MONTERREY SEES BLOODIEST DAY EVER WITH NINE ASSASSINATIONS

C O N F I D E N T I A L MONTERREY 000377 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR DS/IP/ITA AND DS/IP/WHA; WHITE HOUSE FOR ONDCP E.O. 12958: DECL: 3/30/2017 TAGS: SN KCRM KCOR KHLS KJUS PGOV PINS MX SUBJECT: MONTERREY SEES BLOODIEST DAY EVER WITH NINE ASSASSINATIONS REF: A. A) MONTERREY 258 ¶B. B) MONTERREY 290 ¶C. C) MONTERREY 334 CLASSIFIED BY: Luis Moreno, CG, Monterrey, DOS. REASON: 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (SBU) During Monterrey's most violent 24 hours to date, nine people were killed in four separate incidents in Monterrey on March 28 and 29. The first incident took place on March 28 when an off-duty Nuevo Leon State Police Commander was shot and killed near his home in Monterrey. The second incident took place on March 29 when an unknown male victim was shot numerous times while driving in a residential area. In both incidents, the assailants fired numerous rounds from another vehicle as the victims were driving. It is not known if the two incidents are related. The third incident on March 29 claimed the lives of three people in a used car lot owned by a law enforcement officer. The lot owner, a Nuevo Leon State Attorney Investigator, was shot and killed along with his teenage son and another lot employee. The three victims were shot multiple times by 10 heavily armed men who arrived at the business in three vehicles. In the fourth incident on March 29, four victims were shot and killed while standing in front of a house. The identities of the victims are currently unknown. Including these latest victims, there have been 42 murders victims in the State of Nuevo Leon, compared with 55 for all of 2006. Of that 42, sixteen were active duty law enforcement officials and three were former law enforcement officers. ¶2. (C) COMMENT. The spike in narco-related violence in March further supports Post's belief that these killings will continue and perhaps escalate, unabated, for the foreseeable future as rival drug gangs vie for control of the Monterrey "plaza". It is likely that the increase in violence is a direct result of the fact that senior drug cartel members have moved from Nuevo Laredo to Monterrey. The battle for the Nuevo Laredo plaza, which left hundreds dead and missing, lasted for over three years and the same is possible in Monterrey. Post's contacts in the local law enforcement community have said that authorities, up to the highest levels of the state government, are paralyzed with fear. Law enforcement officials are now completely intimidated and unwilling to conduct serious investigations into these murders. This, coupled with corruption and limited training and resources within the law enforcement community, is the reason there have been no arrests made related to any police assassinations. On March 28, the Consul General met with the State Attorney General, Luis Carlos Trevino, to reiterate the Consulate's continued support in light of the recent escalation in assassinations carried out by "sicarios" (drug cartel hitmen). The Attorney General expressed his gratitude and said that he believes that rival drug cartels are stepping up their violent campaign in an effort to destabilize the state government. While Nuevo Leon Governor Natividad Gonzalez Paras has stated publicly that he is commitment to fighting organized crime in the state, he seems paralyzed in demonstrating that he is serious about expending his political capital to remove corrupt officials. Interestingly, Antonio Garza, the Nuevo Leon Secretary for Public Security, has remained in office despite SIPDIS his failure to curb the increasing violence. Post has long believed that Garza is less than trustworthy, has cooperated with drug traffickers in the past, and does little to fire known corrupt state law enforcement officials. Post will continue to monitor the situation closely. END COMMENT. MORENO