Mexican First Lady's Cousin Killed
 Associated Press
| | Mexican First Lady Margarita Zavala, below right, is greeted as she arrives to Campo Marte with her son Felipe as members of military look on in Mexico City, Mexico, Friday, Dec. 1, 2006. (AP/Gregory Bull) |
A cousin of Mexico's first lady was found dead of gunshot wounds just outside Mexico City, authorities said Wednesday.
The body of Luis Felipe Zavala, cousin of Margarita Zavala, was found in his minivan Tuesday night in the city of Naucalpan in Mexico State, said Carlos Flores, state deputy attorney general. Naucalpan borders Mexico City.
Authorities spoke with Zavala's wife, two of his brothers, and a brother-in-law — all of whom said he had no known enemies, Flores said.
President Felipe Calderon's office confirmed the death.
"It's evidently an execution because of the way his life was taken and the position he was found in," Flores told W Radio, noting that the body was found wedged behind the driver's seat. Zavala had been shot in the neck, the thorax and the side, apparently with a 9mm pistol, he said.
Zavala's body was found by a resident who noticed that the minivan was blocking his driveway.
Married with three children, Zavala was a horse-riding instructor and also bought and sold horses, although he did not appear to be a rich man, Flores said.
The killing occurred a day after Calderon announced a massive crackdown on organized crime, including drug trafficking, in his native central state of Michoacan, sending in 6,500 soldiers and federal police.
More than 500 people in Michoacan have been killed this year in violent deaths. Investigators link at least half of the homicides to a turf war between two rival drug gangs. |
Vallarta Weddings
News Around the Republic of Mexico | December 2006 
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