BREAKING NEWS: In an unprecedented attack that has shocked the city of Puerto Penasco, Mexico, four people were murdered Sunday, April 26, around 8:30 pm at the major intersection of Calle 13 and Boulevard Benito Juarez. Three of the victims were traveling in a Ford Fusion sedan when some 80 shots were fired at it from an unidentified vehicle, which then sped off.
The victims were 39-year-old Alfredo Garcia Araiza from Caborca, Cynthia Bojorquez Diarely Montaño, aged 30, originally from Guasave, Sinaloa and Joel Meza Cazares, 32, of Culiacan, Sinaloa. All three were pronounced dead at the scene.
The fourth victim was a young woman who was reportedly walking nearby at the time of the attack and was caught in the line of fire. Eighteen-year-old Nataly Trujillo Zavala, from Caborca, was rushed to a clinic but later died from her injuries.
The victim Joel Meza Cázares is said to have been related to Blanca Margarita Cázares Salazar, "La Emperatriz", El Mayo Zambada’s ex-girlfriend and a money-launderer for the drug cartel known as the Sinaloa Federation.
A search of the city for the vehicle used by the assassins was unsuccessful. Eyewitness descriptions of the vehicle vary, but it appears to have been a Ford Contour. As of late Monday night, State authorities were still looking for clues about those responsible. Many shell casings of various calibres were recovered at the scene and are being analyzed. Governor Eduardo Bours has said they are investigating possible links to the drug trade in Caborca and Culiacan.
More details will be reported as they come in.
UPDATE April 29: There appears to be some confusion regarding the the two female victims of this attack. One account says both women were in the car when the attack occurred; another says the 18-year-old was in the car and the older woman was passing by; a third account says the older woman was in the car and the 18-year-old was passing by. Until I have confirmation about the precise circumstances, I will leave the story as it is.
