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| Mexico: up to nine members of US Mormon family killed in ambush | Mexico: up to nine members of US Mormon family killed in ambush |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| LeBaron family relatives say nine victims, mainly children, dead in attack on dirt road between Chihuahua and Sonora states | LeBaron family relatives say nine victims, mainly children, dead in attack on dirt road between Chihuahua and Sonora states |
| Gunmen have killed up to nine members of an American Mormon family, believed to be mainly children, in the latest massacre to afflict Mexico, family members said. | Gunmen have killed up to nine members of an American Mormon family, believed to be mainly children, in the latest massacre to afflict Mexico, family members said. |
| The victims belonged to the LeBaron family from a breakaway Mormon community that settled in the hills and plains of northern Mexico decades ago. | The victims belonged to the LeBaron family from a breakaway Mormon community that settled in the hills and plains of northern Mexico decades ago. |
| Donald Trump responded to news of the attack on Twitter, saying “a wonderful family and friends from Utah got caught between two vicious drug cartels, who were shooting at each other ”. | |
| In Mexico, there was no immediate indication of who was behind the attack. | |
| Chihuahua and Sonora state governments issued a joint statement saying an investigation had been launched and some people were presumed dead and others missing. The statement noted additional federal and local security forces were being sent into the area near the border between the two states, but did not provide further details. | |
| Two relatives, Alex and Julian LeBaron, told Reuters nine people had died, though a government source confirmed five. It was unclear what motivated the killings, which took place on Monday on a dirt road between Chihuahua and Sonora states, both bordering the US. | |
| A video posted on social media showed the charred and smoking remains of a vehicle riddled with bullet holes that was apparently carrying the victims when the attack happened. | A video posted on social media showed the charred and smoking remains of a vehicle riddled with bullet holes that was apparently carrying the victims when the attack happened. |
| “This is for the record,” says a male voice in an American accent, off camera, choking up with emotion. “Nita and four of my grandchildren are burnt and shot up.” | “This is for the record,” says a male voice in an American accent, off camera, choking up with emotion. “Nita and four of my grandchildren are burnt and shot up.” |
| Reuters could not independently verify the video. | Reuters could not independently verify the video. |
| Mexico has been hit by a wave of attacks in recent weeks, shocking even for a country inured to a decade of drug war violence. The most notable incident was a military-style cartel assault that forced the government to release a leader of the Sinaloa cartel in October. | Mexico has been hit by a wave of attacks in recent weeks, shocking even for a country inured to a decade of drug war violence. The most notable incident was a military-style cartel assault that forced the government to release a leader of the Sinaloa cartel in October. |
| Trump passed comment on Twitter on Tuesday morning, writing that “many great American people [were] killed, including young children, and some missing. | |
| “If Mexico needs or requests help in cleaning out these monsters, the United States stands ready, willing and able to get involved and do the job quickly and effectively. The great new President of Mexico has made this a big issue, but the cartels have become so large and powerful that you sometimes need an army to defeat an army!” | |
| Trump concluded: “This is the time for Mexico, with the help of the United States, to wage WAR on the drug cartels and wipe them off the face of the earth. We merely await a call from your great new president!” | |
| Mexico’s president Andrés Manuel López Obrador has turned away from the militarized anti-narcotics tactics of his predecessors which failed to stop organized crime and led to widespread human rights abuses. The president, widely known as Amlo, vowed to “pacify” the country by waging war on the social roots of crime, but his strategy has so far failed to reign in the violence, and in the first nine months of this year, Mexico suffered an average of close to 100 murders a day. | |
| Julian LeBaron described the incident as a “massacre”, saying some family members were burned alive. In a text message, he said other injured members of the family were being transported to Phoenix for treatment. He said four boys, two girls and three women were killed. | Julian LeBaron described the incident as a “massacre”, saying some family members were burned alive. In a text message, he said other injured members of the family were being transported to Phoenix for treatment. He said four boys, two girls and three women were killed. |
| “We don’t know why, though they had received indirect threats. We don’t know who did it,” he said. | “We don’t know why, though they had received indirect threats. We don’t know who did it,” he said. |
| Several children who fled the attack were lost for hours in the countryside before being found, Julian LeBaron added. | Several children who fled the attack were lost for hours in the countryside before being found, Julian LeBaron added. |
| “My cousin was murdered with her children in the truck,” Alex LeBaron said, adding he believed nine people died. | “My cousin was murdered with her children in the truck,” Alex LeBaron said, adding he believed nine people died. |
| In 2010, two members of the Chihuahua Mormon community, including one from the LeBaron family, were killed in apparent revenge after security forces tracked drug gang members. The Mormons had suffered widespread kidnappings before that. | In 2010, two members of the Chihuahua Mormon community, including one from the LeBaron family, were killed in apparent revenge after security forces tracked drug gang members. The Mormons had suffered widespread kidnappings before that. |
| Mormons of Germanic origin settled in northern Mexico in the 1920s from the US. The group broke away from the mainstream Mormon church when it abandoned polygamous marriages. | Mormons of Germanic origin settled in northern Mexico in the 1920s from the US. The group broke away from the mainstream Mormon church when it abandoned polygamous marriages. |
| Christopher Landau, the US ambassador to Mexico, who traveled to Sonora earlier on Monday for unrelated work meetings, said he was following the incident closely. | Christopher Landau, the US ambassador to Mexico, who traveled to Sonora earlier on Monday for unrelated work meetings, said he was following the incident closely. |
| “The security of our co-nationals is our great priority,” he said on Twitter. | “The security of our co-nationals is our great priority,” he said on Twitter. |
| The US embassy in Mexico did not immediately respond to a request for more information after hours. | The US embassy in Mexico did not immediately respond to a request for more information after hours. |