Thread: Two Dallas men killed in Mexico; slayings possibly drug-rela

http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/monte ... 957084.htm

BY ALFREDO CORCHADO AND ANGELA KOCHERGA

The Dallas Morning News


MEXICO CITY - (KRT) - Federal and state authorities are working to determine if rogue Mexican commandos working for the Gulf drug cartel had a role in the deaths of two Dallas men whose bodies were found over the weekend in the state of Michoacan.

The investigation follows a Dallas Morning News report that the commandos, former Mexican army members known as the Zetas, have carried out at least three drug-related slayings in Dallas.

Mexican authorities said the Michoacan killings could be tied to drug trafficking. A U.S. official said the American government was trying to determine whether the Zetas were involved.

The bodies of Alejandro Munoz Perez, 19, and his cousin, Omar Chaves Diaz, 20, both of Dallas, were among four bullet-ridden corpses found Friday near Tacambaro, Michoacan, about 150 miles west of Mexico City.

The region is known as "a training ground for the Zetas and fertile ground for large marijuana plantations," said the U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Chavez worked installing air-conditioning units in Dallas and was thinking about getting married, said his mother, Maximina Chavez of Wilmer, southeast of Dallas.

"I lost my most beloved son," she said.

Munoz was a U.S. Army reservist, according to the U.S. Embassy and his mother, Hermelinda Perez de Munoz, also of Wilmer.

"My son had nothing to do with drug trafficking," Perez de Munoz said by phone from Morelia, the capital of Michoacan. "He was a good, responsible young man who was here on vacation.

"That's all. Everything else you hear about drug trafficking is a lie," she said.

The bodies of Perez de Munoz's brothers, Mariano Perez and Delfino Perez, were recovered alongside those of the two Dallas men, said Ignacio Roque, spokesman for the Michoacan state attorney general's office.

Those two men also had spent time in Dallas, Perez de Munoz said.

Some of the men were hit with as many as 60 bullets from high-powered rifles.

Shells from a type of ammunition thought to have been used exclusively by the Mexican army were discovered at the crime scene, prompting state authorities to ask the federal attorney general's office to help investigate.

The nation's equivalent of the FBI, the Agencia Federal de Investigacion, also has joined the case.

Delfino Perez was a relative of Federico Benitez Gamino, alias "El Chino," an alleged drug trafficker in the area who disappeared in March 2004.

Benitez allegedly was a top operator for drug lord Osiel Cardenas, the leader of the Gulf cartel who is in prison.

Last year, Mexican authorities disrupted a plan by the Zetas to free Cardenas from jail. The training for the prison outbreak took place in Michoacan, state and federal authorities said.

Just days earlier, Mexican law enforcement officials played down the threat posed by the Zetas, saying the group was on the run.

On Sunday, The Dallas Morning News reported that the Zetas, who are blamed for dozens of killings along the U.S.-Mexico border, carried out at least three drug-related slayings in Dallas and also were in Houston and San Antonio.

The Zetas defected to the Gulf cartel in the late 1990s, U.S. and Mexican officials say.

The two cousins, Munoz and Chavez, had gone to Michoacan to deliver a pickup truck, family members said.

"These poor boys were innocent bystanders looking forward to enjoying their vacation," said an aunt, who spoke by phone on condition of anonymity. "What they were doing with these other guys remains a mystery."

The four men disappeared more than a week ago, shortly after Munoz and Chavez had arrived from Dallas in the pickup truck, the aunt said.

Friday evening, the bodies were discovered at the side of a road at La Loma, a farming village near Tacambaro, west of Morelia.

Authorities are performing autopsies before returning the bodies to relatives, who plan to transport them to Dallas for burial.

"I can't even speak right now," said Perez de Munoz. "I've lost my son, and I feel numbed by his death and these drug-trafficking rumors."

Munoz had been in the Army Reserve since graduating from the Dallas Can! Academy in Oak Cliff.

He was waiting to hear from a potential employer in Irving, Texas, where he had applied for a job as a forklift operator, said his father, Simon Munoz of Wilmer.

He said he could not understand why authorities would link his son to drug trafficking.

"He didn't have any enemies. What (Mexican authorities) are saying about him is a lie."

