Page 12 - AT

A12 WORLD NEWS
Wednesday 6 november 2019

Drug cartel gunmen kill 9 US citizens in an ambush in Mexico

By MARK STEVENSON yards (meters) away from old twins. They were "burnt
Associated Press her Suburban van, shot to a crisp," the relative said.
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Drug to death. Her 7-month- The gunmen had riddled
cartel gunmen ambushed old daughter, Faith Marie the vehicle with dozens of
three SUVs along a dirt Johnson, was discovered bullets and apparently hit
road, slaughtering six chil- uninjured in her car seat. the gas tank, causing it to
dren and three women Kendra Miller, a relative, explode.
— all U.S. citizens living in wrote that the baby's car "When we were there, the
northern Mexico — in a seat "seemed to be put cartels from Sonora, there
grisly attack that left one on the floor by her mother were probably 50 or 60 of
vehicle a burned-out, bul- to try and protect her. ... them, armed to the teeth,
let-riddled hulk, authorities She gave her life to try and about a mile on this side,"
said Tuesday. save the rest." said the relative.
The dead included A short distance away, Trump tweeted that a "won-
8-month-old twins. Eight Dawna Ray Langford, 43, derful family" got "caught
youngsters were found lay dead in the front seat of between two vicious drug
alive after escaping from another Suburban, along cartels."
the vehicles and hiding with the bullet-riddled bod- He said the U.S. "stands
in the brush, but at least ies of her sons, ages 11 and ready, willing & able to get
five had gunshot wounds 2. involved and do the job
or other injuries and were Of the children who es- quickly and effectively,"
taken to Phoenix for treat- This combination of frames from Nov. 4, 2019, video by Kenny caped, one had been shot adding, "The great new
Miller and posted on the Twitter account of Alex LeBaron shows
ment. two views of a burned-out vehicle that was being used by some in the face, another in the President of Mexico has
The attackers apparently members of the LeBaron family as they were driving in a convoy foot. One girl suffered gun- made this a big issue, but
killed one woman, Christina near the Sonora-Chihuahua border in Mexico. shot wounds to her back the cartels have become
Langford Johnson, after Associated Press and foot. so large and powerful that
she jumped out of her ve- lence has been raging for founded decades ago by Cowering in the brush, one you sometimes need an
hicle and waved her hands years in Mexico, the attack an offshoot of The Church boy hid the other children army to defeat an army!"
to show she wasn't a threat, underscored the way car- of Jesus Christ of Latter-day and then walked back to But Mexico's president said:
according to family mem- tel gunmen have become Saints. La Mora to get help. An- "The worst thing you can
bers and prosecutors. increasingly unconcerned A number of such Ameri- other girl, who was initially have is war."
Mexican Security Secretary about killing children as can farming communities listed as missing, walked off It was the second failure
Alfonso Durazo said the collateral damage. are clustered around the in another direction, de- in recent weeks for López
gunmen may have mistak- Around the ambush scene, Chihuahua-Sonora state spite her gunshot wounds, Obrador's "hugs not bullets"
en the group's large SUVs which stretched for miles, border. Many members to get help. anti-crime strategy. Two
for those of rival gangs. investigators found over were born in Mexico and A group of male relatives weeks ago, Mexican forc-
The bloodshed took place 200 shell casings, mostly have dual citizenship. While set out to try to rescue the es seized a son of impris-
Monday in a remote, from assault rifles. some of the splinter groups youngsters but turned back oned drug lord Joaquin "El
mountainous area in north- In a tweet, President Don- were once polygamous, when they heard gunfire Chapo" Guzman but had
ern Mexico where the ald Trump offered to help many no longer are. ahead. to release him after cartel
Sinaloa cartel has been Mexico "wage WAR on All of the victims were ap- The relative who did not henchmen launched a furi-
engaged in a turf war. The the drug cartels and wipe parently related to the ex- want his name used said ous counterattack in Culia-
victims had set out to see them off the face of the tended LeBaron family in in an interview that when can, Sinaloa.
relatives in Mexico; one earth." But Mexican Presi- Chihuahua, whose mem- they finally made it to the Prosecutors on Tuesday
woman was headed to the dent Andrés Manuel López bers have run afoul of the scene where the ambush said a suspect was de-
airport in Phoenix to meet Obrador rejected that ap- drug traffickers over the started — about 11 miles tained near Agua Prieta,
her husband. proach, saying his prede- years. Benjamin LeBaron, (18 kilometers) from where but it was unclear whether
"There's apparently a war cessors waged war, "and it an anti-crime activist who the two other mothers the person had taken part
right now," a relative of the didn't work." founded neighborhood were killed — they found a in the ambush. The suspect
dead who did not want his The victims lived in Sonora patrols against cartels, was burned-out Chevy Tahoe. had assault rifles and a
name used for fear of repri- state, about 70 miles (110 killed in 2009. Inside, they saw the charred .50-caliber sniper rifle and
sals said wearily. "It's been kilometers) south of Doug- Prosecutors said Johnson, remains of Rhonita Miller, was holding two bound
going on for too long." las, Arizona, in the ham- the woman who waved 30, her 10-year-old daugh- kidnap victims, authorities
While a drug-related vio- let of La Mora, which was her arms, was found 15 ter, a son, 12, and 8-month- said.q