Pubdate: Wed, 23 Dec 2009 Source: Wall Street Journal (US) Page: A1, Front Page Copyright: 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Contact: http://www.wsj.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/487 Authors: David Luhnow and Jose de Cordoba Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/Mexico Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Felipe+Calderon HIT MEN KILL MEXICAN HERO'S FAMILY Attack on Family of Marine Who Died in Drug Raid Suggests Cartels Turning to Terror MEXICO CITY -- The brazen murder of several family members of a Mexican Naval hero threatens to start a dangerous new chapter in the country's drug war, in which cartels increasingly resort to terror tactics to try to force the government to back off. More than a dozen hit men carrying AK-47 and AR-15 assault rifles burst into a house in eastern Mexico around midnight Monday, gunning down several relatives of 3rd Petty Officer Melquisedet Angulo, the 30-year-old who was hailed as a national hero last week after being killed in a battle that left drug lord Arturo Beltran Leyva dead. Mr. Angulo's mother, aunt, a sister and a brother were killed in the attack Tuesday. Another sister was badly wounded and remained in critical condition, according to Rafael Gonzalez, the attorney general of Tabasco, the Gulf Coast state where the shootings took place. "We will not rest until we find those responsible for these killings," Mr. Gonzalez said. The shooting came just hours after the enlisted sailor was buried with a military honor guard for his role last week in a Navy Special Forces operation that killed Mr. Beltran Leyva, the highest-profile drug lord taken down in Mexico since Osiel Cardenas, former head of the Gulf Cartel, was arrested in 2003. The death of Mr. Beltran Leyva was a big boost to President Felipe Calderon, who has staked his presidency on an all-out assault against drug gangs by deploying 45,000 troops to several Mexican states. Mr. Calderon and the military had praised the sailor who died in the raid as an example to all Mexicans for his courage. The government's openness about his role was unusual. Normally the identities of Mexican soldiers and sailors who take part in antidrug operations are kept secret. In a speech after Tuesday's killings, Mr. Calderon said, "These attacks are cowardly and detestable. They are an example of the lack of scruples of organized crime, going after the lives of innocents." The conservative leader called on Mexicans not to lose heart in attacking drug gangs, who are seen by many Mexicans as more powerful than the government in parts of the country. About 15,000 people have died in drug-related violence since Mr. Calderon took power in December 2006. Ricardo Aleman, a leading columnist at the Mexico City newspaper El Universal, said the killing of Mr. Angulo's family signals that the government's campaign against drug trafficking is at a potentially dangerous inflection point. "This has gone beyond cops and robbers and has become terrorism. The way a criminal group reacted against family like that, that's terrorism," he said in an interview. Many Mexican analysts are worried that drug gangs will carry out ever-bolder acts of terror, including killing civilians or assassinating high-ranking officials. In the past few years, drug gangs have resorted to increasingly barbaric acts in an effort to intimidate rival traffickers or law enforcement, using tactics adopted from Islamic terrorists such as videotaped decapitations. But until now, family members of drug gangs or the soldiers and police who fight them were largely considered off limits. Tuesday's killings could mark a further change in the unwritten rules of the Mexican drugs war. Mexican gangs have started to target the families of rival drug lords, but never on this scale. "This is the first time that any thing like this has happened," said Raul Benitez, a professor at Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico and an expert on Mexico's armed forces. He added it was too soon to say whether the murders marked the beginning of a sustained campaign against the families of armed-forces personnel who take part in antinarcotics operations. Mexican police officials say hit men executed and wounded several family members of a navy sailor who died in last week's battle that killed drug lord Arturo Beltran Leyva. WSJ's Mexico City Bureau Chief David Luhnow joins the News Hub to discuss. Plus, Jerry Seib says 10 years into the new millennium, the nation is back where it started a decade ago. The signs aren't encouraging. Last year, assailants believed to be linked to another violent cartel threw grenades in a crowded plaza during Independence Day celebrations in the colonial city of Morelia, killing eight and injuring dozens. The action was seen at the time as a warning to the government to stop pressuring the gang. In the past, many of the police and soldiers killed in the drugs war haven't been widely mourned by ordinary Mexicans, who assume that law-enforcement personnel are usually killed by drug gangs not because they were doing their jobs, but because they were in the pay of one side or another. The murders of several members of the Angulo family are a rare case in Mexico where there is a clear-cut line between the good guys and the bad guys. Mothers hold an exalted place in Mexican society. Even so, over the last two years, Mexicans have grown inured to the explosion of violence suffered by the nation. Mexico's War on Drugs "I'm not surprised," said Patricia Mendoza, a beautician in Mexico City. "The drug dealers told the president not to put the armed forces in the middle of things. I thought they would go after the Navy." "By killing the families, the drug gangs are challenging the government," said Antonio Cruz, a messenger. "I think there will be more families murdered. Let's see who will win." The sailor's family joins a growing list of Mexican federal police, army soldiers and government bureaucrats killed for having done their jobs to fight drug cartels. "This shows the state's incapacity to protect the people on the front lines," said Mr. Aleman. He added that it had been a mistake for the Navy to release the enlisted man's name. Mr. Calderon's office had no immediate response to questions about how the killers obtained the information about the man's family or whether procedure on keeping names confidential would be changed. High-profile revenge tactics can have a far-reaching effect on morale and the ability of government agencies to attract new recruits to crime-fighting efforts, government officials say. Others worry that the armed forces, already facing growing allegations of human rights abuses, could be tempted to carry out extrajudicial killings in a similar cycle of revenge. "The Navy is going to be very angry, I hope they are not provoked into being paramilitaries," Mr. Benitez said. Mr. Angulo was honored on Monday at a ceremony at the Navy's Mexico City headquarters, attended by the Naval high command. Adm. Francisco Saynez pledged the Navy's support to the dead sailor's family. "There are no words that can ease the pain of his friends and family . However, be certain that you count on the unconditional support from the Secretary of the Navy in these difficult hours," Adm. Saynez said during the ceremony. Mr. Beltran Leyva's organization, originally from the western state of Sinaloa, is a major drug trafficking gang and was well known for its brutality. Tuesday's killings suggest that the organization is functioning on some level despite the death of its leader. Underlining that point, a handwritten message scrawled on cardboard by presumed drug traffickers turned up on Tuesday outside a nursery school in Cuernavaca, the town where Mr. Beltran Leyva was killed. It said Mr. Beltran Leyva's mafia was alive and well and urged support for Edgar Valdez Villareal, a Texas-born member of the cartel who officials say was the late Mr. Beltran Leyva's top enforcer. Known as "La Barbie" for his sandy colored hair, Mr. Valdez is considered to be a top contender to succeed Mr. Beltran Leyva as head of the cartel. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake