Saturday, July 11, 2009
Article in the Salt Lake Tribune
Too see images click on link:
Mexican officials vow crime crackdown as Colonia LeBaron slaying victims buried
Men who were killed lived in fundamentalist Mormon community.
Tribune Staff And Wire Services
Updated: 07/10/2009 02:15:02 PM MDT
A girl peeps inside the coffin of anti-crime activist Benjamin LeBaron, at his funeral in Chihuahua State, Mexico, Thursday. Lebaron was tortured and killed on July 7, 2009 by a group of kidnappers apparently for standing against violence and the payment of ransoms.
As family and friends gathered to mourn two men slain Tuesday by a gang with reported drug cartel ties, anti-crime activists called for a stronger response to the region's escalating violence and Mexican officials promised justice.
Several thousand people attended services for Benjamin LeBaron, 32, and Luis Widmar, 29, in Colonia LeBaron, a community founded by a relative who moved from Utah to Mexico in the 1920s to escape a crackdown on plural marriage. The crowd filled the town's tiny church and spilled into the surrounding yard and street, a cousin told The Salt Lake Tribune , as police and army officers stood guard.
Chihuahua Gov. José Reyes Baeza Terrazas attended the private family viewing before the funeral, Brent LeBaron Jr. said.
"He was very passionate and saying he was there for us, that he was going to push for everything to continue helping us, and that this might be the [catalyst] for getting better resources to attack the problem quickly," said Brent LeBaron, Benjamin's cousin.
Mexican media quoted Baeza on Thursday saying the United States FBI would assist in the murder investigation because of the men's dual citizenship. And Mexico's attorney general's office said it would take over the investigation, calling it a high-impact crime.
Both men were married and each had five children, all younger than 8.
"The families of the men are doing as well as can be expected," Brent LeBaron said. "They are heartbroken. The shock hasn't set in yet. But they are being shown a lot of love."
LeBaron was the first anti-crime activist to be murdered in retaliation for advocating a stronger government response to rampant kidnappings, extortion demands and drug crimes in the northwest region of Chihuahua.
The slayings are drawing a wide response.
Television and radio commentators demanded justice, and on Wednesday, Mexico's lower House of Congress observed a moment of
Relatives and friends attend Thursday funeral services for anti-crime activist Benjamin LeBaron and his neighbor Luis Widmar, who were killed Tuesday in Galeana, Mexico. (The Associated Press)silence to honor the two men.
Mexico United Against Crime, representing several anti-crime organizations, released a statement critical of the state government's response and saying, "We cannot allow organized crime to intimidate, threaten and kill those brave enough to denounce them," according to El Universal newspaper in Mexico.
LeBaron and Widmar were killed Tuesday after a group of armed men clad in military-style camouflage gear -- which a state legislator described as the "uniform" of drug gangs -- broke into LeBaron's home in Galeana, adjacent to Colonia LeBaron.
In an interview with El Universal TV, Miriam LeBaron said her husband told her to get on the floor with their baby as the intruders
A woman on Thursday holds a picture of anti-crime activist Benjamin LeBaron, left, and his neighbor Luis Widmar, who were killed Tuesday, during funeral services in Galeana, Mexico. (The Associated Press)banged on the front door. In an interview with another television station, she said she called Luis Widmar, her brother, for help as the gang entered the home.
Miriam LeBaron said she woke her oldest son and when he refused to take cover, they prayed together.
The intruders beat both LeBaron and Widmar and then forced them into a vehicle.
The men were shot in the head and dumped on a highway about 4 miles away.
A note left with the men's bodies said the killings were in retribution for the June arrests of 25 men from the nearby town of Nicolás Bravo who are allegedly connected with the Sinaloa drug cartel. The note was signed "El General," an apparent reference to Sinaloa cartel lieutenant José
Relatives and friends attend Thursday funeral services for anti-crime activist Benjamin LeBaron and his neighbor Luis Widmar, who were killed Tuesday in Galeana, Mexico. (The Associated Press)Garcia.
Friends and family issued a statement after the killings that said no one in the community had anything to do with those arrests.
Coincidentally, U.S. officials reported Thursday during a congressional committee hearing that efforts to assist Mexico in disrupting drug cartels are showing signs of progress -- even though June was Mexico's deadliest month in terms of drug-related violence.
More than 800 people were killed last month in violence linked to drug cartels, said Rep. Edolphus Towns, D-New York and chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Since 2007, an estimated 11,000 deaths are attributed to drug-trade violence.
LeBaron emerged as the spokesman for a communitywide
Relatives and friends attend Thursday funeral services for anti-crime activist Benjamin LeBaron and his neighbor Luis Widmar, who were killed Tuesday in Galeana, Mexico. (The Associated Press)effort that urged government intervention after his younger brother, Eric, was kidnapped on May 2 and held for a $1 million ransom. The community refused the demand and Eric was released a week later unharmed.
The incident galvanized LeBaron and others in the towns of Galeana and Colonia LeBaron. They formed a committee to report any suspicious activities in town to police, quickly becoming an example for other Chihuahua communities plagued by drug-related kidnappings and extortion.
In a recent interview with El Universal , LeBaron called the response to their efforts from supporters and state legislators "unforgettable."
Just last week, LeBaron led a convoy of residents to a graduation ceremony for new anti-drug cadets and, along with Baeza, addressed the new recruits.
Community members said after the killings it was a mistake to allow LeBaron to take on such a prominent role in the anti-crime effort. One resident said the community will now rely on written statements in the name of SOS Chihuahua, a coalition formed several weeks ago.
The story is based on reporting by Brooke Adams, María Villaseñor, The Associated Press, Bloomberg News and El Universal in Mexico.
The story of Colonia LeBaron
Colonia LeBaron is one of several Mexican colonies, some established more than 100 years ago, founded by Mormon polygamists to escape prosecution for plural marriages.
The community in northern Mexico was founded in 1944 by Alma Dayer LeBaron, the great-grandfather of murder victim Benjamin LeBaron, who moved to Mexico in the 1920s.
Polygamy is not widespread in today's Colonia LeBaron, residents say. Many are dual citizens of the United States and Mexico.
Deceased Utah polygamist Ervil LeBaron, a convicted murderer, is the great-uncle of Benjamin LeBaron. But the Colonia LeBaron community in Mexico is not affiliated with Ervil LeBaron's violent sect.
Ervil LeBaron once lived in Colonia LeBaron, but in the 1970s had a falling out with a brother -- Benjamin's grandfather -- over leadership of a church based there, the Church of the Firstborn of the Fullness of Times.
Ervil LeBaron moved to Utah, where he led the Church of the Lamb of God. He ordered followers, among them a plural wife, to carry out numerous killings -- including the 1977 murder of 71-year-old Rulon C. Allred, leader of the Salt Lake City-based Apostolic United Brethren, another polygamous sect. LeBaron considered Allred a rival. Ervil LeBaron died in Utah State Prison on Aug. 16, 1981.
Brooke Adams
Mexican officials vow crime crackdown as Colonia LeBaron slaying victims buried
Men who were killed lived in fundamentalist Mormon community.
Tribune Staff And Wire Services
Updated: 07/10/2009 02:15:02 PM MDT
A girl peeps inside the coffin of anti-crime activist Benjamin LeBaron, at his funeral in Chihuahua State, Mexico, Thursday. Lebaron was tortured and killed on July 7, 2009 by a group of kidnappers apparently for standing against violence and the payment of ransoms.
As family and friends gathered to mourn two men slain Tuesday by a gang with reported drug cartel ties, anti-crime activists called for a stronger response to the region's escalating violence and Mexican officials promised justice.
Several thousand people attended services for Benjamin LeBaron, 32, and Luis Widmar, 29, in Colonia LeBaron, a community founded by a relative who moved from Utah to Mexico in the 1920s to escape a crackdown on plural marriage. The crowd filled the town's tiny church and spilled into the surrounding yard and street, a cousin told The Salt Lake Tribune , as police and army officers stood guard.
Chihuahua Gov. José Reyes Baeza Terrazas attended the private family viewing before the funeral, Brent LeBaron Jr. said.
"He was very passionate and saying he was there for us, that he was going to push for everything to continue helping us, and that this might be the [catalyst] for getting better resources to attack the problem quickly," said Brent LeBaron, Benjamin's cousin.
Mexican media quoted Baeza on Thursday saying the United States FBI would assist in the murder investigation because of the men's dual citizenship. And Mexico's attorney general's office said it would take over the investigation, calling it a high-impact crime.
Both men were married and each had five children, all younger than 8.
"The families of the men are doing as well as can be expected," Brent LeBaron said. "They are heartbroken. The shock hasn't set in yet. But they are being shown a lot of love."
LeBaron was the first anti-crime activist to be murdered in retaliation for advocating a stronger government response to rampant kidnappings, extortion demands and drug crimes in the northwest region of Chihuahua.
The slayings are drawing a wide response.
Television and radio commentators demanded justice, and on Wednesday, Mexico's lower House of Congress observed a moment of
Relatives and friends attend Thursday funeral services for anti-crime activist Benjamin LeBaron and his neighbor Luis Widmar, who were killed Tuesday in Galeana, Mexico. (The Associated Press)silence to honor the two men.
Mexico United Against Crime, representing several anti-crime organizations, released a statement critical of the state government's response and saying, "We cannot allow organized crime to intimidate, threaten and kill those brave enough to denounce them," according to El Universal newspaper in Mexico.
LeBaron and Widmar were killed Tuesday after a group of armed men clad in military-style camouflage gear -- which a state legislator described as the "uniform" of drug gangs -- broke into LeBaron's home in Galeana, adjacent to Colonia LeBaron.
In an interview with El Universal TV, Miriam LeBaron said her husband told her to get on the floor with their baby as the intruders
A woman on Thursday holds a picture of anti-crime activist Benjamin LeBaron, left, and his neighbor Luis Widmar, who were killed Tuesday, during funeral services in Galeana, Mexico. (The Associated Press)banged on the front door. In an interview with another television station, she said she called Luis Widmar, her brother, for help as the gang entered the home.
Miriam LeBaron said she woke her oldest son and when he refused to take cover, they prayed together.
The intruders beat both LeBaron and Widmar and then forced them into a vehicle.
The men were shot in the head and dumped on a highway about 4 miles away.
A note left with the men's bodies said the killings were in retribution for the June arrests of 25 men from the nearby town of Nicolás Bravo who are allegedly connected with the Sinaloa drug cartel. The note was signed "El General," an apparent reference to Sinaloa cartel lieutenant José
Relatives and friends attend Thursday funeral services for anti-crime activist Benjamin LeBaron and his neighbor Luis Widmar, who were killed Tuesday in Galeana, Mexico. (The Associated Press)Garcia.
Friends and family issued a statement after the killings that said no one in the community had anything to do with those arrests.
Coincidentally, U.S. officials reported Thursday during a congressional committee hearing that efforts to assist Mexico in disrupting drug cartels are showing signs of progress -- even though June was Mexico's deadliest month in terms of drug-related violence.
More than 800 people were killed last month in violence linked to drug cartels, said Rep. Edolphus Towns, D-New York and chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Since 2007, an estimated 11,000 deaths are attributed to drug-trade violence.
LeBaron emerged as the spokesman for a communitywide
Relatives and friends attend Thursday funeral services for anti-crime activist Benjamin LeBaron and his neighbor Luis Widmar, who were killed Tuesday in Galeana, Mexico. (The Associated Press)effort that urged government intervention after his younger brother, Eric, was kidnapped on May 2 and held for a $1 million ransom. The community refused the demand and Eric was released a week later unharmed.
The incident galvanized LeBaron and others in the towns of Galeana and Colonia LeBaron. They formed a committee to report any suspicious activities in town to police, quickly becoming an example for other Chihuahua communities plagued by drug-related kidnappings and extortion.
In a recent interview with El Universal , LeBaron called the response to their efforts from supporters and state legislators "unforgettable."
Just last week, LeBaron led a convoy of residents to a graduation ceremony for new anti-drug cadets and, along with Baeza, addressed the new recruits.
Community members said after the killings it was a mistake to allow LeBaron to take on such a prominent role in the anti-crime effort. One resident said the community will now rely on written statements in the name of SOS Chihuahua, a coalition formed several weeks ago.
The story is based on reporting by Brooke Adams, María Villaseñor, The Associated Press, Bloomberg News and El Universal in Mexico.
The story of Colonia LeBaron
Colonia LeBaron is one of several Mexican colonies, some established more than 100 years ago, founded by Mormon polygamists to escape prosecution for plural marriages.
The community in northern Mexico was founded in 1944 by Alma Dayer LeBaron, the great-grandfather of murder victim Benjamin LeBaron, who moved to Mexico in the 1920s.
Polygamy is not widespread in today's Colonia LeBaron, residents say. Many are dual citizens of the United States and Mexico.
Deceased Utah polygamist Ervil LeBaron, a convicted murderer, is the great-uncle of Benjamin LeBaron. But the Colonia LeBaron community in Mexico is not affiliated with Ervil LeBaron's violent sect.
Ervil LeBaron once lived in Colonia LeBaron, but in the 1970s had a falling out with a brother -- Benjamin's grandfather -- over leadership of a church based there, the Church of the Firstborn of the Fullness of Times.
Ervil LeBaron moved to Utah, where he led the Church of the Lamb of God. He ordered followers, among them a plural wife, to carry out numerous killings -- including the 1977 murder of 71-year-old Rulon C. Allred, leader of the Salt Lake City-based Apostolic United Brethren, another polygamous sect. LeBaron considered Allred a rival. Ervil LeBaron died in Utah State Prison on Aug. 16, 1981.
Brooke Adams
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Help Stop This Maddness Contact Your State And Federal Govornment
2 Americans from Mormon sect slain in Mexico
Americans from Mormon sect slain in Mexico
By DUDLEY ALTHAUS Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle
July 7, 2009, 10:39PM
MEXICO CITY — A top member of a breakaway Mormon sect was dragged from his home by marauders and killed early Tuesday in a village founded and named for the American families that settled the remote community in the northern Mexican desert.
Benjamin LeBaron, 31, and Luis Widmar, 29, a brother-in-law who tried to help him, were grabbed by at least 15 commandos shortly after midnight in Colonia LeBaron, which is about 200 miles southeast of El Paso, witnesses said.
The bodies of the men, both naturalized U.S. citizens with five children each, were found nearby shortly afterward, each shot several times in the head, Brent LeBaron, a cousin of Benjamin who lives in the village, said by telephone.
Benjamin LeBaron had led successful protests earlier this year to free his kidnapped brother and demand police protection for their isolated rural community.
“We are fighting a cause that should be heard throughout the world,” said Brent LeBaron, who was helping build the slain men’s coffins Tuesday and prepare for their burials.
“We have two martyrs on our hands, two men who are completely innocent taken out of their houses and killed.
“We don’t know what to do,” he said. “We can’t bear arms. We have no way of legally protecting ourselves.”
Attacked cousin’s house
The attackers struck his cousin’s house as the family slept trying to knock down the front door and smashing its windows, Brent LeBaron said. A panicked Benjamin LeBaron phoned two brothers-in-law for help.
But after the attackers threatened to throw a grenade into the house, LeBaron opened the door.
The gangsters beat Le-Baron and one threatened to rape his wife in front of their children before carrying their victims away, Brent LeBaron said.
As the commandos left they fired assault rifles at the second brother-in-law, who was wounded with shrapnel in the back.
Benjamin LeBaron and other village leaders had led hundreds of people in May to Chihuahua City to demand government action in the abduction of Eric LeBaron, Benjamin’s 16-year-old brother. The kidnappers were demanding $1 million in ransom, but the LeBaron community had decided to instead pressure for the boys’s release, which occurred in mid-May.
“We’re fighting as a community,” Brent LeBaron said. “Standing up against extortionists and kidnappers. But we have never done anything against the drug lords. We stay away from the drug war because we know it’s a battle that we can’t win.”
A placard left with the bodies said the killings were in retribution for the June arrests by federal forces of 25 men in a distant village accused of running narcotics.
“These guys blame our protest for pressuring the government to act and do something,” said Clary Jones, who helped organize the protest to free Benjamin’s brother, Eric, in May and who is directly mentioned in the warning left with the men’s bodies. “It’s a message from them.”
Hundreds of soldiers as well as state and federal police swarmed into Colonia LeBaron on Tuesday in search of the attackers.
Chihuahuan state officials promised to bring the killers to justice.
The village of Colonia Le-Baron, was founded by Benjamin’s great-grandfather, Alma Dayer LeBaron, and other ancestors who broke with the Church of the Latter Day Saints in the 1920s over its ban on polygamy and other doctrinal differences.
Practicing faith
More than 900 people live in LeBaron today, practicing their faith and working at farming and construction. Some village men unofficially practice polygamy, which is illegal in Mexico, as it is in the United States. Many villagers are dual U.S. and Mexican citizens.
Narcotics production and trafficking flourishes throughout Chihuahuan state and the rugged Sierra Madre range than runs along its western flanks. And as elsewhere across Mexico, kidnappers and extortionists are targeting LeBaron and nearby communities, dubbed the “Corridor of Terror.”dudley.althaus@chron.com
Americans from Mormon sect slain in Mexico
By DUDLEY ALTHAUS Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle
July 7, 2009, 10:39PM
MEXICO CITY — A top member of a breakaway Mormon sect was dragged from his home by marauders and killed early Tuesday in a village founded and named for the American families that settled the remote community in the northern Mexican desert.
Benjamin LeBaron, 31, and Luis Widmar, 29, a brother-in-law who tried to help him, were grabbed by at least 15 commandos shortly after midnight in Colonia LeBaron, which is about 200 miles southeast of El Paso, witnesses said.
The bodies of the men, both naturalized U.S. citizens with five children each, were found nearby shortly afterward, each shot several times in the head, Brent LeBaron, a cousin of Benjamin who lives in the village, said by telephone.
Benjamin LeBaron had led successful protests earlier this year to free his kidnapped brother and demand police protection for their isolated rural community.
“We are fighting a cause that should be heard throughout the world,” said Brent LeBaron, who was helping build the slain men’s coffins Tuesday and prepare for their burials.
“We have two martyrs on our hands, two men who are completely innocent taken out of their houses and killed.
“We don’t know what to do,” he said. “We can’t bear arms. We have no way of legally protecting ourselves.”
Attacked cousin’s house
The attackers struck his cousin’s house as the family slept trying to knock down the front door and smashing its windows, Brent LeBaron said. A panicked Benjamin LeBaron phoned two brothers-in-law for help.
But after the attackers threatened to throw a grenade into the house, LeBaron opened the door.
The gangsters beat Le-Baron and one threatened to rape his wife in front of their children before carrying their victims away, Brent LeBaron said.
As the commandos left they fired assault rifles at the second brother-in-law, who was wounded with shrapnel in the back.
Benjamin LeBaron and other village leaders had led hundreds of people in May to Chihuahua City to demand government action in the abduction of Eric LeBaron, Benjamin’s 16-year-old brother. The kidnappers were demanding $1 million in ransom, but the LeBaron community had decided to instead pressure for the boys’s release, which occurred in mid-May.
“We’re fighting as a community,” Brent LeBaron said. “Standing up against extortionists and kidnappers. But we have never done anything against the drug lords. We stay away from the drug war because we know it’s a battle that we can’t win.”
A placard left with the bodies said the killings were in retribution for the June arrests by federal forces of 25 men in a distant village accused of running narcotics.
“These guys blame our protest for pressuring the government to act and do something,” said Clary Jones, who helped organize the protest to free Benjamin’s brother, Eric, in May and who is directly mentioned in the warning left with the men’s bodies. “It’s a message from them.”
Hundreds of soldiers as well as state and federal police swarmed into Colonia LeBaron on Tuesday in search of the attackers.
Chihuahuan state officials promised to bring the killers to justice.
