Photo: Univisión

PULSE NEWS MEXICO

Mexican social medias went viral late Tuesday, June 6, and early Wednesday, June 7, with a video allegedly showing members of the nation’s military last month shooting five unarmed youths execution style in the northern border town of Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas.

The video, first released by Univisión, seemed to confirm what witnesses of the May 18 killings had claimed, that the five victims had been drugged from their black pick-up truck by soldiers after having crashed, and then forced to kneel as the officers shot them in the back of the head.

The video also showed the officers beating and kicking the unarmed youths before killing them.

The officers subsequently claimed that the five had been killed “during an armed confrontation with the military,” although the video clearly showed that the soldiers placed weapons around the corpses after the victims were dead.

In response to the video, both Amnesty International and Security without Borders issued statements Wednesday saying the the armed forces in Mexico are consistently acting with impunity.

Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office (FGR) and the Military Justice Prosecutor’s Office said Wednesday that they are investigating the alleged extrajudicial execution.

Asked about the video during his daily morning press conference on Wednesday, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) said that the killings did indeed appear to have been “an execution,” adding that, if confirmed, the responsible parties would be charged accordingly.

Since taking office in December 2018, López Obrador has created his own National Guard (GN) army and has turned more than 30 previously designated civilian activities over to the military, which is exempt from having to present accountings for its expenditures and programs.