04/09/12 – On Wednesday April 4, 2012, the Attorney General (Procuraduría General de la República, PGR) confirmed the death of Francisco Medina Mejía, also known as “El Comandante Quemado” or “The Burned Commander.” El Quemado was killed, along with three of his escorts, in a shootout with the Mexican Army along the Nuevo Laredo-Piedras Negras Highway close to the limits of Nuevo León and Tamaulipas. The National Secretary of Defense (Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional, Sedena) reported that eight firearms were seized, along with one rocket launcher and two vehicles in the confrontation.
According to the Attorney General (PGR), Medina Mejía earned the name El Quemado during a previous confrontation in Monterrey against military forces in which a grenade explosion caused him to sustain serious burns on his face and arms. According to La Jornada, El Quemado originally got involved in organized crime when he joined “Los Zetas” in the state of Tamaulipas. Within the organization, he was known for the extreme violence that he used to lead the plazas in which he operated.
Sources also recognize Medina Mejía as the primary orchestrator of the attack against the Casino Royale in Monterrey last August, in which an estimated 53 were killed. To read the full story on the attack, click here.
Sources:
“Abate Ejército a líder de ataque del caso Royale”. Reforma. April 5, 2012.
Otero, Silvia. “Sedena confirma muerte de ‘El Quemado'”. El Universal. April 4, 2012.
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