The village of Colonia Le-Baron, was founded by Benjamin’s great-grandfather, Alma Dayer LeBaron, and other ancestors who broke with the Church of the Latter Day Saints in the 1920s over its ban on polygamy and other doctrinal differences.
Practicing faith
More than 900 people live in LeBaron today, practicing their faith and working at farming and construction. Some village men unofficially practice polygamy, which is illegal in Mexico, as it is in the United States. Many villagers are dual U.S. and Mexican citizens.
Narcotics production and trafficking flourishes throughout Chihuahuan state and the rugged Sierra Madre range than runs along its western flanks. And as elsewhere across Mexico, kidnappers and extortionists are targeting LeBaron and nearby communities, dubbed the “Corridor of Terror.”dudley.althaus@chron.com
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
My 1st Cousin was Murderered in Mexico
The Drug Cartel has got to be STOPPED:
A few weeks ago in May I talked about my cousin Eric being kidnapped and now his Brother has been murdered.
Personal Note: I do not agree with some of my Families Religious choices but this is out of hand.
(I have a link to KSL NEWS on my Blog)
Brother of kidnap victim murdered in Mexico
July 7th, 2009 @ 6:00pm
COLONIA LEBARON, MEXICO -- The brother of a 16-year-old boy whose kidnapping sparked protests over the lawlessness in the region has been murdered.
Family members told KSL News Radio that Benjamin LeBaron was killed in an act of retaliation for speaking out about the May abduction of his brother, Eric. The killing happened overnight in Galeana, near the family's community of Colonia LeBaron.
"A bunch of trucks pulled up and dragged Benji out, tied his hands together and put him in one of the trucks," said one family member, who asked not to be identified out of fear for his family's security.
Benjamin LeBaron with his wife
His neighbor, Luis Widmar, tried to help but was beat up and put in the truck too, family members said. Both men were found Tuesday morning in a cemetery.
"They were shot in the back of the head," the family member said.
One report says a note was left with LeBaron's body which read: "Are you afraid now?"
LeBaron, 32, leaves behind a wife and five boys. Widmar, 29, had four boys and a little girl.
"It's just awful," said another relative of LeBaron's. "We're just sitting around here weeping. It's just heartache for Eric's mother. She got Eric back and lost Benjamin."
The slayings have horrified relatives here in Utah, where Colonia LeBaron has roots. (The community was founded in the 1920s by polygamists leaving Utah, where The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had been excommunicating members for practicing plural marriage.)
Luis Widmar
It was Eric LeBaron's abduction in May that prompted the first rounds of protests to the Mexican government about spiraling violence within the border region. Fundamentalists, LDS members and Mennonites banded together to protest at the governor's house in Chihuahua. Benjamin LeBaron was outspoken about the need for help to bring his brother home. The governor sent members of the army into the region. A short time later, Eric LeBaron was released unharmed.
A few weeks ago, former LDS temple president Meredith Romney was abducted in the region. He was released after a ransom was paid.
But the spate of abductions spawned protests. Members of the LDS community and even fundamentalists participated in the demonstrations seeking to hold the government's feet to the fire amidst out of control violence, believed to be linked to drug cartels.
A woman who was at one of the demonstrations sent an e-mail to KSL right after, saying: "The governor said that he appreciates seeing the support and unity of the organization and will continue to work to improve safety for the citizens of the state of Chihuahua."
The U.S. Department of State recently released a travel alert for American's traveling to Mexico, especially the border towns of Juarez and Tijuana. Dozens of Americans have been kidnapped;some of them murdered.
LeBaron's case is still being investigated.
------
Mexico outraged by killing of anti-crime activist
July 8th, 2009 @ 7:47pm
By MARK STEVENSON Associated Press Writer
MEXICO CITY (AP) - Mexico reacted to the slaying of an anti-crime activist with outrage Wednesday: Congress called for a minute of silence, television commentators demanded justice and activists pledged to step up their fight against crime despite persistent threats.
Public-safety groups say Benjamin LeBaron was the first anti-crime activist in Mexico to have been murdered in retaliation for his work.
"It is essential that those responsible ... be punished," the non-governmental group Mexico United Against Crime said in a statement. "We cannot allow organized crime to intimidate, threaten and kill those brave enough to denounce them."
