Mexican president reacts to military killings in Nuevo Laredo

By Jorge Antonio Rocha

MEXICO CITY (AA) - Four days after the Mexican military killed five men and critically injured another in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Thursday that executions by the army are outlawed under his administration.

On Feb. 27, the state's human rights commission was alerted of a military execution where five young men were shot dead by officials from the Ministry of National Defense (SEDENA).

According to the head of the Human rights commission in Nuevo Laredo, Raymundo Vazquez, military troops shot the men in cold blood while they were on their way home from a nightclub.

However, according to a SEDENA briefing on the murders, the five men were armed, raising allegations that the young men were members of Mexico's organized crime.

At his press conference, Lopez Obrador refrained that executions by the military are not condoned by his government, even if directed to criminals, and that Mexico's prosecution should pursue a thorough investigation.

"The prosecutor's office must carry out a complete investigation and clarify one thing: even if it is a matter of alleged 'sicarios,' the execution of anyone should not be allowed.

"We are no longer about killing them in the heat of the moment or finishing them off. No, not that," said Lopez Obrador.

According to SEDENA, the violent affront was instigated by the young men who allegedly shot fire weapons from the pick-up truck they were traveling. The military officers proceed to pursue the vehicle while shooting at it.

However, according to local reports, the recent autopsy of the deceased has shed light on the nature of the murders.

One of the men received a single shot to his temple. In addition, the bodies who got the most bullet wounds were of the front seat passengers, contradicting SEDENA's claims that they fired from the back of the pick-up truck.

There is no evidence that the victims, ranging from 20 to 25 years old, were armed at the moment of the attack, according to reports.

Three of the five murdered, Gustavo Perez Beriles, Gustavo Suarez Castillo, and Jonathan Aguilar Sanchez, were buried on Wednesday.