By Erica Laster Impunity Watch Reporter, North America
CHIHUAHUA, Mexico – Armed gunmen kidnapped Mexican Attorney Mario Gonzalez after storming his office last week. Less than two days later, a video surfaced in which his attackers, holding Gonzalez at gunpoint, force him to confess to a myriad of crimes, including supporting drug cartels, aiding in kidnappings and assisting the Juarez cartel in the murders of various politicians, journalists and attorneys.
- Mexican Attorney Held At Gunpoint: Forced to Confess Former Attorney General’s Ties To Drug Trafficking & High Profile Murders
Patricia Gonzalez, his sister and former attorney general, was also implicated in orchestrating many sensational murders linked to drug crimes. Gonzalez stated that many “believe there are close ties between drug trafficking and government institutions.” The video, she acknowledged, may only reinforce those beliefs.
As the video begins, armed gunmen in military uniforms level rifles at Mario Gonzalez’ head. “”What group do you belong to?” “The group called La Linea or the Juarez Cartel.” “What is your job?” “I am the link to the prosecutor, my sister…”
In an interview with the Washington Post, Gonzalez indicated that she believes the off camera questioner to be “El Puma,” the leader of the Sinoa Cartel, a rival drug gang struggling for control in Mexico. Gonzalez assumes he is a former police officer and on among many enemies she made while a prosecutor before retiring October 3, 2010. “We fired 350 police and prosecutors. I think there are clear elements that indicate that the state police are involved in my brother’s kidnapping.”
Kidnapped attorney Gonzalez’s wife was contacted for a ransom of $500,000 shortly after the kidnapping. However, officials inside of the investigation believe the ransom was an ill disguised attempt to thwart investigators from the real purpose of the kidnapping: destroying the reputation of prominent legal professionals.
While officials are continuing with the investigation, many cannot ignore Gonzale’s forced confessions to being complicit in the murder of the former chief of operations of Chihuahua and a veteran crime reporter for El Diario, Armando “Choco” Rodriguez in November of 2008.
Interior secretary Graciela Ortiz indicated that, ‘What’s important is that citizens can be sure the state will act objectively and impartially to apply the full weight of the law against anyone responsible for a crime, regardless if they are ex-officials or of the position that they held.”
For More Information Please Visit:
Daily Mail – Mexican drug gang video shows ex-politician’s kidnapped brother ‘confessing’ her crimes at gunpoint 27 October 2010
Washington Post Mexican Drug Cartel Forces Lawyer’s Video Confession – 30 October 2010
Justice In Mexico – Former State Attorney General Patricia Gonzalez Rodrigues accused of having ties to drug traffickers – 27 October 2010
