And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: via LONEWOLF From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Return-path: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Mexico Massacre Sees Another Arrest Date: Fri, 8 Jan 1999 21:59:15 EST Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Mexico Massacre Sees Another Arrest .c The Associated Press SAN CRISTOBAL DE LAS CASAS, Mexico (AP) -- Mexican police have arrested two former Chiapas state officials for not having done more to prevent the December 1997 massacre of 45 Indian villagers, federal prosecutors said Friday. The two -- an ex-senior police officer and a former state prosecutor -- are the highest-ranking officials to be charged in the massacre, in which pro- government gunmen shot to death men, women and children in the hamlet of Acteal, Chiapas, whom they accused of supporting leftist rebels. Prosecutors on Thursday arrested Absalon Gordillo Diaz, who served as commander of a police post near the massacre site, and charged him with illegal weapons possession and allowing local residents to carry illegal guns. ``He issued instructions to his subordinates not to seize firearms which civilian groups flagrantly had in their possession'' in villages near Acteal, the attorney general's office said in a press statement. State police were posted near the village, but claimed not to have heard or seen anything unusual during the massacre. Roberto Arcos Jimenez, a former state prosecutor, was arrested on charges of not having investigated the pro-government armed groups. Federal officials deny such groups received support or weapons from the government, but critics say they were long tolerated and encouraged as a counterbalance to the leftists Zapatista rebels active in the state. The Zapatistas staged a brief armed uprising in January 1994, demanding more rights for Indians. Federal prosecutors have arrested about 126 people in the Acteal massacre, including state police officers and a soldier accused of helping the gunmen. In a separate case in Chiapas, police have arrested a ranch owner who allegedly paid his employees $100 each to hack to death three adults and a 4-year-old child Tuesday because he thought they had stolen two rifles, prosecutors said Friday. Three other suspects, including a Honduran man, were also arrged with homicide, and could face sentences of up to 50 years in prison if convicted. AP-NY-01-08-99 2158EST Copyright 1998 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without prior written authority of The Associated Press. <<<<=-=-=FREE LEONARD PELTIER=-=-=>>>> If you think you are too small to make a difference; try sleeping in a closed room with a mosquito.... African Proverb <<<<=-=http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ =-=>>>> IF it says: "PASS THIS TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW...." Please Check it before you send it at: http://urbanlegends.miningco.com/library/blhoax.htm
