Crime and Violence · Justice in Mexico

Severed Heads outside of Mexican Defense Ministry

10/03/11 — On Monday, two severed heads were found outside the Mexican Defense Ministry in Mexico City with a note proclaiming the “new administration” of a new cartel. Mexico City has long been spared from the increasingly brutal violence that some drug cartels have characterized as their signature mark, but the protection the city once boasted has now been broken. One decapitated head was left on the pavement of a busy road that many Mexican generals frequent, the other left on the roof of a car. Both heads were discovered across from the army’s headquarters at Military Camp 1.The Washington Post reports that this incident is the first multiple decapitation in the capital since January 2008, when two heads were found near the city’s international airport.

Photo Credit: Reuters. One head was found in a busy street near the Ministry of Defense, the other on top of a parked car.

The office of Mexico City Attorney General Miguel Mancera stated that there was also a note by the heads, signed by the “Mano con Ojos” gang, a splinter organization from the Beltran Levya cartel. Mancera reported that the message left on Monday warned that the “Mano con Ojos” is a “new administration” operating in Mexico City and the areas of Huixquilucan, Atizapán, Tultitlán, Cuautitlán and Izcalli.

The Associated Press reported that the “Mano con Ojos” or “Hand with Eyes” drug gang formed after the 2010 arrest of Edgar Valdez, aka “La Barbie,” a top assassin for the Beltran Leyva cartel. The alleged leader of the “Mano Con Ojos”, Oscar Osvaldo García Montoya, 36, a former Mexican marine, was arrested in August and confessed to prosecutors that he was involved in over 600 killings. The current leadership of the gang in unknown and a forensic investigation is underway.

Sources:

“Severed heads found in Mexico City accompanied by message claiming to be from drug cartel.” Washington Post. October 3, 2011.

“Severed heads found near Mexican defense ministry.” Reuters. October 3, 2011.

“Encuentran dos cabezas en la Ciudad de México.” Univision. October 3, 2011.

“Hallan dos cabezas humanas en ciudad de México.” Informador. October 3, 2011.

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