SUNDOG - 11-2-2006 at 01:25 PM
Victim could be connected to informant
By Anna Cearley
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
November 1, 2006
TIJUANA – Mexican authorities suspect a woman gunned down Monday was linked to a man who may have provided information leading to the capture of
accused drug kingpin Francisco Javier Arellano Félix.
María Luisa Migueles Prieto died after armed men chased her into the beauty salon she owned in the Las Palmas section of the city, state investigators
said.
The attack took place about 4:30 p.m. Though Migueles was the target, two other women in the salon were injured. Laura Lourdes Reyes Guerrero, 34, was
shot three times, and Lizbeth Tapia, 35, was hit once, according to a city police report.
Migueles, who police said was between 45 and 50 years old, was shot at “numerous times,” according to the city police report. Jaime Niebla, the
regional commander for the state investigations unit, said his agents found 73 casings from assault rifles.
State investigators are following leads that Migueles' daughter was in a relationship with the alleged informant, who was identified last week in the
Tijuana weekly Expediente Publico.
Baja California authorities said in a press release that Migueles' daughter and the alleged informant had apparently moved to the United States to
avoid being targeted.
U.S. authorities haven't provided specific details as to how they were able to trace Arellano Félix to a boat off the coast of La Paz in August, where
he was detained with other men from the boat.
U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration officials said that they don't release informants' identities, and that they had no information on Monday's
attack.
Tijuana has had a steep upswing of killings in recent months. Forty-four people were killed in September, which is the highest monthly homicide figure
this year.
Authorities think the Arellano cartel, which has been hit by a string of arrests of top leaders in recent years, may be lashing back at rivals, as
well as going after snitches and traitors as they attempt to reassert themselves in the region.
Niebla said Mexican authorities have established a connection between Monday's attack and firearms used in the Sept. 14 ambush of law enforcement
officials eating at a diner. Some of those firearms have also been linked to the Oct. 24 killing of city police officer Alvaro Abraham Alvarez
Alvarrado, he said.
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Anna Cearley: (619) 542-4595; anna.cearley@uniontrib.com