Mexico arrests suspects in connection with the cartel assassination of Americans
Mexico arrests several suspects in connection with the cartel assassination of three Mormon mothers and six children
- Security Minister Alfonso Durazo revealed the arrest of several suspects connected to the massacre of three women and six children Monday
- Three Mormon mothers were driving in separate cars with their children November 4 when they shot by suspected cartel gunmen in Sonora, Mexico
- Mexican officials said last week that the family were victims of a turf war between Los Salazar, a gang allied to El Chapo's Sinaloa Cartel, and the La Línea
By REUTERS and ADRY TORRES FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 13:04 EST, 11 November 2019 | UPDATED: 19:40 EST, 11 November 2019
Mexico said it has made several arrests connected to last week's massacre of a family of nine Mormons in the north of the country.
Three women and six children of dual U.S-Mexican nationality were shot dead and burned by suspected cartel gunmen on a remote dirt road in the state of Sonora.
'There have been arrests, but it's not up to us to give information,' Security Minister Alfonso Durazo told reporters in Mexico City on Monday.
A spokesman for the Mexican Attorney General told DailyMail.com on Monday night that the individuals that were arrested were being investigated for ties to organized crime and for unlawful possession and use of military weapons.
The official could not confirm how many individuals were detained.
The heinous attack on the LeBarón family sparked outrage and condemnation in the United States.
Mexico announced Monday it was arrested several individuals suspected of being involved in the massacre of three mothers and six young children on November 4
Durazo said that prosecutors in Sonora, as well as at the federal level, were in charge of the investigation.
However, a spokeswoman for the state government of Sonora said: 'We don't have that information.'
Hours before the attack on the LeBarón family, La Línea sent gunmen to defend the state border area after attacks in a nearby town that were carried out by Salazar.
La Línea's gunmen had entered Sinaloa cartel territory and set up an armed outpost on a hilltop and an ambush further up the road.
Top Mexican general, Homero Mendoza, said it resulted in a shootout at about 3:15am on Monday that ended with the death of a man.
The Juarez cartel apparently wanted to send a message that it controlled the road into Chihuahua, the general said.
It was this invasion force that the American mothers and their three vehicles drove into later on Monday morning.
When the killers struck, the three LeBarón families were spread out along a 12-mile stretch of road near the border of the two states at about 9:40am.
As bullets began to pummel the first car, a white Chevrolet Suburban, Christina Marie Langford Johnson stepped out waving her arms to show that they were not gang members.
Christina was shot dead but her seven-month-old baby, Faith, survived the attack after her mother appeared to have placed her car seat on the floor before she got out.
Rhonita María and her children were among the nine killed when drug cartel gunmen opened fire on them on November 4 in Sonora, Mexico. On Monday, Mexican officials revealed several suspects had been arrested but they did not say how many.
Gunfire also ripped into a second white Suburban that was carrying Dawna Langford and nine children, about one mile back. Dawna and two of her sons, Trevor, 11, and Rogan, 3, were killed.
Footage of the vehicle showed more than a dozen bullet holes in the roof and sides of the vehicle.
Inside, blood was smeared across seats and children's toys.
A third car, 11 miles behind, was shot up and burst into flames, killing Rhonita María Miller and her four children - her six-month-old twins, Titus and Tiana, her 10-year-old daughter Krystal and 12-year-old son Howard.
Eight children who were also at the scene survived, but five suffered injuries.
Mexico's government has said it believes the victims were caught in the midst of a territorial dispute between an arm of the powerful Sinaloa Cartel and the rival Juarez Cartel.
Adrián LeBarón says Mexican criminal organizations used the name of his family to send out a message when they murdered his daughter, Miller, and her four children
On Sunday, Mexico's government said it had asked the FBI to participate in the investigation into the killings.
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