Tula massacre
Encyclopedia
The Tula Massacre was the title given to an incident near the municipality of Atotonilco de Tula
in the Mexican state of Hidalgo, north of Mexico City
, where 13 Colombian
men were murdered. The incident resulted in a minor political scandal, though no-one was ever convicted of the crime.
.
The bodies showed signs of extreme torture and mutilation, some of them with their heads still conserved in plastic bags. Some were decapitated, others slashed with machetes, most with a shot to the head. The facts of what was to be known as the "Tula River massacre" were denounced by J. Gonzales Gonzales, who accused his boss, Arturo Durazo Moreno
, the then Mexico City police chief, of being the intellectual author of the ghastly crime. Moreno was the chief of police in Mexico City during the administration of his friend, President José López Portillo
.
The dead, apparently all Colombians, formed a band of criminals that was exploited by Moreno, who hid them in jail and released them to rob banks repeatedly. It was said that Durazo decided to keep the loot, and do away with the Colombians and their Mexican taxi driver who also disappeared, last seen in June 1981 by his mother.
It was said that the group were held in secret jails and the La Castaneda psychiatric hospital, tortured and murdered, then dumped into the sewer in Mexico City. Their decomposed remains were later fished out of the Tula river by a Red Cross diving team.
Moreno was considered one of the most corrupt, incompetent, and criminal chief of police ever. His friend, then President López Portillo, put up with it because they were childhood friends.
The pictures of the 13 died and partially the information of the crime was published by Alarma!, an explicit Mexico City publication that deals in images of dead, mutilated and deformed bodies.
Moreno fled Mexico in 1982 following the election of a new president and investigations into police corruption. He returned some time later and died in August 2001 in Acapulco, Guerrero.
There was a doubt about the sexual identity of one of the victims,that could be a woman
dressed in a man's clothes.
Atotonilco de Tula
Atotonilco de Tula is a city and one of the 84 municipalities of Hidalgo, in central-eastern Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 31 km².As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 26,500....
in the Mexican state of Hidalgo, north of Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
, where 13 Colombian
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
men were murdered. The incident resulted in a minor political scandal, though no-one was ever convicted of the crime.
Background
On January 14, 1982 the bodies of 13 men were found on the borders of a drainage canal in the Tula RiverTula River
Rio Tula is a river in Hidalgo state in central Mexico. It runs through the ancient town of Tula....
.
The bodies showed signs of extreme torture and mutilation, some of them with their heads still conserved in plastic bags. Some were decapitated, others slashed with machetes, most with a shot to the head. The facts of what was to be known as the "Tula River massacre" were denounced by J. Gonzales Gonzales, who accused his boss, Arturo Durazo Moreno
Arturo Durazo Moreno
Arturo "El Negro" Durazo Moreno was the Chief of Police in Mexico City for six years, from 1976 to 1982. He was arrested in 1984 and incarcerated on multiple counts of corruption, extortion, tax evasion, smuggling and possession of illegal weapons and cocaine trade kickbacks.-Biography:Durazo was...
, the then Mexico City police chief, of being the intellectual author of the ghastly crime. Moreno was the chief of police in Mexico City during the administration of his friend, President José López Portillo
José López Portillo
José López Portillo y Pacheco was the President of Mexico from 1976 to 1982.Born in Mexico City, López Portillo studied Law at the National Autonomous University of Mexico before beginning his political career with the Institutional Revolutionary Party in 1959.He held several positions in the...
.
The dead, apparently all Colombians, formed a band of criminals that was exploited by Moreno, who hid them in jail and released them to rob banks repeatedly. It was said that Durazo decided to keep the loot, and do away with the Colombians and their Mexican taxi driver who also disappeared, last seen in June 1981 by his mother.
It was said that the group were held in secret jails and the La Castaneda psychiatric hospital, tortured and murdered, then dumped into the sewer in Mexico City. Their decomposed remains were later fished out of the Tula river by a Red Cross diving team.
Moreno was considered one of the most corrupt, incompetent, and criminal chief of police ever. His friend, then President López Portillo, put up with it because they were childhood friends.
The pictures of the 13 died and partially the information of the crime was published by Alarma!, an explicit Mexico City publication that deals in images of dead, mutilated and deformed bodies.
Moreno fled Mexico in 1982 following the election of a new president and investigations into police corruption. He returned some time later and died in August 2001 in Acapulco, Guerrero.
There was a doubt about the sexual identity of one of the victims,that could be a woman
dressed in a man's clothes.