Mexico: Video of soldier appearing to kill detained man sparks uproar

PALMARITO, Mexico (AP) – A video released by Mexican media outlets Wednesday appears to show a soldier executing a civilian lying face down in the street with a shot to the back of his head.

The video’s circulation was quickly followed by condemnation and pledges from the defense department to determine its authenticity and the Attorney General’s Office to investigate the May 3 events in the town of Palmarito.

But late Wednesday, the gritty intersection showed no signs of any investigation. Bulletpocked facades and windows and the reluctance of residents to talk were the only indications anything occurred.

The security camera footage first published by Diario Cambio purportedly depicts part of the military’s encounter with fuel pipeline thieves that the government said left 10 dead in the central state of Puebla.

Fuel theft has long plagued Mexico, but is generating more violence lately as federal authorities crack down. Mexico’s treasury secretary said Tuesday the practice costs the country $780 million to $1 billion each year.

The military originally said that in the May 3 encounter the thieves used local residents as human shields in an initial ambush on an army patrol. Two soldiers were killed and a third wounded.

Reinforcements of 1,000 soldiers and police were sent in and hours later another patrol was ambushed. Two more soldiers were killed along with three attackers. Puebla state officials later said three more attackers had also died.

It is unclear if one of those events is depicted in the video released Wednesday. The Associated Press could not independently verify the video’s authenticity.

The heavily edited video captured by a security camera shows a silver four-door car slowly reversing into the frame on a darkened street with gunshots hitting it and marks already visible on its windshield. At least one shot appears to come from the rear door on the driver’s side, which is ajar.

“We were there watching TV and suddenly you heard like collisions,” said a man who lives at the intersection where the shootout occurred. He gave only his first name, Joaquin, saying he feared repercussions if his identity was revealed.