A recent tragedy in the Mexican city of Nuevo Laredo, near the US border, has sparked outrage after reports indicated that members of the Mexican army opened fire on a pick-up truck, leaving five people dead. According to a state crime scene report obtained by The Associated Press, the soldiers were investigating gunshots from the area and opened fire on the truck after it failed to obey their orders to stop.
The incident provoked a scuffle between the soldiers and a large group of angry residents who believed the “victims were not armed and that there was no reason to arbitrarily kill them in this way”, according to a statement from the Human Rights Committee of Nuevo Laredo. Videos of the incident posted on social media show residents scuffling with soldiers on a street near the bullet-ridden pick-up truck, with civilians throwing punches, knocking one soldier to the ground and repeatedly kicking him. Gunfire can be heard towards the end of that incident, sending people running, but it is not clear who fired the shots.
The state crime scene report said a Texas-issued identification document was found on one of the dead bodies, although the United States Embassy could not immediately confirm whether any US citizens or residents were involved. Three of the bodies were found in the pick-up truck and two on the sidewalk nearby, with no mention made of any weapons found at the crime scene.
Nuevo Laredo is dominated by the violent Northeast drug cartel, an offshoot of the old Zetas cartel. Soldiers and marines have frequently come under fire from heavily armed cartel gunmen in Nuevo Laredo. The city has also been the scene of human rights violations by the military in the past. In 2021, Mexico’s navy said it turned 30 marines over to civilian prosecutors to face justice in the cases of people who disappeared during anticrime operations in Nuevo Laredo in 2014. Marines were also accused of rounding up supposed suspects, some of whom were not heard from again. Through 2018, dozens of people disappeared in Nuevo Laredo.
Under Mexican law, military tribunals can hear only cases that involve violations of the military code. Offences against civilians must be tried in civilian courts. The recent shooting in Nuevo Laredo has sparked outrage and calls for justice for those killed, with many questioning why the soldiers opened fire on an unarmed vehicle. It remains to be seen how this incident will be handled by authorities, and whether justice will be served for those affected.