The lower House of Congress held a minute of silence and proposed a resolution condemning Tuesday's slaying of LeBaron, 32, and neighbor Luis Widmar, 29, by a gang of armed men in military-style camouflage gear. The two were abducted from LeBaron's house, tossed into a truck and then shot in the head on a nearby road.
"Millions of Mexicans share your indignation over this crime," national radio and television commentator Joaquin Lopez Doriga told the victims' relatives.
Members of the tiny hamlet of Colonia LeBaron, a community founded by excommunicated Mormons in northern Chihuahua state, pledged to forge ahead with community efforts to stop kidnapping and extortion, despite LeBaron's death.
LeBaron helped lead the town's approximately 2,000 inhabitants in protests against the May 2 kidnapping of LeBaron's brother Eric LeBaron, 19. The residents refused to pay the $1 million ransom kidnappers requested and demonstrated in the Chihuahua state capital to demand justice.
Even after Eric was released unharmed a week later, the LeBaron people _ most of whom are dual U.S. citizens and many of whom still practice a breakaway version of the Mormon faith _ continued to lead marches demanding more law enforcement in the rural, isolated corner of Chihuahua state.
They also set up a committee to report any suspicious activities in town to police, quickly becoming an example for other Chihuahua communities plagued by drug-related kidnappings and extortion.
"A lot of the neighboring communities were asking for our help on how to get organized and how to set up," said LeBaron's cousin, Daniel LeBaron. "They kind of looked at us as an example to follow."
Both the army and police increased their presence in the town following Eric's kidnapping. And then last month, soldiers detained 25 suspected hit men for the Sinaloa drug cartel in the nearby town of Nicolas Bravo.
LeBaron's killers left a banner saying his slaying was revenge for those arrests.
Benjamin LeBaron's brother, Julian LeBaron, said the banner was signed "El General," an apparent reference to Sinaloa cartel lieutenant Jose Garcia.
Colonia LeBaron was founded in the late 1940s by polygamist Mormons from the United States after the U.S. church disavowed the practice. Few of the families in the hamlet still practice polygamy, and many are no longer practicing Mormons. The townspeople now mainly farm, run cattle ranches and grow pecans.
Daniel Lebaron said the community knows it can't win the war against the drug cartels, but he said that won't stop it from organizing.
"These people think that this is going to stop us," he said. "But it's only going to make us stronger."
A few weeks ago in May I talked about my cousin Eric being kidnapped and now his Brother has been murdered.
Personal Note: I do not agree with some of my Families Religious choices but this is out of hand.
(I have a link to KSL NEWS on my Blog)
Brother of kidnap victim murdered in Mexico
July 7th, 2009 @ 6:00pm
COLONIA LEBARON, MEXICO -- The brother of a 16-year-old boy whose kidnapping sparked protests over the lawlessness in the region has been murdered.
Family members told KSL News Radio that Benjamin LeBaron was killed in an act of retaliation for speaking out about the May abduction of his brother, Eric. The killing happened overnight in Galeana, near the family's community of Colonia LeBaron.
"A bunch of trucks pulled up and dragged Benji out, tied his hands together and put him in one of the trucks," said one family member, who asked not to be identified out of fear for his family's security.
Benjamin LeBaron with his wife
His neighbor, Luis Widmar, tried to help but was beat up and put in the truck too, family members said. Both men were found Tuesday morning in a cemetery.
"They were shot in the back of the head," the family member said.
One report says a note was left with LeBaron's body which read: "Are you afraid now?"
LeBaron, 32, leaves behind a wife and five boys. Widmar, 29, had four boys and a little girl.
"It's just awful," said another relative of LeBaron's. "We're just sitting around here weeping. It's just heartache for Eric's mother. She got Eric back and lost Benjamin."
The slayings have horrified relatives here in Utah, where Colonia LeBaron has roots. (The community was founded in the 1920s by polygamists leaving Utah, where The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had been excommunicating members for practicing plural marriage.)
