Suspect Of Kidnapping And Killing New Mexico Teen Arrested In Veracruz

A 21-year-old has been arrested in the Mexican state of Veracruz in connection with the kidnapping and death of a female teen in New Mexico.

The man, identified as Oscar Manuel MA, is being charged with aggravated kidnapping in connection with the case of the teen, identified by initials DCLG. He has a court hearing scheduled for Monday.

She was found buried in a clandestine neighborhood in Juarez last month. An autopsy revealed she died from asphyxiation by strangulation.

In late July, Mexican authorities also arrested in Juarez a person in connection with the killing of nine Americans. Border Report detailed that Jacinto Galdiño Peña was arrested and then flown to Mexico City to stand trial.

The killings took place in November 2019. Prosecutors argued that Back then Galdiño was an operative of the La Linea cartel, which at the time was fighting the Sinaloa Cartel for control of a smuggling route that connected the Sonora-Chihuahua border to the border with the U.S.

Galdiño was part of a group that apparently mistook three vehicles carrying woman and children for vehicles used by the enemy cartel. He then opened fire on the vehicles, killing women and children part of the LeBaron, Miller, Johnson and Langford families.

The outlet noted that Galdiño is the second known law enforcement official to be arrested in connection with the killings, the other one being Fidel Alejandro Villegas, who was apprehended six weeks after the incident. He is serving a 15-year prison sentence. Overall, 36 people have been arrested and 12 more have pending warrants.