Soldiers involved in 2023 Nuevo Laredo extrajudicial killings sentenced to 40 years in prison

Four Mexican soldiers were sentenced Monday to 40 years and 9 months successful situation aft being convicted of 5 counts of homicide and 1 number of attempted homicide.

The soldiers sentenced were recovered blameworthy of indiscriminately firing upon a pickup motortruck successful which 7 civilians were riding successful the early-morning hours of Feb. 26, 2023. The civilians were returning from a nighttime retired successful the bluish borderline metropolis of Nuevo Laredo aft celebrating the impending commencement of 1 victim’s archetypal child.

The extrajudicial killings by Mexico’s equipped forces occurred successful Nuevo Laredo successful 2023. (Carlos Alberto Carbajal/Cuartoscuro)

Families of the victims celebrated the result of the proceedings but urged national authorities to basal steadfast successful the look of a apt entreaty by the sentenced soldiers. 

The defendants stay nether defender astatine a subject basal successful Mexico City. If they suffer their appeal, they indispensable service their sentences successful a civilian prison.

The presiding justice besides ordered the commandant of the XVI Motorized Cavalry Regiment — the soldiers’ location basal — to contented a nationalist apology to the families.

The 4 soldiers were formally charged with 5 counts of homicide and 1 number of attempted homicide successful April 2023, six weeks aft the incident.

The defendants were among 21 soldiers connected patrol that February morning. As portion of their defense, they declared that they heard a large bang and opened occurrence connected what they claimed was a fleeing vehicle. Three of the defendants initially said they opened occurrence to enactment the archetypal worker who started shooting.

One of the 2 survivors testified that the soldiers fired astatine slightest 2 shots astatine his wounded friends aft the pickup had stopped. He besides denied that they were fleeing from the soldiers.

Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) investigated the predawn incidental and called the shootings unjustified. 

The CNDH study concluded that soldiers successful 4 patrol vehicles had followed the pickup based connected a “suspicion” and did not travel due process successful engaging the vehicle.

“Without giving verbal orders [to propulsion over], 1 worker opened occurrence into the backmost of the backstage vehicle, and 3 different soldiers did the aforesaid to enactment the archetypal one,” the study said.

Alejandro Encinas, Mexico’s apical quality rights authoritative astatine the clip of the case, directed the investigation. (Presidencia)

Only 4 of the 21 soldiers connected patrol opened fire, the CNDH said, but they fired a full of 117 shots astatine the pickup.

The Defense Ministry (Sedena) initially said that the soldiers had heard gunshots, past approached a pickup motortruck with nary licence plates and nary lights connected successful the darkness.

“Upon seeing the Army troops, they (the occupants) accelerated successful a brusque and evasive way,” Sedena said successful a pretrial statement.

In different mentation of the events, the soldiers said the motortruck sped distant from them and crashed into a parked vehicle. It was lone aft the crash, the soldiers said, that they opened fire. 

Crime country reports recovered nary grounds of weapons successful the pickup aft the shootings, and the CNDH study besides stated that determination was nary grounds of immoderate shots fired astatine the subject patrol.

Nuevo Laredo has been the country of quality rights violations by the subject successful the past, according to The Associated Press.

Only 3 months aft the February 2023 incident, soldiers were progressive successful a high-speed pursuit aft which five civilians were killed contempt seemingly surrendering successful what then-President Andrés Manuel López Obrador described arsenic an execution. 

Sedena said astatine the clip that 16 soldiers would look subject charges. However, by January 2024, 13 of the 16 had been released.

Mexico has a abstracted subject judicial system, but soldiers indispensable beryllium tried successful national civilian courts for offenses that impact nonmilitary victims.

With reports from El Universal, Proceso, El País and The Associated Press