Monterrey TV personality slain
In Monterrey, Mexico, an armed commando stole the body of a TV personality moments after another commando had dropped the body on a street near a narco message.
Jose Luis “La Gata” Cerda Melendez was found dead Friday morning along Miguel De La Madrid Boulevard, according to information released by the Nuevo Leon Attorney General’s Office.
Cerda was reported missing Thursday evening after he was picked up near the Televisa station in Monterrey by a group of hooded gunmen. He was host of the show called “El Club.”
Authorities didn’t release the content of the message, which was scrawled on a wall, or who had kidnapped Cerda, but a source with firsthand knowledge of criminal activity in Mexico said Cerda was killed by members of the Gulf Cartel for his alleged ties with the Zetas.
The source said the Gulf Cartel is expected to make a big push in Monterrey in the coming days by targeting what they say are authorities under the employ of the Zetas.
The message read: “Stop cooperating with the Zetas. Sincerely: CDG (Gulf Cartel).”
While several media representatives were on the scene, ministerial police officers ran them off moments before the second armed commando arrived to take the body, the source said.
No photograph or video of the arrival of the gunmen has surfaced. Blog Del Narco, a popular website known for its crude crime scene photographs, did upload some photos of the scene and the body, but it did not post any images of the commando who took the body.
All of this occurred one day after 715 media outlets, including powerhouses Televisa and TV Azteca, signed an agreement that set up guidelines for covering the drug-related violence that has claimed more than 35,000 lives in Mexico since 2006. The agreement calls for basic journalism principles, such as protecting sources, not interfering with law enforcement and not becoming a voice for cartels.
The Nuevo Leon Attorney General’s office was quoted by Milenio Noticias as stating that eight ministerial police officers are under investigation for letting the gunmen take the body.
