Private Security Video of Soldiers’ Killing of Detained Man Sparks Uproar in Mexico Christopher Sherman - TheRecord.com
go to original May 11, 2017

Video broadcasted by Diario Cambio show what appears to be Mexican military personnel executing a person at point-blank range during an operation in Palmarito Tochapan, Puebla (Cambio TV)

A video released by Mexican media outlets Wednesday appears to show a soldier executing a civilian lying face down in the street with a shot to the back of his head.

The video's circulation was quickly followed by condemnation and pledges from the defence department to determine its authenticity and the Attorney General's Office to investigate the May 3 events in the town of Palmarito.

The security camera footage first published by Diario Cambio purportedly depicts part of the military's encounter with fuel pipeline thieves that the government said left 10 dead in the central state of Puebla.

Fuel theft has long plagued Mexico, but is generating more violence lately as federal authorities crack down. Mexico's treasury secretary said Tuesday the practice costs the country $780 million to $1 billion each year.

The military originally said that in the May 3 encounter the thieves used local residents as human shields in an initial ambush on an army patrol. Two soldiers were killed and a third wounded.

Reinforcements of 1,000 soldiers and police were sent in and hours later another patrol was ambushed. Two more soldiers were killed along with three attackers. Puebla state officials later said three more attackers had also died.

...The military's statement Wednesday said the video shows soldiers coming under fire and capturing suspects. It said the video apparently also shows a soldier shooting a man while in custody. That incident must be "irrefutably" cleared up by federal investigators, it said, adding: "Under no circumstances can conduct contrary to the law and human rights be justified."

The Mexican National Human Rights Commission said it has a copy of the video and other recordings of the encounter. It said the gravity of the events demand a swift and thorough investigation.

Read the rest at TheRecord.com

Related: Outrage at Video Swift in Mexico, But Will It Derail Proposed Law? (Associated Press)

Related: Execution Highlights Mexico's Inability to Combat Rampant Fuel Theft (InSight Crime)

Related: As Mexico Combats Fears About Rising Crime, a Soldier Is Caught on Tape Carrying Out an Execution (The Los Angeles Times)

Related: Mexico Deaths Reach 15 as Army Attacks Oil Thieves Amid Soaring Pemex Profits (teleSUR)

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