Homicide Charges in Mexico Army Killing of 22 Gang Members in San Pedro Limon The Canadian Press
go to original October 1, 2014

In this July 3, 2014 file photo, state authorities use crime scene tape to seal off an unfinished warehouse that was the site of a shootout between Mexican soldiers and alleged criminals on the outskirts of the village of San Pedro Limon in Mexico state, Mexico. (Rebecca Blackwell/The Associated Press)

Mexican prosecutors announced homicide charges Tuesday against three soldiers in the June killings of 22 suspected gang members in southern Mexico, challenging the army's version that the suspects died in a shootout.

Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam said that after a brief initial firefight the three soldiers entered a warehouse where the suspects had taken refuge and opened fire with "no justification whatsoever."

Murillo Karam offered no details on whether the suspects had already surrendered, as a witness has said, or whether they were unarmed when shot.

The attorney general's version raised more questions about what really happened that June 30 in the town of San Pedro Limon, especially how three soldiers could kill 21 suspects without anyone trying to escape. One suspect was killed in the initial firefight, according to the witness.

"Doesn't it seem strange that eight soldiers face off against 22 suspects and all the deaths are on the side of those with numeric superiority?" said Alejandro Hope, a Mexico City-based security analyst. "What was this, a squad of Rambos? Or had the suspects already been disarmed? Whichever way, this doesn't smell good."

The military initially said that all died in a fierce and prolonged gun battle. Murillo Karam said the firefight lasted eight to 10 minutes.

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