---

Two Dallas men killed in Mexico; slayings possibly drug-related

BY ALFREDO CORCHADO AND ANGELA KOCHERGA

The Dallas Morning News


MEXICO CITY - (KRT) - Federal and state authorities are working to determine if rogue Mexican commandos working for the Gulf drug cartel had a role in the deaths of two Dallas men whose bodies were found over the weekend in the state of Michoacan.

The investigation follows a Dallas Morning News report that the commandos, former Mexican army members known as the Zetas, have carried out at least three drug-related slayings in Dallas.

Mexican authorities said the Michoacan killings could be tied to drug trafficking. A U.S. official said the American government was trying to determine whether the Zetas were involved.

The bodies of Alejandro Munoz Perez, 19, and his cousin, Omar Chaves Diaz, 20, both of Dallas, were among four bullet-ridden corpses found Friday near Tacambaro, Michoacan, about 150 miles west of Mexico City.

The region is known as "a training ground for the Zetas and fertile ground for large marijuana plantations," said the U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Chavez worked installing air-conditioning units in Dallas and was thinking about getting married, said his mother, Maximina Chavez of Wilmer, southeast of Dallas.

"I lost my most beloved son," she said.

Munoz was a U.S. Army reservist, according to the U.S. Embassy and his mother, Hermelinda Perez de Munoz, also of Wilmer.

"My son had nothing to do with drug trafficking," Perez de Munoz said by phone from Morelia, the capital of Michoacan. "He was a good, responsible young man who was here on vacation.

"That's all. Everything else you hear about drug trafficking is a lie," she said.

The bodies of Perez de Munoz's brothers, Mariano Perez and Delfino Perez, were recovered alongside those of the two Dallas men, said Ignacio Roque, spokesman for the Michoacan state attorney general's office.

Those two men also had spent time in Dallas, Perez de Munoz said.

Some of the men were hit with as many as 60 bullets from high-powered rifles.

Shells from a type of ammunition thought to have been used exclusively by the Mexican army were discovered at the crime scene, prompting state authorities to ask the federal attorney general's office to help investigate.

The nation's equivalent of the FBI, the Agencia Federal de Investigacion, also has joined the case.

Delfino Perez was a relative of Federico Benitez Gamino, alias "El Chino," an alleged drug trafficker in the area who disappeared in March 2004.

Benitez allegedly was a top operator for drug lord Osiel Cardenas, the leader of the Gulf cartel who is in prison.

Last year, Mexican authorities disrupted a plan by the Zetas to free Cardenas from jail. The training for the prison outbreak took place in Michoacan, state and federal authorities said.

Just days earlier, Mexican law enforcement officials played down the threat posed by the Zetas, saying the group was on the run.

On Sunday, The Dallas Morning News reported that the Zetas, who are blamed for dozens of killings along the U.S.-Mexico border, carried out at least three drug-related slayings in Dallas and also were in Houston and San Antonio.

The Zetas defected to the Gulf cartel in the late 1990s, U.S. and Mexican officials say.

The two cousins, Munoz and Chavez, had gone to Michoacan to deliver a pickup truck, family members said.

"These poor boys were innocent bystanders looking forward to enjoying their vacation," said an aunt, who spoke by phone on condition of anonymity. "What they were doing with these other guys remains a mystery."

The four men disappeared more than a week ago, shortly after Munoz and Chavez had arrived from Dallas in the pickup truck, the aunt said.

Friday evening, the bodies were discovered at the side of a road at La Loma, a farming village near Tacambaro, west of Morelia.

Authorities are performing autopsies before returning the bodies to relatives, who plan to transport them to Dallas for burial.

"I can't even speak right now," said Perez de Munoz. "I've lost my son, and I feel numbed by his death and these drug-trafficking rumors."

Munoz had been in the Army Reserve since graduating from the Dallas Can! Academy in Oak Cliff.

He was waiting to hear from a potential employer in Irving, Texas, where he had applied for a job as a forklift operator, said his father, Simon Munoz of Wilmer.

He said he could not understand why authorities would link his son to drug trafficking.

"He didn't have any enemies. What (Mexican authorities) are saying about him is a lie."

