MORELIA (Mexico), Mar 6: Gunmen have killed a Mexican rear admiral who was the captain of a Pacific port that was used by a drug cartel to illegally ship iron ore to China, authorities have said.
Vice Admiral Jose Luis Corro was shot dead by armed men who stole his pick-up truck as he arrived at his home in Lazaro Cardenas, Magdalena Guzman, spokeswoman for the Michoacan state prosecutor’s office said yesterday.
Three suspects were arrested hours later in the neighboring state of Guerrero.
National Security Commissioner Monte Alejandro Rubido told the Televisa channel that the motive appears to have been theft, and that authorities did not have “any evidence to assume” that the killing was linked to organized crime.
Mexico’s navy took control of the port in late 2013, cutting a major source of funds for the Knights Templar drug cartel, which used the facility to import drug precursors from Asia and export iron ore to China.
Corro’s job involved keeping custody of the mineral seized from the cartel.
His killing came five days after federal police captured Knights Templar chief Servando “La Tuta” Gomez, whose gang tormented the state for years until vigilantes rose up in 2013. (AGENCIES)
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