Major Military Operation Ends in Arrests of Mexican Cartel Massacre Suspects
Three branches of the Mexican armed forces capture cartel suspects
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A massive military operation carried our by three branches of the Mexican armed force captured several suspects connected to the horrific massacre that claimed the lives of nine members of a well-known Mexican-American family.
The number of suspects rounded up was not fully disclosed by the federal attorney general's office, but at least three were arrested according to local newspaper El Universal.
The Mexican government has previously announced arrests in the case, with one arrest not being linked to the massacre.
The nine members of the LeBaron family, who lived in a faith-based community in La Mora, northern Mexico, and had dual U.S.-Mexican citizenship, where killed by suspected drug cartel gunmen in November.
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The family members were part of a decades-old settlement in Sonora state, a branch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The family was traveling on a remote dirt road before they were set upon by gunmen who sprayed their three SUVs with bullets.
The initial suspect of the attacks was arrested near the U.S.-Mexico border but was later determined not to be linked to the killings.
In November, an undisclosed number of arrests related to the massacre was announced by authorities amid reports about which cartel may have been behind the shooting.
Mexican authorities have noted several cartels operate in the area as they continue their investigation.
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Some of those cartels included:
- La Linea
- Los Jaguares
- Jalisco Nueva Generacion
Last month, President Donald Trump told Bill O’Reilly he planned to designate some Mexican cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO), which prompted Mexico City to call for a “meeting."
Speaking on the homicide figures, O’Reilly said to Trump during the interview aired on O’Reilly.com:
“The Mexican drug cartels kill more than 100,000 Americans every year by the importation of dangerous narcotics."
“Are you going to designate those cartels in Mexico as terror groups?”
“They will be designated … I have offered him (the Mexican president) to let us go in and clean it out,” President Trump responded.
“He, so far, has rejected the offer. But at some point, something has to be done.”
