The Morelia grenade attacks took place on 15 September 2008 on the occasion of the Mexican Independence Day anniversary when thousands of people were gathered in the Plaza Melchor Ocampo, the main square of the Mexican city of Morelia, Michoacán. Shortly after the Grito in that city, led by GovernorLeonel Godoy, two grenades were thrown into the crowds, killing at least eight people and injuring more than 100.
The first blast was reported shortly after 23:00, on the Plaza itself, as the governor was intoning the traditional vivas to the heroes of the nation; the second took place some minutes later, in a sidestreet located four blocks away.[1][2]
Two further explosions were reported in the immediate aftermath: one at 01:00, leaving the city along the highway to Salamanca, Guanajuato; and a fourth at 01:15, in the Santa María district in the vicinity of Morelia's bandera monumental.[3]
Suspectsedit
The police have blamed drug cartels for the grenade attacks, specifically the La Familia Michoacana gang. La Familia denied it and instead blamed Los Zetas.[4] A week after the attacks, police from SIEDO and the Federal Investigations Agency arrested three men of the Los Zetas gang accused of throwing the grenades. However, the suspects were proven guilty for eleven years until 2019, when a federal corrections judge proved them innocent.[5] They were proven innocent because they had not been present in Morelia the night of September 15,2008 and had been subject to kidnapping and false imprisonment by orders of Servando Gomez Martinez, José de Jesús Méndez Vargas,and Nazario Moreno. They had been present in the city of Lázaro Cárdenas, Michoacán and had been taken to an unincorporated town in the Apatzingan municipality. They were tortured and tied up to a tree until agents from the Procuraduría General de la República came, who were paid 10,000,000 pesos to arrest them. [6]
Contextedit
Morelia is the home town of PresidentFelipe Calderón of the PAN, although the state of Michocán has traditionally been controlled by the opposition PRI and PRD. Michoacán has, since Calderón took office, been one of the federal government's focal points in its anti-drug efforts and initial suspicions indicated that the atrocity was probably the work of the drugs cartels, either part of a battle for territory or as a warning to the government.[7] Condemnation of the incident across the country was unanimous, as such tactics of the drug lords in attacking random citizen congregations was unprecedented in Mexican history.
Referencesedit
^"Atentados en Morelia: Suman ocho muertos" (in Spanish). El Universal. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
^Rivera, Rafael. "Dejan explosiones tres muertos y decenas de heridos" (in Spanish). El Universal. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
^Rivera, Rafael. "Atentados en Morelia: Registran otra explosión" (in Spanish). El Universal. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
^Lacey, Marc (2008-09-25). "Grenade Attack in Mexico Breaks From Deadly Script". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-04-22.
^Deadly Mexico national day blasts BBC News, 2008-09-16,
External linksedit
January 01, 1970
morelia, grenade, attacks, took, place, september, 2008, occasion, mexican, independence, anniversary, when, thousands, people, were, gathered, plaza, melchor, ocampo, main, square, mexican, city, morelia, michoacán, shortly, after, grito, that, city, governor. The Morelia grenade attacks took place on 15 September 2008 on the occasion of the Mexican Independence Day anniversary when thousands of people were gathered in the Plaza Melchor Ocampo the main square of the Mexican city of Morelia Michoacan Shortly after the Grito in that city led by Governor Leonel Godoy two grenades were thrown into the crowds killing at least eight people and injuring more than 100 Morelia grenade attacksLocationMorelia MichoacanCoordinates19 42 09 N 101 11 37 W 19 7024 N 101 1936 W 19 7024 101 1936Date15 September 2008TargetPeople in city centreAttack typeGrenadeDeathsAt least 8InjuredAt least 100PerpetratorsLa Familia Michoacana blamed Los Zetas Contents 1 The attacks 2 Suspects 3 Context 4 References 5 External linksThe attacks editThe first blast was reported shortly after 23 00 on the Plaza itself as the governor was intoning the traditional vivas to the heroes of the nation the second took place some minutes later in a sidestreet located four blocks away 1 2 Two further explosions were reported in the immediate aftermath one at 01 00 leaving the city along the highway to Salamanca Guanajuato and a fourth at 01 15 in the Santa Maria district in the vicinity of Morelia s bandera monumental 3 Suspects editThe police have blamed drug cartels for the grenade attacks specifically the La Familia Michoacana gang La Familia denied it and instead blamed Los Zetas 4 A week after the attacks police from SIEDO and the Federal Investigations Agency arrested three men of the Los Zetas gang accused of throwing the grenades However the suspects were proven guilty for eleven years until 2019 when a federal corrections judge proved them innocent 5 They were proven innocent because they had not been present in Morelia the night of September 15 2008 and had been subject to kidnapping and false imprisonment by orders of Servando Gomez Martinez Jose de Jesus Mendez Vargas and Nazario Moreno They had been present in the city of Lazaro Cardenas Michoacan and had been taken to an unincorporated town in the Apatzingan municipality They were tortured and tied up to a tree until agents from the Procuraduria General de la Republica came who were paid 10 000 000 pesos to arrest them 6 Context editMorelia is the home town of President Felipe Calderon of the PAN although the state of Michocan has traditionally been controlled by the opposition PRI and PRD Michoacan has since Calderon took office been one of the federal government s focal points in its anti drug efforts and initial suspicions indicated that the atrocity was probably the work of the drugs cartels either part of a battle for territory or as a warning to the government 7 Condemnation of the incident across the country was unanimous as such tactics of the drug lords in attacking random citizen congregations was unprecedented in Mexican history References edit Atentados en Morelia Suman ocho muertos in Spanish El Universal Retrieved 2008 09 16 Rivera Rafael Dejan explosiones tres muertos y decenas de heridos in Spanish El Universal Retrieved 2008 09 16 Rivera Rafael Atentados en Morelia Registran otra explosion in Spanish El Universal Retrieved 2008 09 16 Lacey Marc 2008 09 25 Grenade Attack in Mexico Breaks From Deadly Script The New York Times Retrieved 2010 04 22 proceso com mx reportajes 2019 9 17 atentado de 2008 en morelia una trama que oculto los verdaderos responsables 231207 html Chicago Tribune dead link permanent dead link Deadly Mexico national day blasts BBC News 2008 09 16 External links editTime Magazine Terror Bloodies Mexico Celebrations Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Morelia grenade attacks amp oldid 1219954621, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
