Mexico City, Mexico – President Claudia Sheinbaum on Tuesday said that Mexico’s Attorney General is investigating the killings of a middle-aged woman and an eight-year-old girl allegedly at the hands of military members in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas last weekend.
The killings of 46-year-old nurse Yuricie Rivera Elizalde and eight-year-old Lidia Iris Fuente Galvan on October 11 and 12, respectively, add to a series of executions and human rights violations allegedly perpetrated by the Mexican armed forces.
“In both cases, investigations are being carried out by the Attorney General’s Office of the Republic (FGR), and the Army is providing all the information,” said Sheinbaum regarding both murders on Tuesday.
The murders
On October 11, Elizalde was traveling with her husband and nine-year-old son in their car when military officers reportedly opened fire at the family’s vehicle while confronting armed civilians. Elizalde’s car was caught in the crossfire, and she was shot in the head, dying at the scene, while the military officers fled and left the family there.
The next day, Lidia Galván Reséndez was driving with her granddaughter when they got caught amid a pursuit between National Guard troops and alleged criminals. According to Nuevo Laredo’s Human Rights Committee, Reséndez’s car was shot directly by National Guard officers, killing young Iris with a shot to the head.
During her press conference on Tuesday, Sheinbaum seemingly defended the use of lethal force by military officers in open and public streets on both instances by underscoring that Nuevo Laredo is the leading state with aggressions committed against Mexican soldiers.
“It must be said something very important: Nuevo Laredo is the place where criminal groups attack the Armed Forces the most,” she said.
However, Nuevo Laredo’s Human Rights Committee reported a third murder allegedly perpetrated by Mexico’s military on the same day as Iris’ murder, which was not acknowledged publicly by Sheinbaum or the army.
According to the human rights watchdog, a young man by the name of Diego Alfredo was left dead in a truck that National Guard and army officials were allegedly pursuing. Reportedly, the body of the man presented signs of torture and did not have any weapons or tactical gear near it, which could indicate he was a victim of abduction.
The three possible murders, within just 24 hours, add to a series of human rights violations, including the murder of six migrants by military troops in Chiapas in southeastern Mexico on October 2.
READ MORE: Mexico’s military killed six migrants from Egypt, El Salvador and Peru in Chiapas
Moreover, on October 9, Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission confirmed that army and National Guard officers in Sonora tortured two underage boys in June 2023.
“In the event of misconduct by any member of the military, the Guard, or any officer, they will be sanctioned, but we must wait for the investigations and maintain the necessary support for the victims,” said Sheinbaum.
