The 2010 San Fernando massacre, also known as the first massacre of San Fernando, was the mass murder of 72 undocumented immigrants by the Los Zetas drug cartel in the village of El Huizachal in the municipality of San Fernando, Tamaulipas, Mexico. The 72 killed—58 men and 14 women—were mainly from Central and South America, and they were shot in the back of the head and then piled up together. The bodies were found inside a ranch on 24 August 2010 by the Mexican military after they engaged in an armed confrontation with members of a drug cartel. They received information of the place after the sole survivor survived a shot to the neck and face, faked his death, and then fled to a military checkpoint to seek help. Investigators later mentioned that the massacre was a result of the immigrants' refusal to work for Los Zetas, or to provide money for their release.
On 17 June 2011 the Federal Police captured Édgar Huerta Montiel, alias El Wache, the major perpetrator of the mass murder. His contention was that the immigrants were killed because Los Zetas believed that they were going to be recruited by the Gulf Cartel, a rival gang. He also confessed that other bodies were put in mass graves. The immigrants were abducted from several buses, the same way others were abducted for the 2011 San Fernando massacre. The police chief that was in charge of leading the investigation of the massacre was killed by suspected members of a drug cartel.
The massacre was reported as "the biggest single discovery of its kind" in the Mexican drug war, and as "the worst known atrocity committed by Mexico's drug trafficking organization to date". The National Alliance of Latin American and Caribbean Communities asked for those responsible "to be brought to justice for such atrocity", and Amnesty International said that this "human rights crisis" is a result of "one of the most dangerous trajectories" undocumented immigrants have to cross before reaching the United States. The Mexican drug trafficking organizations often use vacant lots, ranches, and mine shafts to keep their victims and execute their rivals. Nonetheless, in 2010, this was the largest body dumping ground found since the start of Mexico's drug war.
The massacre was condemned by a number of countries and international organizations. Felipe Calderón, the president of Mexico at the time, condemned the massacre and sent his condolences to the families of those affected.
Background
Illegal immigration in Mexico
The routes of illegal immigration in Mexico are stalked with "kidnappers, murderers, rapists and corrupt officials", and are regarded as "one of the most perilous migration routes in the world." Every year, tens of thousands of poor immigrants from Central and South America start their journey up to the north. Nonetheless, in the past few years, their journey "has become a horror show." According to Amnesty International, armed and violent robberies used to be the biggest threat to those traveling up north; nowadays, kidnappings by organized crime groups are the norm (in this case, Los Zetas). Typically, the kidnappers keep the victims in safe houses for days until relatives of the victims in the United States or back home raise money to free the captives. Torture is a common method used in incidents like this, and several victims have claimed after their liberation that they have seen people killed before their eyes for failing to pay their ransom. Rape is also common in the migrants' journey, and even smugglers have advised women to carry contraceptive injections before starting their journeys. The migrants are also exploited, beaten, extorted, and abused by "authorities and criminals alike".
The National Human Rights Commission reported that "nearly 10,000 migrants were kidnapped in Mexico during a six-month period [in 2009]." The Mexican government, as a result, has been criticized for not providing "adequate security" for the migrants in its country. This massacre was the third time since the start of the Mexican drug war that the Mexican authorities had "discovered large masses of corpses." The first one was in Taxco, Guerrero, where several mass graves held up to 55 bodies. The second incident happened in Nuevo León, where more than 70 bodies were found. In addition, the killings of the migrants highlighted an under-reported but highly profitable business: the kidnapping of migrants for money and work by the drug cartels in Mexico.
Before the violence Local residents claim that arms trafficking, car thefts, and drug trade have "always existed" in San Fernando, but in 2004 Los Zetas arrived in the area. They began to establish themselves little by little, and local residents remember seeing convoys of "luxurious trucks entering and leaving the city, going into stores and buying goods". They claimed that before the Mexican drug war (which began in 2006) and the rupture between the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas (which happened in early 2010), the cartels "would not kidnap or steal. In fact, they would always pay for the goods they bought in stores." They would live outside the city limits in ranches. But then they began to live in city neighborhoods, and the "people started to get involved with them." A local resident claimed that many families had "at least one member involved in the drug trade", and that is why he claims many in San Fernando were scared when the violence erupted. His mother gave instructions on what to do if he is kidnapped by the cartels:
Gulf-Zeta cartels split
Before the violence erupted in Tamaulipas, San Fernando was known for its bass fishing and dove hunting, and the area had long been popular with outdoor enthusiasts from Texas and other US states. One day, a group of dove hunters from Houston, Texas, reported being assaulted by a group of heavily armed gunmen in San Fernando. On 26 June 2010, just outside San Fernando, 15 bodies were found on Federal Highway 101. The violence between the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas, their former armed wing, continued.
