MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico's president said Monday that prosecutors are investigating officials in a town where a sign was posted thanking a drug lord for holiday season gifts for children.
In the past, drug cartels in Mexico have often handed out gifts or bags of food to local people around the holidays, to try to improve their image or build local support. The cartels often want local people to warn them of army raids, but at the same time the gangs usually extort protection money from local residents.
Videos posted on social media last week from the town of Coalcoman, in the western state of Michoacan, showed a sign at a Christmas fair thanking Jalisco cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera, better known by his nickname “El Mencho,” for the gifts.
“The children of Coalcoman thank Mr. Nemesio Oseguera and his sons, 2, 3, and Delta 1, for their noble gesture. Thank for your gifts,” the sign read.
A person speaking over a loudspeaker repeated that message, but it was unclear how much local officials were involved in or aware of the message, or whether they had approved of it. Such fairs are often in part organized by civic, neighborhood or other groups.
President Claudia Sheinbaum said Monday that local officials were being investigated for any possible links to the sign.
“Obviously we condemn these signs," she said. “A criminal group cannot hold a public event to promote the acceptance of violence.”
Sheinbaum said federal prosecutors were investigating whether the town's mayor “has ties to criminal groups, or who put this this sign up.”
In areas of Michoacan along the border with Michoacan that are dominated by the powerful Jalisco cartel, it is not unusual to see signs of the gang's control.
The cartel set up checkpoints on roads in the area, and attacked their rivals with roadside bombs and bomb-dropping drones, while at the same time donating trampolines for the children of local residents. The cartels have also obliged some local residents to join demonstrations against army operations.
The Mexican government's policy of not confronting the cartels has often left local officials in the uncomfortable position of having to deal with the local gangs, and even in some cases, hand over part of the municipal budget to them.
FILE - Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum gives a media briefing from the National Palace in Mexico City, Oct. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano, File)
PODGORICA, Montenegro (AP) — A gunman who fatally shot at least 12 people, including two children, in Montenegro has killed himself while surrounded by police, officials said Thursday.
At least four others were wounded in the shooting rampage in the western town of Cetinje on Wednesday that followed a bar brawl, officials said.
The shooter, identified as 45-year-old Aco Martinović, killed the owner of the bar, the bar owner's children and his own family members, Interior Minister Danilo Šaranović said.
The attacker, who was fled after the rampage, was later located and surrounded by police. He died after shooting himself in the head, Šaranović said.
Police had dispatched a special unit to search for the attacker in the town, which is located about 30 kilometers (18 miles) northwest of the capital, Podgorica. All the roads in and out of the city have been blocked as police swarmed the streets.
Šaranović said that Martinović had died while being taken to a hospital in the capital and succumbed from the “severity of his injuries.”
The government has declared three days of national mourning starting on Thursday, with Prime Minister Milojko Spajić describing the shooting as a “terrible tragedy.”
“The level of rage and brutality shows that sometimes such people ... are even more dangerous than members of organized criminal gangs,” Šaranović said.
Martinović was at the bar throughout the day with other guests when the brawl erupted, Police Commissioner Lazar Šćepanović said. He said that Martinović then went home, brought back a weapon and opened fire at around 5:30 p.m.
“He killed four people” at the bar before heading out, and then continued shooting at three more locations, Šćepanović said.
He said that the suspect received a suspended sentence in 2005 for violent behavior and had appealed his latest conviction for illegal weapons possession. Montenegrin media have reported that he was known for erratic and violent behavior.
The small country of Montenegro, which has a population of around 620,000 people, is known for its gun culture and many people traditionally have weapons.
Wednesday’s shooting was the second shooting rampage over the past three years in Cetinje, Montenegro’s historic capital. An attacker killed 10 people, including two children, in August 2022 before he was shot and killed by a passerby in Cetinje.
President Jakov Milatović said that he was “shocked and stunned” by the tragedy.
“Instead of holiday joy ... we have been gripped by sadness over the loss of innocent lives,” Milatovic said in a post on X.
Police investigators work at the site of a shooting in Cetinje, 36 kilometers (22 miles) west of Podogrica, Montenegro, Wednesday, Jan 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Risto Bozovic)
Police investigators work at the site of a shooting in Cetinje, 36 kilometers (22 miles) west of Podogrica, Montenegro, Wednesday, Jan 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Risto Bozovic)
