By Erica Laster

Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras – 72 migrants out of a group of 77 were killed in Mexico on their way to the United States border by the Zetas cartel after refusing to work for the widely known drug gang.  Authorities discovered the bodies bound, blindfoldedand slumped against a wall at a ranch in the state of Tamaulipas.  While the group was made up of mostly of Hondurans, Ecuadorians, Guatemalans and one Brazilian, the whereabouts of the three Mexicans, consisting of two drivers and an assistant, are unknown. The remaining two, an Ecuadorian and one Honduran, escaped the massacre after the shooting stopped.

The Ecuadorian, Luis Freddy Lala suffered from a gunshot wound to the neck but was able to stumble to a marine checkpoint, alerting authorities.  The Honduran who freed him was forced to separate after hearing more gunshots behind them. Lala, 18, is now under the Ecuadorian Witness Protection Program while the Honduran survivor, whose name is being withheld, is under the protection of Mexican security forces until further notice.

Honduran Foreign Minister Mario Canahuati issued a statement declaring that “We call on Mexican authorities to take measures as soon as possible to avoid events like the one that occurred in Tamaulipas.”

Despite the Foreign Minister’s call to action, according to government figures, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras are the most violent countries in the northern hemisphere.  Street gangs and the increase in drug trafficking has only exacerbated the violence.  Just 5 days ago in the northern Honduran city of San Pedro Sula, at least four men using assault rifles burst into a shoe factory, killing 18 and wounding 5 of the 23 employees on duty.  Authorities, including Police Commissioner Hector Ivan Mejia believe the massacre was carried out as a part of a turf battle on a rival gang.  None of the 18 employees killed had criminal records.

Mexican authorities have seen an uptick in violence and the use of vulnerable migrants by cartels in order to further drug trafficking.

For More Information Please See:

Associated Press Official: Honduran helped massacre survivor flee – 4 September 2010

Washington Post 18 massacred in Honduras had no criminal records – 8 September 2010

CNN There Was Second Survivor From Mexico Massacre, Officials Say – 1 September 2010