Mexican authorities confirm beheading of lead investigator in Hartley disappearance
Spokesman: Slaying not related to Hartley probe
The Texas Department of Public Safety has been warning the public since May to stay on the U.S. side of Falcon Reservoir after reports of gunmen in boats robbing fishermen on the Mexican side of the binational waterway.
The public is advised to stay as far away as possible from any of Argos-type fishing boats of the sort favored by Mexican fishermen. These boats have a large prow, a small outboard motor without a cowling and no identification numbers on the hull.
The robbers are believed to be members of a drug trafficking organization or members of an enforcer group linked to a drug trafficking organization who are heavily armed and using AK-47s or AR-15 rifles to threaten their victims. They appear to be using local Mexican fishermen to operate the boats to get close to U.S. fishermen.
Anyone who is involved in an incident on Falcon Reservoir should dial 9-1-1 and report it to the Zapata County Sheriff’s Office.
To maximize safety, boaters should stay on the U.S. side of the reservoir and file a float plan. This means leaving a detailed note with family members telling the time and place of departure (boat ramp), destination and direction of travel, boater cell phone number if available, names of passengers and what they're wearing, and a description of the boater's vehicle and vessel, including boat and vehicle license numbers.
A travel warning from the U.S. Department of State also remains in effect for Mexico.
"Since 2006, large firefights have taken place in towns and cities in many parts of Mexico, often in broad daylight on streets and other public venues," according to that Sept. 10 advistory. "Such firefights have occurred mostly in northern Mexico, including Ciudad Juarez, Tijuana, Chihuahua City, Nogales, Nuevo Laredo, Piedras Negras, Reynosa, Matamoros and Monterrey."
The warning also states:
Resort areas and tourist destinations in Mexico do not see the levels of drug-related violence and crime reported in the border region and in areas along major drug trafficking routes. Nevertheless, crime and violence are serious problems. While most victims of violence are Mexican citizens associated with criminal activity, the security situation poses serious risks for U.S. citizens as well.
It is imperative that U.S. citizens understand the risks involved in travel to Mexico, how best to avoid dangerous situations, and who to contact if one becomes a victim of crime or violence. Common-sense precautions such as visiting only legitimate business and tourist areas during daylight hours, and avoiding areas where criminal activity might occur, can help ensure that travel to Mexico is safe and enjoyable. U.S. citizen victims of crime in Mexico are urged to contact the consular section of the nearest U.S. Consulate or Embassy for advice and assistance.
SOURCES: Texas Department of Public Safety; U.S. Department of State
ZAPATA — The severed head of a Mexican investigator involved in the Falcon Reservoir case was delivered to the Mexican army today, according to Mexican authorities.
Ruben Dario Rios Lopez, spokesman for the Tamaulipas Attorney General's Office, confirmed that Rolando Armando Flores Villegas, the state police commandant heading the Mexican investigation into the disappearance of David Michael Hartley, was killed today.
A representive of Mexico's 8th Military Zone — which spans the entire state of Tamaulipas and is based in Reynosa — said Flores' head was delivered to an army post in Miguel Aleman.
Hartley, 30, of McAllen, is widely believed dead after what his wife, Tiffany Young-Hartley, has described as an attack by cartel "pirates" on the Mexican side of the binational waterway.
She has said three boats of gunmen opened fire on them as the couple were riding personal watercraft, fatally shooting her husband in the head.
In a media blitz that has brought widespread attention to the case, Young-Hartley, 29, has appeared on all the major TV networks and cable news outlets over the past week, presenting a harrowing account of being forced to flee for her life to the U.S. shore of the lake after she tried in vain to get her husband’s limp body onto her SeaDoo watercraft.
Skepticism about that account has also been widespread, however, after Mexican officials last week questioned her version of events, saying they had found no evidence of the purported attack or his remains.
Rios did not have any details about Flores' death but assured that it had nothing to do with the Hartley probe. The spokesman offered no basis for that assurance, however, and said Mexican officials need Young-Hartley to meet with them and file a complaint in the city of Miguel Aleman.
On Monday, Tamaulipas state officials continued to deny U.S. and Mexican news reports over the weekend that a Tamaulipas official — one of Flores' subordinates — had identified two brothers as the men responsible for Hartley’s death.
The Associated Press reported that Tamaulipas State Police unit chief Juan Carlos Ballesteros said investigators believe brothers Juan Pedro and Jose Manuel Saldivar Farias may have killed Hartley as he snapped photos of a partiall submerged church from his personal watercraft at Old Guerrero.
The officer told AP that the brothers were already being sought for allegedly belonging to a gang of pirates operating on Falcon Lake. Ballesteros also said they allegedly terrorized a Mexican town at the south end of the lake, but he gave no details of the investigation.
Violence has gripped cities across northeast Mexico since February, when erstwhile allies the Gulf Cartel and the Zetas dissolved their ties and began fighting over smuggling routes into the United States.
Mexico government officials estimate violence related to organized crime has killed more than 28,000 people in that country since late 2006, when President Felipe Calderón launched a crackdown against the nation’s entrenched drug cartels.
"The rule of law needs to be reestablished on the border," said state Rep. Aaron Peña, D-Edinburg, who first reported the beheading via Twitter. "And it’s going to take both countries to do that. My heart goes out to all the people who have been affected by the drug violence. And it’s going to be a real fight by all of us to reclaim our home."
____
Monitor staff writer Lindsay Machak contributed to this report.
____
More information will be posted here at www.themonitor.com as soon as it is available.
