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2004 Tláhuac lynching

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On 23 November 2004, three plainclothes police officers, Víctor Mireles Barrera, Cristóbal Bonilla Martín, and Edgar Moreno Nolasco, were lynched in San Juan Ixtayopan [es], Tláhuac, a borough of Mexico City, after they were accused of kidnapping 2 children from a local elementary school. Moreno was eventually extracted by riot police and sent to the hospital, where he remained in a coma for around a month; Mireles and Bonilla were both killed, with their bodies being doused in gasoline and set alight. The next day, at least 32 people were arrested in an operation by the Federal Investigations Agency.

The lynching was almost uniformly condemned, sparking discussion concerning Mexico's justice system and vigilantism. Criticism was especially levied at law enforcement's sluggish response to the incident, resulting in the dismissal of several high-ranking officials, including Marcelo Ebrard, then Mexico City's chief of police.

Lynching

Around 6 PM CST (UTC−06:00) on 23 November 2004, dressed in plainclothes and driving an unmarked gray Ford Focus, warrant officers Cristóbal Bonilla Martín and Edgar Moreno Nolasco, both under the command of sub-inspector Víctor Mireles Barrera, were sent to survey a local candy business[1] thought to be linked to drug trafficking.[2][3] They reportedly saw a woman leave the house and head for the nearby Popol Vuh Primary School, resulting in Mireles getting out of the car and following her. He took several photos as he went, arousing the suspicion of parents who had arrived to pick up their children. Mireles then ran back to the car.[4]

Moreno was then sent out to record the school's name; upon approaching the school, he was surrounded and questioned by locals. Moreno initially responded by stating he merely wanted to buy juice. He was soon accused of kidnapping 2 children from the school and was bound.[4] Mireles and Bonilla were then dragged out of their car and bound as well,[5][6] before "several subjects who looked like gang members" began to beat them.[7]

Televisa, one of Mexico's two major mass media companies, broadcast the lynching live, with the mob even allowing reporters to interview the victims at certain points so they could "confess their crimes".[8] Moreno eventually managed to free one of his arms, take out his cell phone, and with the crowd's permission, call his superiors for help.[4][5] Fátima Mena, the district head of Tláhuac, soon arrived with 2 police officers, but she left after being rebuked and threatened.[6] The beatings continued for 2-3 hours with little to no further intervention from authorities,[6] despite cops standing meters away.[7][9]

Mireles and Bonilla were both doused in gasoline and set on fire by 9 PM,[1][4] while Moreno was dragged away from the school to a lamp post near the town's newspaper kiosk.[5] There, he would be recovered by GERI (Spanish: Grupo Especial de Reacción Inmediata), the tactical unit of Mexico City's Judicial Police,[10] and sent to Xoco Hospital.[6][8] Tear gas was released in order to disperse the lynchers.[11]

Aftermath

Mireles was buried on 25 November in Mexico City, while Bonilla was buried the same day in Santiago de Querétaro.[1]

Moreles was transferred to the Central Military Hospital by 26 November.[12] He would eventually fall into a coma, in which he stayed until New Year's Eve 2004[13] and wasn't able to walk again until mid-January.[14] He eventually left Xoco Hospital that May, living in Querétaro for a time, before moving to Madrid, Spain, where he still lived as of 2011.[13]

Operation Cyclone

On the night of 24 November 2004, in what was codenamed Operation Cyclone, more than 300 agents of the Federal Investigations Agency, supported by police helicopters,[1] arrested at least 32 suspects.[4][8] Alicia "La Gorda" Zamora Luna and Eduardo Torres Montes, identified as the lynching's main instigators,[8][9] would evade capture;[15] both would be eventually arrested in 2011.[4]

Controversy arose concerning agents' conduct throughout the operation, as units entered homes without search warrants and reportedly looted homes. Suspects Martín Andrés García and Edgar Molotla were both severely beaten once detained, something which their families believe played a role in their deaths years later.[2]

Reactions

Local

Many Tláhuac residents were ashamed of the incident, emphasizing that the actions of the lynch mob did not represent the community as a whole. An unnamed man reportedly said the day following, "We do not justify yesterday's acts, we do not agree, but it is not fair to generalize... because of a few they point the finger at us all, but we are not a town of murderers".[4]

A vocal minority, however, tried to justify the lynching; in an interview with La Prensa reporter Raúl Macías, an unknown person said "What we did was well done, it was them or our children."[4]

Government

Members of the three then major political parties (PAN, PRD, and PRI) condemned the lynching. La Jornada, which separately interviewed 10 politicians following the lynching said all of them "agreed, with their nuances, that it [was] unjustifiable..." and "...that the law should be applied against those responsible and that this crime should not go unpunished."[16]

José Luis Soberanes, the president of the National Human Rights Commission, stated that the lynching "call[ed] into question the institutions of prosecution and administration of justice..." as well as "shock[ed] the rule of law." The Mexico City branch would release its own statement, claiming that "those who take justice for themselves deny their own rights and become criminals, with which a spiral of barbarism is unleashed."[17]

