05/31/11 – In the past week, four different suspects have been arrested in connection to the murders of poet Javier Sicilia’s son, Juan Francisco Sicilia, and six other young men who were found tortured and dead in a vehicle late March of this year. On May 24, Gumaro López Ruiz and Juan Carlos Librado Márquez Zagal, who are both members of the Cartel del Pacífico Sur (CPS) were arrested. They were found in possession of the car that was reportedly used to kidnap the seven men. According to Milenio, the suspects were under direct orders of cartel leader Víctor Manuel Valdés Arteaga, alias “El Gordo Varilla,” who was arrested on May 19. A full search of their vehicle revealed a .9 mm gun, gun cartridges, and three cell phones.
The following day on May 25, Jesús Radilla Hernández, alias “El Negro,” and José Luis Luquín, alias “El Jabón,” were both arrested in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz. BBC News reported that the two men had been hiding there since the killings occured in March. The Ministry of Public Security reported that authorities were led to the two men when a fingerprint belonging to Luquín was discovered on the car where the bodies of Sicilia and the other six men were found. Radilla is suspected of being the leader of the CPS in the Mexican state of Morelos and one of the main individuals involved in planning the kidnapping and executions.
To read more on the death of Juan Francisco Sicilia, click here.
Sources:
“Detienen a ‘El Gordo Varilla,’ jefe del presunto asesino de Sicilia.” La Policiaca. May 19, 2011.
“Mexico holds suspect over Juan Francisco Sicilia murder.” BBC News. May 25, 2011.
Morelos, Leticia Isidro. “Caen dos más relacionados al homicidio de Juan Francisco Sicilia .” Milenio. May 29, 2011.
