Written by Michael Palomba
It’s no secret that Mexico suffers from a major problem with violent crime. It was just last month that El Chapo’s son was captured by Mexican officials and then released due to fear of major conflict between the Mexican government and the drug cartels.
However, it is not every day that American citizens become the direct target of this violence. On Monday, at least three women and six children from a well-known Mormon family were murdered in northern Mexico. The gunmen are believed to be members of a criminal organization in Mexico.
The LeBarón family has lived in a Mormon fundamentalist community near the border for nearly a century. They were attacked while traveling in three separate vehicles. One child was gunned down while running away, while others were trapped inside a burning car. Two of the children killed were less than a year old.
“When you know there are babies tied in a car seat that are burning because of some twisted evil that’s in this world,” Mr. LeBarón said, “it’s just hard to cope with that.”
Three women, an 11-year old boy, a 9-year old girl, a 4-year old boy, and a 6-year old girl were also killed. The tragedy rippled through both the U.S. and Mexico, even prompting a strong response from President Trump who said it is time “to wage WAR on the drug cartels and wipe them off the face of the earth.” He offered assistance from US troops, only awaiting acceptance from the Mexican President.
Never missing a chance to be absolutely terrible and despicable, several mainstream media news sources decided the proper way to cover the tragedy was to victim blame.
Is the idea here that the victims had it coming? This is an insane piece. https://t.co/8xEVTZnVez
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) November 6, 2019
The Los Angeles Times was not alone in presenting an awful take, as the New York Times continued its tradition of finding a way to blame America for every wrong that exists in the world.
Holy sh*t. This massacre had nothing to do with religion and everything to do with Mexican drug cartels holding the country hostage. Unbelievable. https://t.co/Xe3e8KlU5H
— Erielle Azerrad (@politicalelle) November 5, 2019
According to Mr. LeBarón, “Six little kids were killed, and seven made it out alive.”
Mr. LeBarón is hoping that the recent tragedy will spark change. “We need the Mexican people to say at some point, we’ve had enough,” he said. “We need accountability; we don’t have that on any level.”
That, however, seems unlikely considering López Obrador, the President of Mexico, turned down US assistance, claiming that the issue is tied to “[Mexico’s] sovereignty.”
