In Mexico City it's smart to be more wary of cops than of regular hoodlums. Here's why. The 14-year-old son of a very rich man was discovered decomposing in a car trunk last week. One police commander has been arrested in connection to the murder, and more than a dozen other officials are under investigation for possible links to a kidnapping ring. Details:
Authorities have released almost no information about the Marti case. But according to press reports, Fernando was riding in a car with a driver and a bodyguard on June 4 when the group was pulled over by men who they thought were police. Armed men killed the adults at the scene and abducted the boy. One press report said the family paid $6 million for the boy's release and waited in agony after the kidnappers stopped communicating with them.
Fernando Marti's killers were apparently members of a ring known as La Flor. On Tuesday night, President Felipe Calderon attended a memorial Mass for Marti, the latest of who knows how many kidnapping/murder victims here. Many uncounted peoples are kidnapped, ransomed, and (still) killed every year in Mexico. But Fernando Marti's father Alejandro is a well-known founder of chains of sporting goods stores and gyms. High-profile police officers are implicated. Exceptions must be made ...
* Previously, "Leaving Tijuana: Everyone is doing it."
