Hook
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Baja slammed by LA Times
Body snatching in Ensenada
A corpse taken from a morgue may be that of a key cartel figure.
By Richard Marosi, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
November 17, 2007
SAN DIEGO -- Fifty heavily armed men cruised the streets of Ensenada on Wednesday night in an ominous show of force usually reserved for carrying out
kidnappings of businessmen or organized crime rivals.
But this convoy of 14 vehicles pulled up in front of the city morgue on Calle Guadalupe. The attackers stormed the building, snatched a corpse, loaded
it into a vehicle and sped off through the hills toward Tecate, where two police officers had set up a roadblock.
"They tried to stop them. The gunmen answered with bullets," said Edgar Lopez, a spokesman for the Baja California state police.
Even by the grim standards of violent crime in Baja California, the body-snatching incident set a bizarre precedent. Federal
authorities are investigating whether the body is that of drug cartel figure Francisco Merardo Leon Hinojosa, nicknamed El Abulon -- The Abalone.
The gunmen fired more than 120 rounds from AR-15s and AK-47s at the officers, killing them before escaping near the wine-growing region of the Valle
de Guadalupe. Hundreds of state and federal police officers followed in a fruitless manhunt.
In a crime-weary region where masked gunmen often leave a trail of beheaded or torture-marked bodies, people could only speculate on a
motive.
"Maybe it was sentimental reasons," said David A. Shirk, director of the Trans-Border Institute at the University of San Diego. The attackers, said
Shirk and others, may have wanted to ensure that the man's funeral was attended by his friends. "If he was buried by authorities, they would expose
themselves by coming out for any kind of public funeral," Shirk said.
The string of events occurred during the Baja 1000, which began Tuesday. The popular off-road race from Ensenada to Los Cabos draws hundreds of
competitors from the United States. Among the last-minute entries were two men who registered a black pick-up truck called Azteca Warrior, according
to media reports and Ensenada city spokesman Daniel Vargas.
One of the men, registered as Pablo Gonzalez, was tracking the race team's progress in a helicopter when it crashed into high-tension wires, killing
Gonzalez and another passenger and injuring two pilots.
Two people who said they were relatives of Gonzalez showed up at the morgue Wednesday and tried to claim the body, but were not allowed to take it,
authorities said. A few minutes later, the gunmen struck.
Authorities are investigating whether Gonzalez was really Leon Hinojosa, an alleged lieutenant of the Arellano Felix drug cartel.
Mexican authorities believe Leon Hinojosa took on a larger role after the cartel's suspected leader, Francisco Javier Arellano Felix, was arrested
last year by U.S. officials. He was sentenced this month to life in prison.
Dozens of federal and state police officers Friday guarded the morgue and the hospital where the two helicopter pilots were being treated. More than
1,000 mourners attended the funeral Mass for the two officers, one of whom had five children.
richard.marosi@latimes.com
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DENNIS
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Hook
Maybe it was sentimental reasons," said David A. Shirk, director of the Trans-Border Institute at the University of San Diego.
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HAHAHAHEHAHEHEHAHAHAHEHEEEHAHAHAHEHAHOHEHOHAHA.
Yeah...These guys are really sentimental. Big hearts. lots of love.
HAHAHAHAHEHOHOHEHOHAHAHA.
Man...This Shirk jerk cracks me up. Ohhhh boy...
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toneart
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Interesting! The L.A. Times and CNN are both giving attention to the perils of Baja. I hope this larger exposure could begin to put pressure on the
Mexican Dept. of Tourism.
It could backfire though. If the Golden Goose, which is our $, dries up because of adverse publicity, the general Baja population might allow
suppressed hostilities to surface. That would not be good for us who still enjoy Baja life. I guess, bottom line, the problem needs attention.  Money talks and will be the driver.
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DENNIS
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| Quote: | Originally posted by toneart
the general Baja population might allow suppressed hostilities to surface. |
Is that all we're good for Tony? Our money? How long has it been like that?
I don't know if you're right or wrong. What I do know is that the Mexican feeling toward us has come to the surface recently and it appears that, as
some here are not afraid to tell you, we are responsible for the sins of our fathers as well as the sins of our current government. The people
follow the lead of their government. We are becoming, as in the middle east the Great Saten. [sp?]
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toneart
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| Quote: | Originally posted by DENNIS
| Quote: | Originally posted by toneart
the general Baja population might allow suppressed hostilities to surface. |
Is that all we're good for Tony? Our money? How long has it been like that?
I don't know if you're right or wrong. What I do know is that the Mexican feeling toward us has come to the surface recently and it appears that, as
some here are not afraid to tell you, we are responsible for the sins of our fathers as well as the sins of our current government. The people
follow the lead of their government. We are becoming, as in the middle east the Great Saten. [sp?] |
No, I am not saying that is all we are good for. I do know that being friendly and respectful helps, but money or lack of it gets attention. I really
don't know if I am right or wrong about my perceptions, but I have noticed a chill or indifference from "friends" with whom I have had working
relationships, when I have had to say "no more".......
I do not understand all of what you are saying here. It is hard for me to make the connections that you are drawing.
I was trying to emphasize and support your pleas in another string about wanting to organize to draw attention to the problem of perils in Baja and
the paradox of possible consequences.
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DENNIS
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Sorry Tony. Let me reorganize.
Edit for explaination:
I think I took two of these little green ones and four of the red ones. I should have taken two of the purple ones and four of the pink ones.
OhhhhhJeezo...every time I do this I get terrible diarreha.
[Edited on 11-19-2007 by DENNIS]
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toneart
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OK, Den.
I'll be away from my computer for the evening. Will check back in late tonight or tomorrow.
It's beer o'clock.
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toneart
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| Quote: | Originally posted by DENNIS
Sorry Tony. Let me reorganize.
Edit for explaination:
I think I took two of these little green ones and four of the red ones. I should have taken two of the purple ones and four of the pink ones.
OhhhhhJeezo...every time I do this I get terrible diarreha.
[Edited on 11-19-2007 by DENNIS] |
Dennis,
You can take The Jefferson Airplane off the old turntable-in-your-head. Shake it out, dust it off and............. Carpe Diem! 
Yesterday, this string was running right next to the CNN string. Many of the points I was making here got expressed well and debated there since you
zoned out here. I guess we could retire this string and follow the bouncing ball on the CNN string.
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DENNIS
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Wow Man...Is this where I zoned out? Been trying to put it back together all day. Is it day? Very ungroovy being lost man. Oh well, thanks. Who
are you?
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bent-rim
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Maybe all of the scary bad news will keep the rookies away from Baja.
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The Gull
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Good to see that this posting lasted longer than the 3 minutes of de-FAME did on CNN.
�I won\'t insult your intelligence by suggesting that you really believe what you just said.� William F. Buckley, Jr.
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