MEXICO CITY (AP) — The Mexican military admitted on Tuesday that soldiers fired on a pickup truck passing through the border town of Nuevo Laredo, an incident that killed five people and injured another. Federal prosecutors are already investigating the event after complaints from residents of alleged excessive use of force.
As the Secretary of Defense explained in a statement, the military was investigating an act of violence in the area where gunshots had been heard when they saw a vehicle with seven people in it which “drove at high speed, lights off and no license plate”. “”.
When they saw the soldiers, “they accelerated in an untimely and evasive manner” until they collided with a parked vehicle, causing a loud noise after which the soldiers fired, the statement continued.
The incident escalated into a confrontation between soldiers and a large group of angry locals who believed that “the victims were unarmed and there was no reason for them to be arbitrarily deprived of life,” the Nuevo Laredo Human Rights Committee group said in a statement. statement. A declaration.
Videos of the incident, posted on social media, show civilians fighting with uniformed officers on a street near a van. In one recording, residents are seen punching, throwing a soldier to the ground and kicking him repeatedly. In the middle of the fight, gunshots and people running are heard, but it is unclear who fired.
In a video statement, Raymundo Ramos, an activist with the human rights committee, said soldiers fired into the crowd, but he had no immediate information about other casualties. He also said the deceased were returning from a club when they were killed.
A report from federal authorities on the events, seen by The Associated Press on Monday, said a Texas-issued identification document was found on one of the bodies. The U.S. Embassy could not immediately confirm whether U.S. citizens or residents were involved.
Three of the bodies were found in the truck and two on a nearby sidewalk, according to the authorities’ report. These reports usually note all weapons found at the crime scene, but none were mentioned in this case.
Nuevo Laredo, one of the main trading hubs with Texas, is a stronghold of the violent Northeast Cartel, a splinter of the old Zetas.
The military have been attacked frequently by organized crime hitmen and this is not the first time in the city that charges have been leveled against the military for excessive use of force.
In Monday’s statement, the army assured that it is collaborating with the federal prosecutor’s office in the investigation of what happened and also with the National Human Rights Commission. In addition, an investigation was opened before the military court.
Under Mexican law, military courts can only hear cases involving violations of the military code. Crimes against civilians should be tried in civilian courts.
In 2021, the Mexican Navy handed over 30 sailors to civilian prosecutors to face justice in missing persons cases during anti-cartel operations in 2014. The sailors were also accused of detaining alleged suspects , some of which have disappeared. In 2018, dozens of people disappeared in Nuevo Laredo.