In 2010, Los Zetas broke apart from the Gulf Cartel and both organizations began to turn their weapons against each other. The clash between these two groups first happened in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, and then expanded to Nuevo Laredo and Matamoros. The war then spread out through 11 municipalities of Tamaulipas, 9 of them bordering the state of Texas. Soon, the violence generated between these two groups had spread to Tamaulipas' neighboring states of Nuevo León and Veracruz. In the midsts of violence and panic, local authorities and the media tried to minimize the situation and claim that "nothing was occurring", but the facts were impossible to cover up. Confrontations between these two groups paralyzed entire cities in broad daylight. Several witnesses claimed that many of the municipalities throughout Tamaulipas were "war zones", and that many businesses and houses were burned down, leaving areas in "total destruction". The bloodbath in Tamaulipas has caused thousands of deaths, but many of the shootings and killings often go unreported.
In the city of San Fernando, Tamaulipas, the Gulf Cartel forces of Antonio Cárdenas Guillén, alias Tony Tormenta, "strung the bodies of fallen Zetas and their associates from light poles". The Gulf Cartel lashed out to attack Los Zetas at their stronghold in San Fernando. According to The Monitor, the municipality of San Fernando is a "virtual spiderweb" of dirt roads that connect with Monterrey, Nuevo Laredo, Reynosa, and Matamoros—making it a prized territory for drug traffickers. In January 2011, Nancy Davis, a US missionary, was traveling with her husband Sam through the municipality of San Fernando. According to Pharr, Texas police, the Davises encountered a group of heavily armed men, who tried to force their blue 2008 Chevrolet 2500 pickup off the highway. When they tried to flee, the gunmen shot at them, striking Nancy in the head. Sam drove back to McAllen, Texas, where his wife was pronounced dead.
The first shootout that occurred in San Fernando in 2010 happened near a hospital. According to local residents, heavily armed gunmen began to fight in certain avenues throughout the city, and even shot the police station. None of the shootings made it on the news. A man who was interviewed mentioned that even before the two massacres were discovered, people were being kidnapped at an alarming rate, but "they were scared" of the reprisals by the cartels. He went on to say that the cartels had San Fernando "under control", and that they "were the authority". Witnesses stated that the cartels would enter the city "in convoys with more than 200 SUVs", and that the policemen were no challenge for them. The cartel gunmen wore military uniform, were heavily armed, and would constantly attack policemen and other civilians alike.
Massacre The 72 immigrants were traveling through Tamaulipas to the United States when a convoy of Los Zetas surrounded their vehicles and cut them off the road. Then, they were forced to get out of their vehicles, and the gunmen warned them that they were members of Los Zetas. They were taken to a warehouse inside a ranch, where one by one, the immigrants were put on their knees and placed against a wall. They were told to remain with their knees on the ground, and then they were shot, one by one, in the back of the head. There was one survivor—an Ecuadorian—who was shot in the neck and faked his death until the perpetrators left the area. He then traveled more than 22 kilometers until he reached a military checkpoint where he notified the Mexican marines of the area where the massacre had occurred. The man was placed under the protection of federal authorities.
When he was asked what had happened, he mentioned that they did not have money to pay for the ransom,Massacre in Tamaulipas , The New York Times, August 29, 2010 and that the killers had forced them to work as hitmen for Los Zetas, and that they would receive over US$1000 every fifteen days. All of the immigrants resisted, and were consequently killed. He said that more than 70 corpses were in the ranch, and that some of the women were pregnant. At first, the authorities did not believe the survivor (since there had been similar occasions that have resulted in ambushes), but a commander of the military led an operative to the ranch where the bodies were allegedly located. When they arrived to the area by helicopter and by ground, the members of Los Zetas that were guarding the area received the Mexican authorities with bullets. The shootings lasted all day, and the Mexican military had to retreat at nighttime to the municipality of Matamoros in order to avoid a possible ambush. The next day, the Mexican military, with more personnel and ammunition, arrived at the ranch and discovered the 72 bodies. All of them were handcuffed and blindfolded.
The reports of the massacre were not officially known till later that night, since the ranch was deep inside the countryside and because the area was insecure. In the confrontations between the Mexican military and Los Zetas, 1 marine and 3 criminals were killed. The other drug cartel members managed to escape the scene. Twenty-one rifles, 101 ammunition clips, four bullet-proof vests, camouflage uniforms and four vehicles were seized by officials. The authorities also found a "replica" truck of the Mexican Naval Infantry.
Survivor's testimony