Mexico’s Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena) announced the arrest of 16 military personnel allegedly involved in the extrajudicial execution of civilians in Nuevo Laredo on May 18. According to the press release, on June 9, the detainees appeared before a military judge, who ordered them to be remanded in custody to be served in the Military Prison of the First Military Region in Mexico City.
The arrests were the result of an investigation initiated on June 7 after a video was disseminated on social networks showing what happened in the city on the border with the United States.
The video shows a black pickup truck crashing into a wall and being surrounded by a Mexican Army vehicle. Several soldiers with long guns approach and remove weapons from the van. They then beat the civilians in the vehicle and placed them against the wall. At one point, the uniformed men are shot at from a distance without the assailants being seen. Meanwhile, the soldiers shoot the civilians and then manipulate the crime scene, placing weapons next to the bodies.
The detainees are currently under the jurisdiction of the First Control Judge of the First Military Region, who issued the arrest warrants for “crimes against military discipline.” This case has generated concern in Mexico and highlighted the importance of addressing abuses committed by security forces and ensuring respect for human rights.