Members of the army kill 6 civilians in Tamaulipas in apparent error

Mexican soldiers opened occurrence connected a conveyance successful the bluish borderline authorities of Tamaulipas connected Monday night, sidesplitting six radical and wounding 2 others.

All of the victims were reportedly farmworkers.

The Ministry of National Defense (Defensa) announced the incidental connected Tuesday, saying successful a connection that subject unit were traveling successful 3 vehicles connected the Ciudad Mante-Tampico road erstwhile a achromatic motortruck “attempted to ram” 1 of the service vehicles.

“Upon perceiving a hazard to their carnal information and aft immoderate maneuvers, … [the soldiers] made usage of their weapons and unluckily 5 radical mislaid their lives and 3 others were injured,” Defensa said.

The Defense Ministry said that the injured were fixed archetypal assistance and “expeditiously evacuated” to a infirmary successful Tampico, a metropolis successful confederate Tamaulipas.

“During the transportation to the hospital, 1 of the wounded persons died,” Defensa said.

The Defense Ministry said that the Federal Attorney General’s Office (FGR) was “immediately” notified of the incidental and began an investigation.

It said that subject prosecutors besides opened an probe into the sidesplitting of the six people. The soldiers progressive successful the incidental connected the Ciudad Mante-Tampico road were relieved of their duties and presented to FGR offices successful Tampico, Defensa said.

The ministry didn’t accidental whether the victims were armed. Their identities person not been publically disclosed.

At her Wednesday greeting property conference, President Claudia Sheinbaum said that the actions of the soldiers progressive successful the “very regrettable” incidental volition beryllium “completely” reviewed.

Asked whether the service inactive has instructions to not onslaught “the civilian population” and whether an service commandant had made “a mistake” successful ordering troops to unfastened fire, Sheinbaum responded:

“We request to reappraisal what happened first, successful bid to person each the accusation astir what occurred. … The usage of a firearm has to beryllium rational; determination is simply a instrumentality that establishes nether what conditions.”

Sheinbaum subsequently asserted that her authorities isn’t carrying retired a “war” against cause cartels similar that waged by the medication of erstwhile president Felipe Calderón.

During Calderón’s 2006-12 government, “the bid was to shoot” astatine suspected criminals, she said, adding that national information forces present lone respond with unit if determination is an onslaught against them first.

Still, during the Sheinbaum administration, the subject has been much consenting to combat transgression threats with unit than during the 2018-24 authorities of ex-president Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

Last month, the United States Ambassador to Mexico, Ronald Johnson, asserted that the Sheinbaum medication has made a “bold change” successful information strategy successful Mexico by ramping up operations against cause cartels. The president disagreed with his view.

An service ‘mistake’?

The paper El País reported connected Wednesday that it was told by “official sources” that the service killed the six civilians successful Tamaulipas “by mistake.”

El País noted that section media outlets person reported that the victims were jornaleros —day laborers who commonly enactment connected farms.

El País reported that, arsenic was the lawsuit successful Tamaulipas connected Monday, “the service didn’t constituent to immoderate onslaught against it” earlier soldiers opened fire. (Facebook)

The paper said that subject investigations successful cases involving the service often go “the basis” of FGR investigations, allowing subject prosecutors to “frame the lawsuit according to their vision.”

The Centro Prodh quality rights enactment said connected societal media connected Tuesday that it was concerning that “parallel investigations successful the subject jurisdiction” continued to beryllium opened successful “cases of probable superior violations of quality rights.”

Centro Prodh besides said that the sidesplitting of the six radical successful Tamaulipas was an “undeniable effect of the deepening of subject power” successful Mexico.

Sheinbaum-era precedents 

In May, 2 girls were killed by soldiers successful Badiraguato, Sinaloa.

“Family members of Alexa and Leidy, girls aged 7 and 11, … reported that some were murdered by service officers successful a nonstop onslaught connected the conveyance successful which they were traveling with their family,” the quality outlet Animal Político reported.

El País reported that, arsenic was the lawsuit successful Tamaulipas connected Monday, “the service didn’t constituent to immoderate onslaught against it” earlier soldiers opened fire.

On Oct. 1, 2024 — the time Sheinbaum was sworn successful arsenic president — soldiers killed six migrants successful Chiapas. According to the Defense Ministry, the soldiers opened occurrence connected vehicles that attempted to evade subject unit carrying retired patrols connected a road northbound of the metropolis of Tapachula.

Ten different migrants were injured successful the incident. Defensa indicated that soldiers mistook the migrants for criminals.

Two days aft the incident, Sheinbaum said that “a concern similar this can’t beryllium repeated.”

With reports from El País