3 American Women and 6 Children Killed in Mexico

In a tragic ambush, 9 lives were lost in a horrific massacre. Drug gangsters burned the victims alive as they were leaving Mexico for the US.

According to Reuters, nine people were killed in the attack on the border between Chihuahua and Sonora during the day on Monday (November 5).

They were part of the Mexican-American LeBaron, Langford, Miller and Johnson family members of the Mormon community who settled on the hills and plains of northern Mexico decades ago.

A video posted on social media showed a burned-out bullet-riddled car filled with smoke. When the attack occurred, some victims were thrown out on the dirt road.

“This is a record,” an American man said choking on camera.

He said: “Nita and my four grandchildren were burned and shot.” The man referred to one of the three women who died in an attack called Rhonita LeBaron.

Relatives Julian LeBaron called the incident a massacre and said that some family members were burned alive.

In a text message to Reuters, he wrote that four boys, two girls, and three women were killed. 

He said that it was not clear who made the attack.

“We don’t know why, even though they are indirectly threatened. We don’t know who did it,” LeBaron told Reuters.

Lafe Langford’s aunt and cousin were killed in a separate attack. Langford called from Louisiana and said five injured children were airlifted to a hospital in Tucson, Arizona. Apparently, they had fled from the scene. A critically injured boy was transferred to a hospital in Phoenix.

Mexico’s security minister, Alfonso Durazo, said the nine victims killed could have been victims of the wrong status, given a large number of violent clashes between drug groups in the region.

Apparently, the LeBaron family often clashed with drug dealers in Chihuahua. The other relatives of the victims said the murderers must have known their target.

“We have been here for more than 50 years. There is no one who doesn’t know them. People who did this knew,” said relative, Alex LeBaron.

LeBaron told Reuters that all of the deceased were American citizens and most of them also had dual citizenship in Mexico. 

They were attacked as they drove in a car fleet with the women and 14 children. Some people went to Tucson Airport to fetch relatives.

The Sonora State Prosecutor said that the victims were found in three different locations.

The ambushed family members were traveling to the United States through Chihuahua.

The statement said that a charred body of a woman and four children were found in a burnt-out Chevrolet Tahoe near the village of San Miguelito.

The wreck was found in a suburb about 18 km away. The body of a woman and two children were retrieved.

The body of a third woman was found about 15 meters (50 feet) on the outskirts of the Sonora-Chihuahua border.

The prosecutor added that authorities are investigating Mr. Agua Prieta, who was arrested in Sonora. He was in possession of guns and ammunition is a suspect in the murder.

US President Trump praised the performance of Mexican President Lopez Obrador in combating drug trafficking group violence, but said that more work is needed.

Trump responded to the massacre: “It is time for Mexico to declare war on drug trafficking groups with the help of the United States, and it is time to erase them from the earth.”

Since 2006, Mexico has used the military in the war against drug trafficking groups. 

Despite the arrest or killing of the main traffickers, it has not succeeded in reducing drug violence, and the fighting between criminal groups has led to more killings.

Falko Ernst, the senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, said that Trump’s tweet suggests that he may be preparing to put security pressure on Mexico.

Ernst said: “If he plays his full role as in the (illegal) immigrants issue, then the Mexican government will be powerless.”

Trump said in a tweet on May 31 this year: “90% of the drugs that flow into the United States come from Mexico and our southern borders. Last year, 80,000 people died and 1 million people were destroyed. This situation has been going on for many years. And no corresponding measures have been taken. We have a trade deficit of $100 billion with Mexico. It is time (solving the problem)!”