---

http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/monte ... 957084.htm

BY ALFREDO CORCHADO AND ANGELA KOCHERGA

The Dallas Morning News


MEXICO CITY - (KRT) - Federal and state authorities are working to determine if rogue Mexican commandos working for the Gulf drug cartel had a role in the deaths of two Dallas men whose bodies were found over the weekend in the state of Michoacan.

The investigation follows a Dallas Morning News report that the commandos, former Mexican army members known as the Zetas, have carried out at least three drug-related slayings in Dallas.

Mexican authorities said the Michoacan killings could be tied to drug trafficking. A U.S. official said the American government was trying to determine whether the Zetas were involved.

The bodies of Alejandro Munoz Perez, 19, and his cousin, Omar Chaves Diaz, 20, both of Dallas, were among four bullet-ridden corpses found Friday near Tacambaro, Michoacan, about 150 miles west of Mexico City.

The region is known as "a training ground for the Zetas and fertile ground for large marijuana plantations," said the U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Chavez worked installing air-conditioning units in Dallas and was thinking about getting married, said his mother, Maximina Chavez of Wilmer, southeast of Dallas.

"I lost my most beloved son," she said.

Munoz was a U.S. Army reservist, according to the U.S. Embassy and his mother, Hermelinda Perez de Munoz, also of Wilmer.

"My son had nothing to do with drug trafficking," Perez de Munoz said by phone from Morelia, the capital of Michoacan. "He was a good, responsible young man who was here on vacation.

"That's all. Everything else you hear about drug trafficking is a lie," she said.

The bodies of Perez de Munoz's brothers, Mariano Perez and Delfino Perez, were recovered alongside those of the two Dallas men, said Ignacio Roque, spokesman for the Michoacan state attorney general's office.

Those two men also had spent time in Dallas, Perez de Munoz said.

Some of the men were hit with as many as 60 bullets from high-powered rifles.

Shells from a type of ammunition thought to have been used exclusively by the Mexican army were discovered at the crime scene, prompting state authorities to ask the federal attorney general's office to help investigate.

The nation's equivalent of the FBI, the Agencia Federal de Investigacion, also has joined the case.

Delfino Perez was a relative of Federico Benitez Gamino, alias "El Chino," an alleged drug trafficker in the area who disappeared in March 2004.

Benitez allegedly was a top operator for drug lord Osiel Cardenas, the leader of the Gulf cartel who is in prison.

Last year, Mexican authorities disrupted a plan by the Zetas to free Cardenas from jail. The training for the prison outbreak took place in Michoacan, state and federal authorities said.

Just days earlier, Mexican law enforcement officials played down the threat posed by the Zetas, saying the group was on the run.

On Sunday, The Dallas Morning News reported that the Zetas, who are blamed for dozens of killings along the U.S.-Mexico border, carried out at least three drug-related slayings in Dallas and also were in Houston and San Antonio.

The Zetas defected to the Gulf cartel in the late 1990s, U.S. and Mexican officials say.

The two cousins, Munoz and Chavez, had gone to Michoacan to deliver a pickup truck, family members said.

"These poor boys were innocent bystanders looking forward to enjoying their vacation," said an aunt, who spoke by phone on condition of anonymity. "What they were doing with these other guys remains a mystery."

The four men disappeared more than a week ago, shortly after Munoz and Chavez had arrived from Dallas in the pickup truck, the aunt said.

Friday evening, the bodies were discovered at the side of a road at La Loma, a farming village near Tacambaro, west of Morelia.

Authorities are performing autopsies before returning the bodies to relatives, who plan to transport them to Dallas for burial.

"I can't even speak right now," said Perez de Munoz. "I've lost my son, and I feel numbed by his death and these drug-trafficking rumors."

Munoz had been in the Army Reserve since graduating from the Dallas Can! Academy in Oak Cliff.

He was waiting to hear from a potential employer in Irving, Texas, where he had applied for a job as a forklift operator, said his father, Simon Munoz of Wilmer.

He said he could not understand why authorities would link his son to drug trafficking.

"He didn't have any enemies. What (Mexican authorities) are saying about him is a lie."

