Video Suggests Mexican Federales Carried Out a Massacre of Unarmed Civilians Vocativ
go to original April 20, 2015

New video evidence which could implicate federal Mexican authorities in the January murder of 16 civilians has set Mexican social media alight. The video sheds new light on a shooting in the Mexican town of Apatzingan when protesting vigilante groups and Mexican federal forces clashed.16 were killed, and the accounts of the incident from witnesses and federal authorities varied considerably.

The hashtags #Apatzingan and #FueronLosFederales, (Translation: “The feds did it,”) lit up as people digested the content of the video, then shared it and the graphic images within on social media. The government alleges that the protesters were killed by friendly fire, but graphic video evidence released Sunday by journalist Laura Castellanos appears to show them being gunned down by the police. Witnesses had earlier claimed that those killed were unarmed, holding only sticks, and that the victims were left unattended to bleed to death in the street. The video evidence appears to back that up. (The video can be viewed below, but contains extremely graphic scenes of the aftermath of the incident)

Castellanos also claims that forensics specialists tampered with evidence to cover up the federal authorities’ actions stand up. Reports earlier said there were nine killed, but Castellanos’ report says 16 were murdered.

Read the rest at Vocativ

Photo: Reuters/Daniel Becerril

WARNING: VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED. YOU MAY FIND THE VIDEO DISTURBING (Revista Proceso)

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