MORELIA, Mexico – Twelve people tortured and killed in a cartel-plagued Mexican state were federal agents investigating organized crime, the government said Tuesday, marking one of the boldest attacks on federal forces since President Felipe Calderon launched his war on drugs.
Mexico's national security spokesman, Monte Alejandro Rubido, said the 11 men and one woman were off duty when they were ambushed and abducted by members of the La Familia drug cartel in Calderon's home state of Michoacan, which has been a center of his crackdown on drug traffickers.
Their bodies were found piled up along a mountain highway late Monday near the town of La Huacana. Michoacan state prosecutor J. Jesus Montejano initially said Tuesday that they were soldiers, but the army denied that.
Initial reports indicated the victims were likely killed over the weekend, when federal agents arrested Arnoldo Rueda Medina, a reputed chief of operations of the Michoacan-based La Familia cartel.
Police say his arrest Saturday set off a string of brazen attacks against federal forces that left six federal police officers and two soldiers dead. Gunmen threw grenades and fired on federal police stations and hotels where the agents were staying in three states.
"This marks an important change in the drug war in that they are attacking federal forces directly," said Jorge Chabat, a Mexican drug expert. "It also suggests the capture of this person has affected the operations of the cartel. It was a major blow and this is a reaction out of weakness not strength."
Calderon blasted what he called the "cowardly attacks" against police forces, and called the victims "true heroes who have sacrificed their lives for the peace of Mexican families all over the country."
"The criminals will not be able to intimidate the federal government," Calderon said. "In this battle we will not give up, we will not hesitate, because what is at stake is Mexico's peace and safe."
Federal forces arrested politicians in several Michoacan cities, including La Huacana, during an unprecedented sweep in May against local officials believed to be cooperating with drug traffickers. Seven mayors, one former mayor and the state prosecutor remain jailed on charges of protecting the La Familia cartel.
Rubido said Tuesday that an arrest warrant for alleged links to La Familia has been issued for Julio Godoy, half brother of Michoacan state Gov. Leonel Godoy and a federal lawmaker for the leftist Democratic Revolution Party, or PRD.
Julio Godoy, who has gone into hiding, is allegedly one of several people in charge of seeking government protection for the cartel, Rubido told a news conference in Mexico City. Julio Godoy was elected to Congress a week ago.
In a news release issued late Tuesday, the PRD said "we will not protect anybody in this political organization who has committed a crime," and asked that authorities come forward with any evidence against Julio Godoy and give him a fair trial.
"Today, more than ever, coordination between federal security forces and the state government of Michoacan is needed," the party statement said.
Leonel Godoy met in Mexico City with federal Attorney General Eduardo Medina-Mora, and told reporters afterward that "any person from Michoacan who is responsible for a crime has to face the consequences and if they are innocent they also should get a fair process."
A former Green Party congressional candidate from Michoacan state has also been accused of collaboration with La Familia, Rubido said.
Since Calderon took office in December 2006, he has sent more than 45,000 troops to drug hot spots. More than 11,000 people have been killed in drug violence.
Michoacan, located on Mexico's western coast, has been wracked by a wave of killings and arrests in recent weeks. Federal forces there are fighting La Familia, which is locked in a battle with the Zetas drug hit men, who form a branch of the Gulf cartel. On Tuesday, three bodies were found in the town of Nuevo Urecho.
Associated Press Writer E. Eduardo Castillo in Mexico City contributed to this report.
REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes
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