International
Joel Martinez / The Monitor / AP Photo
A regional security chief in the Mexican border state of Tamaulipas was shot to death along with his wife, authorities said Monday.
It was the latest round of violence affecting Tamaulipas, one of Mexico’s most dangerous states, and about 2,000 residents gathered in the state capital of Ciudad Victoria to protest the killings and disappearances.
The dead man, Ricardo Nino Villarreal, was security chief for the area around Nuevo Laredo, across the border from Laredo, Texas. The area is considered the turf of the vicious Zetas drug cartel, which has been battling the Gulf cartel.
Nino Villarreal was a former general and one of several ex-military officers designated as regional commanders as part of a plan announced in May to stem a wave of violence in Tamaulipas.
The killings took place as Mexico continues to search for 43 students who disappeared in Guerrero state after local police allegedly handed them over to the Guerreros Unidos (United Warriors), a violent gang. The case has outraged Mexicans even in a country where abuse of authority is common in remote areas.
The state government said the killing took place Saturday on a roadway in neighboring Nuevo Leon state. However, it wasn't until Sunday that passers-by noticed the couple's car and alerted police.
The car was a compact model and the couple was travelling on a non-toll road that links Nuevo Laredo to the industrial hub of Monterrey. The state government said armed assailants ambushed them.
Despite the government plan for beefed-up security, Tamaulipas has seen continued violence.
On Monday, some 2,000 residents clad in white and lead by white-robed priests marched through Ciudad Victoria. The protesters estimated that at least 750 people have been killed or disappeared in the area over the last four years.
Last week, investigators found the bodies of three U.S. citizens and another man who had been shot to death near the city of Matamoros, Tamaulipas.
The Americans had been reported missing on a visit to Mexico two weeks before. The fourth body is believed to be the Mexican boyfriend of one of the slain Americans.
Al Jazeera and the Associated Press
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