the remains in colonia Benito Juarez, located in the city of Coatzacoalcos in Veracruz on Wednesday night according to local media. Coatzacoalcos is a major port city on the Gulf of Mexico. It is located in the southern part of the country, approximately 200 miles south of the state capital of Veracruz.
Kidnappers snatched up the woman as she left her residence to pick up her daughter who was visiting a friend. They held her captive for approximately one week. According to media reports, the kidnappers had demanded a ransom of 4 million pesos ($200,000 USD) for her safe release but her family was unable to come up with the demanded payment.
The victim’s husband, Luis Manríquez, a co-owner of a business with his wife, confirmed her death on his Facebook account where he thanked friends for all the prayers and well wishes for his wife.He indicated that unfortunately, she was not able to return to her family and was killed.
Last Sunday, friends and relatives of the victim protested at an event attended by the mayor of the city of Coatzacoalcos, Víctor Manuel Carranza Rosaldo. The friends and family of the victim demanded better results of the government in providing security for the city. On Wednesday, Veracruz Governor Cuitláhuac García Jiménez was questioned in regard to the wave of insecurity in the state. He rejected the notion and said that violent crime was trending downward in comparison to the previous administration.
In early January of this year in the city of Coatzacoalcos, Cartel gunmen kidnapped, castrated, and murdered a group of men who are believed to be members of a rival cartel, as reported by Breitbart Texas. One of Mexico’s most violent organizations, the Cartel Jalisco New Generation (CJNG), claimed credit for the gory crime scene by leaving a poster board beside the bodies alleging that they were rapists and kidnappers and their murder part of a “cleanup.”
The state of Veracruz recorded 2856 homicides in 2018, ranking the state as the six highest in the country for killings registered. In January, a total of 131 killings were tallied according to statistics released by the Secretariado Ejecutivo del Sistema Nacional de Seguridad Pública (SESNSP) de la Secretaría de Gobernación (SEGOB).
Robert Arce is a retired Phoenix Police detective with extensive experience working Mexican organized crime and street gangs. Arce has worked in the Balkans, Iraq, Haiti, and recently completed a three-year assignment in Monterrey, Mexico, working out of the Consulate for the United States Department of State, International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Program, where he was the Regional Program Manager for Northeast Mexico (Coahuila, Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Durango, San Luis Potosi, Zacatecas.) You can follow him on Twitter. He can be reached at robertrarce@gmail.com.