Dismissals

Much criticism was given towards the Secretariat of Citizen Security of Mexico City due to its perceived passiveness throughout the lynching;[6] high-ranking police officials' claims of high traffic preventing a quicker response would be brushed aside by commentators.[1] This resulted in a political spat between President Vicente Fox and Mayor Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the latter defending the department and its head, future Secretary of Foreign Affairs Marcelo Ebrard.[8]

Eventually, on 7 December 2004, President Fox announced that Ebrard, alongside commissioner José Luis Figueroa, were both dismissed. The same day, Secretary of Public Security Ramón Martín Huerta dismissed another eight high-ranking officials.[18] Ebrard would go on local radio and denounce his dismissal, calling it a "serious error",[19] while AMLO would abide by the president's order, despite not agreeing with it.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Hayward, Susana (26 November 2004). "Mass police raid in agents' deaths". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  2. ^ a b Neri, Said (23 November 2019). "La 'Noche de Tláhuac'" [The 'Night of Tláhuac']. Excélsior (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  3. ^ Noguez, Alejandra (24 November 2004). "México: linchan a dos policías" [Mexico: two police officers lynched]. BBC Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Sosa, Alfredo (19 November 2021). "¡Los dejaron morir! En 2004 lincharon a policías en San Juan Ixtayopan, Tláhuac" [They let them die! In 2004, police officers were lynched in San Juan Ixtayopan, Tláhuac]. La Prensa (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  5. ^ a b c Tuckman, Jo (25 November 2004). "Mob kills two policemen mistaken for kidnappers". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d e C. McKinley Jr, James; Thompson, Ginger (25 November 2004). "Lynchings of Policemen Ignite Outrage at Violence in Mexico". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 9 September 2017. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  7. ^ a b Mendez Ortiz, Alfredo (23 February 2005). "Moreno Nolasco identificó a agresores de Ixtayopan mediante fotografías" [Moreno Nolasco identified Ixtayopan aggressors through photographs]. La Jornada (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  8. ^ a b c d e f Hernández, Bertha (25 February 2023). "Linchamiento: la oscura noche en Tláhuac" [Lynching: the dark night in Tláhuac]. Cronica (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  9. ^ a b Castillo, Gustavo; Mendez, Alfredo (15 December 2004). "Da a conocer PGR video hallado en un cateo a casa de Ixtayopan" [PGR releases video found in a search of Ixtayopan's house]. La Jornada. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  10. ^ Vorrath, Victor (24 November 2019). "A 15 años del linchamiento en Tláhuac" [15 years after the lynching in Tláhuac]. El Norte (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  11. ^ Servin Vega, Mirna (24 November 2004). "Turba quema vivos a dos agentes de la PFP; otro en estado grave" [Mob burns two PFP agents alive; another in serious condition]. La Jornada (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  12. ^ "Piden se investigue a fondo" [They ask for a thorough investigation]. El Informador (in Spanish). 26 November 2004. p. 2A. Retrieved 9 July 2024 – via National Digital Newspaper Library of Mexico.
  13. ^ a b Loret, Carlos (6 November 2012). Cobertura Especial: Linchamiento en Tláhuac parte 1 [Special Coverage: Lynching in Tláhuac part 1]. Retrieved 7 July 2024 – via YouTube.
  14. ^ "Solicita la PGR a la Sedena interrogar a Edgar Nolasco" [The PGR requests that the National Defense Secretary interrogate Edgar Nolasco]. La Jornada. 18 January 2005. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  15. ^ "Seguridad se quema en Tláhuac" [Security burns in Tláhuac]. El Informador (in Spanish). 28 November 2004. p. 7A. Retrieved 10 July 2024 – via National Digital Newspaper Library of Mexico.
  16. ^ Llanos Samaniego, Raul (24 November 2004). "Condena general a los hechos de violencia en San Juan Ixtayopan" [General condemnation of the acts of violence in San Juan Ixtayopan]. La Jornada (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  17. ^ "Exigen evitar la venganza y que se respete la ley" [They demand that revenge be avoided and that the law be respected]. El Informador (in Spanish). 25 November 2004. p. 2A. Retrieved 9 July 2024 – via National Digital Newspaper Library of Mexico.
  18. ^ "El Presidente Fox separate de sus cargos a Marcelo Ebrard y José Luis Figueroa, por el caso de linchamiento de agents federales en la Delagación Tláhuac" [President Fox removes Marcelo Ebrard and José Luis Figueroa from their positions, for the case of lynching of federal agents in the Tláhuac Delegation]. El Informador. 7 December 2004. p. 1. Retrieved 10 July 2024 – via National Digital Newspaper Library of Mexico.
  19. ^ "Mexican police chief sacked over lynching". ABC News (Australia). Reuters. 7 December 2004. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
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