Luis Widmar
It was Eric LeBaron's abduction in May that prompted the first rounds of protests to the Mexican government about spiraling violence within the border region. Fundamentalists, LDS members and Mennonites banded together to protest at the governor's house in Chihuahua. Benjamin LeBaron was outspoken about the need for help to bring his brother home. The governor sent members of the army into the region. A short time later, Eric LeBaron was released unharmed.
A few weeks ago, former LDS temple president Meredith Romney was abducted in the region. He was released after a ransom was paid.
But the spate of abductions spawned protests. Members of the LDS community and even fundamentalists participated in the demonstrations seeking to hold the government's feet to the fire amidst out of control violence, believed to be linked to drug cartels.
A woman who was at one of the demonstrations sent an e-mail to KSL right after, saying: "The governor said that he appreciates seeing the support and unity of the organization and will continue to work to improve safety for the citizens of the state of Chihuahua."
The U.S. Department of State recently released a travel alert for American's traveling to Mexico, especially the border towns of Juarez and Tijuana. Dozens of Americans have been kidnapped;some of them murdered.
LeBaron's case is still being investigated.
------
Mexico outraged by killing of anti-crime activist
July 8th, 2009 @ 7:47pm
By MARK STEVENSON Associated Press Writer
MEXICO CITY (AP) - Mexico reacted to the slaying of an anti-crime activist with outrage Wednesday: Congress called for a minute of silence, television commentators demanded justice and activists pledged to step up their fight against crime despite persistent threats.
Public-safety groups say Benjamin LeBaron was the first anti-crime activist in Mexico to have been murdered in retaliation for his work.
"It is essential that those responsible ... be punished," the non-governmental group Mexico United Against Crime said in a statement. "We cannot allow organized crime to intimidate, threaten and kill those brave enough to denounce them."
The lower House of Congress held a minute of silence and proposed a resolution condemning Tuesday's slaying of LeBaron, 32, and neighbor Luis Widmar, 29, by a gang of armed men in military-style camouflage gear. The two were abducted from LeBaron's house, tossed into a truck and then shot in the head on a nearby road.
"Millions of Mexicans share your indignation over this crime," national radio and television commentator Joaquin Lopez Doriga told the victims' relatives.
Members of the tiny hamlet of Colonia LeBaron, a community founded by excommunicated Mormons in northern Chihuahua state, pledged to forge ahead with community efforts to stop kidnapping and extortion, despite LeBaron's death.
LeBaron helped lead the town's approximately 2,000 inhabitants in protests against the May 2 kidnapping of LeBaron's brother Eric LeBaron, 19. The residents refused to pay the $1 million ransom kidnappers requested and demonstrated in the Chihuahua state capital to demand justice.
Even after Eric was released unharmed a week later, the LeBaron people _ most of whom are dual U.S. citizens and many of whom still practice a breakaway version of the Mormon faith _ continued to lead marches demanding more law enforcement in the rural, isolated corner of Chihuahua state.
They also set up a committee to report any suspicious activities in town to police, quickly becoming an example for other Chihuahua communities plagued by drug-related kidnappings and extortion.
"A lot of the neighboring communities were asking for our help on how to get organized and how to set up," said LeBaron's cousin, Daniel LeBaron. "They kind of looked at us as an example to follow."
Both the army and police increased their presence in the town following Eric's kidnapping. And then last month, soldiers detained 25 suspected hit men for the Sinaloa drug cartel in the nearby town of Nicolas Bravo.
LeBaron's killers left a banner saying his slaying was revenge for those arrests.
Benjamin LeBaron's brother, Julian LeBaron, said the banner was signed "El General," an apparent reference to Sinaloa cartel lieutenant Jose Garcia.
Colonia LeBaron was founded in the late 1940s by polygamist Mormons from the United States after the U.S. church disavowed the practice. Few of the families in the hamlet still practice polygamy, and many are no longer practicing Mormons. The townspeople now mainly farm, run cattle ranches and grow pecans.
Daniel Lebaron said the community knows it can't win the war against the drug cartels, but he said that won't stop it from organizing.
"These people think that this is going to stop us," he said. "But it's only going to make us stronger."
Monday, July 6, 2009
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