---

Two Dallas men killed in Mexico; slayings possibly drug-related

BY ALFREDO CORCHADO AND ANGELA KOCHERGA

The Dallas Morning News


MEXICO CITY - (KRT) - Federal and state authorities are working to determine if rogue Mexican commandos working for the Gulf drug cartel had a role in the deaths of two Dallas men whose bodies were found over the weekend in the state of Michoacan.

The investigation follows a Dallas Morning News report that the commandos, former Mexican army members known as the Zetas, have carried out at least three drug-related slayings in Dallas.

Mexican authorities said the Michoacan killings could be tied to drug trafficking. A U.S. official said the American government was trying to determine whether the Zetas were involved.

The bodies of Alejandro Munoz Perez, 19, and his cousin, Omar Chaves Diaz, 20, both of Dallas, were among four bullet-ridden corpses found Friday near Tacambaro, Michoacan, about 150 miles west of Mexico City.

The region is known as "a training ground for the Zetas and fertile ground for large marijuana plantations," said the U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Chavez worked installing air-conditioning units in Dallas and was thinking about getting married, said his mother, Maximina Chavez of Wilmer, southeast of Dallas.

"I lost my most beloved son," she said.

Munoz was a U.S. Army reservist, according to the U.S. Embassy and his mother, Hermelinda Perez de Munoz, also of Wilmer.

"My son had nothing to do with drug trafficking," Perez de Munoz said by phone from Morelia, the capital of Michoacan. "He was a good, responsible young man who was here on vacation.

"That's all. Everything else you hear about drug trafficking is a lie," she said.

The bodies of Perez de Munoz's brothers, Mariano Perez and Delfino Perez, were recovered alongside those of the two Dallas men, said Ignacio Roque, spokesman for the Michoacan state attorney general's office.

Those two men also had spent time in Dallas, Perez de Munoz said.

Some of the men were hit with as many as 60 bullets from high-powered rifles.

Shells from a type of ammunition thought to have been used exclusively by the Mexican army were discovered at the crime scene, prompting state authorities to ask the federal attorney general's office to help investigate.

The nation's equivalent of the FBI, the Agencia Federal de Investigacion, also has joined the case.

Delfino Perez was a relative of Federico Benitez Gamino, alias "El Chino," an alleged drug trafficker in the area who disappeared in March 2004.

Benitez allegedly was a top operator for drug lord Osiel Cardenas, the leader of the Gulf cartel who is in prison.

Last year, Mexican authorities disrupted a plan by the Zetas to free Cardenas from jail. The training for the prison outbreak took place in Michoacan, state and federal authorities said.

Just days earlier, Mexican law enforcement officials played down the threat posed by the Zetas, saying the group was on the run.

On Sunday, The Dallas Morning News reported that the Zetas, who are blamed for dozens of killings along the U.S.-Mexico border, carried out at least three drug-related slayings in Dallas and also were in Houston and San Antonio.

The Zetas defected to the Gulf cartel in the late 1990s, U.S. and Mexican officials say.

The two cousins, Munoz and Chavez, had gone to Michoacan to deliver a pickup truck, family members said.

"These poor boys were innocent bystanders looking forward to enjoying their vacation," said an aunt, who spoke by phone on condition of anonymity. "What they were doing with these other guys remains a mystery."

The four men disappeared more than a week ago, shortly after Munoz and Chavez had arrived from Dallas in the pickup truck, the aunt said.

Friday evening, the bodies were discovered at the side of a road at La Loma, a farming village near Tacambaro, west of Morelia.

Authorities are performing autopsies before returning the bodies to relatives, who plan to transport them to Dallas for burial.

"I can't even speak right now," said Perez de Munoz. "I've lost my son, and I feel numbed by his death and these drug-trafficking rumors."

Munoz had been in the Army Reserve since graduating from the Dallas Can! Academy in Oak Cliff.

He was waiting to hear from a potential employer in Irving, Texas, where he had applied for a job as a forklift operator, said his father, Simon Munoz of Wilmer.

He said he could not understand why authorities would link his son to drug trafficking.

"He didn't have any enemies. What (Mexican authorities) are saying about him is a lie."

---