Mexican authorities ignored calls for help from a rural community in the coastal state of Guerrero and did not arrive one day later. The delayed response gave cartel gunmen time to kidnap and execute a family — including an 11-year-old boy. The victim’s bodies remained in the street for more than 24 hours until authorities arrived.
The incident took place over the weekend in the town of El Durazno, Guerrero, where a large number of gunmen arrived in SUVs emblazoned with the letters FM for Familia Michoacana. The gunmen ordered the entire town to gather at a soccer field near a school, El Pais reported.
The gunmen were angered over land disputes tied to the creation of new municipalities in the area that would interfere with their operations. The gunmen killed at least seven victims including an 11-year-old child. The gunmen then doused another man in gasoline and burned him alive, Infobae reported.
It wasn’t until a day later that state police forces responded to the town of El Durazno to document the scene and collect the bodies. Since their arrival, government officials have made a big deal about their presence in the region and their efforts to help locals. Authorities did not explain why it took them more than a day to respond to the massacre.
The gunmen from La Familia Michoacana claimed to be with El Pez — a nickname used by Johnny Hurtado Olascoaga — who along with his brother Jose Alfredo “La Fresa” Hurtado Olascoaga has been operating in the state of Guerrero with complete impunity and government protection. As Breitbart Texas reported, despite being a wanted fugitive, El Pez has been honored by local politicians and hosted several events in the towns where he operates. Both El Pez and La Fresa are wanted by the U.S. Department of Justice on drug trafficking and money laundering charges. The U.S. Treasury Department added them to the Kingpin list freezing any assets they may have north of the border.
Editor’s Note: Breitbart Texas traveled to Mexico City and the states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, and Nuevo León to recruit citizen journalists willing to risk their lives and expose the cartels silencing their communities. The writers would face certain death at the hands of the various cartels that operate in those areas including the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas if a pseudonym were not used. Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles are published in both English and in their original Spanish. This article was written by “E.F. Robles” from Jalisco, Jose Luis Lara from Tamaulipas, and “C.P. Mireles” from Tamaulipas.