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{{Short description|Lynching of 3 police officers}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}}
On 23 November 2004, three [[Plainclothes police|plainclothes]] police officers, Víctor Mireles Barrera, Cristóbal Bonilla Martín, and Edgar Moreno Nolasco, were [[lynched]] in {{Interlanguage link|San Juan Ixtayopan|es|San Juan Ixtayopan}}, [[Tláhuac]], a borough of [[Mexico City]], after they were accused of kidnapping
The lynching was almost uniformly condemned, sparking discussion concerning [[Judiciary of Mexico|Mexico's justice system]] and [[vigilantism]]. Criticism was especially levied at law enforcement's sluggish response to the incident, resulting in the dismissal of several high-ranking officials, including [[Marcelo Ebrard]], then Mexico City's chief of police.
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Around 6 PM [[Central Standard Time|CST]] ([[UTC−06:00]]) on 23 November 2004, dressed in plainclothes and driving an unmarked gray [[Ford Focus]], [[Warrant officer|warrant officers]] Cristóbal Bonilla Martín and Edgar Moreno Nolasco, both under the command of [[sub-inspector]] Víctor Mireles Barrera, were sent to survey a local candy business<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last=Hayward |first=Susana |date=26 November 2004 |title=Mass police raid in agents' deaths |url=https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2004/nov/26/mass-police-raid-in-agents-deaths/ |access-date=2024-07-07 |website=The Spokesman-Review}}</ref> thought to be linked to [[drug trafficking]].<ref name=":7">{{Cite web |last=Neri |first=Said |date=2019-11-23 |title=La 'Noche de Tláhuac' |trans-title=The 'Night of Tláhuac' |url=https://www.excelsior.com.mx/comunidad/la-noche-de-tlahuac/1349218 |access-date=2024-07-07 |website=Excélsior |language=es}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Noguez |first=Alejandra |date=2004-11-24 |title=México: linchan a dos policías |trans-title=Mexico: two police officers lynched |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/spanish/latin_america/newsid_4037000/4037669.stm |access-date=2024-07-07 |work=BBC Mundo |language=es}}</ref> They reportedly saw a woman leave the house and head for the nearby Popol Vuh Primary School, resulting in Mireles getting out of the car and following her. He took several photos as he went, arousing the suspicion of parents who had arrived to pick up their children. Mireles then ran back to the car.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Sosa |first=Alfredo |date=19 November 2021 |title=¡Los dejaron morir! En 2004 lincharon a policías en San Juan Ixtayopan, Tláhuac |trans-title=They let them die! In 2004, police officers were lynched in San Juan Ixtayopan, Tláhuac |url=https://www.la-prensa.com.mx/archivos-secretos/los-dejaron-morir-en-2004-lincharon-a-policias-en-san-juan-ixtayopan-tlahuac-7496703.html |access-date=2024-07-07 |website=La Prensa |language=es}}</ref>
Moreno was then sent out to record the school's name; upon approaching the school, he was surrounded and questioned by locals. Moreno initially responded by stating he merely wanted to buy juice. He was soon accused of kidnapping
[[Televisa]], one of Mexico's two major mass media companies, broadcast the lynching live, with the mob even allowing reporters to interview the victims at certain points so they could "confess their crimes".<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Hernández |first=Bertha |date=2023-02-25 |title=Linchamiento: la oscura noche en Tláhuac |trans-title=Lynching: the dark night in Tláhuac |url=https://www.cronica.com.mx/nacional/linchamiento-oscura-noche-tlahuac.html |access-date=2024-07-07 |website=Cronica |language=es}}</ref> Moreno eventually managed to free one of his arms, take out his cell phone, and with the crowd's permission, call his superiors for help.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3" /> Fátima Mena Ortega, the
Mireles and Bonilla were both doused in gasoline and set on fire by 9 PM,<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":0" /> while Moreno was dragged away from the school to a lamp post near the town's newspaper kiosk.<ref name=":3" /> There, he
== Aftermath ==
Mireles was buried on 25 November in Mexico City, while Bonilla was buried the same day in [[Querétaro (city)|Santiago de Querétaro]].<ref name=":6" />
=== Operation Cyclone ===
On the night of 24 November 2004, in what was codenamed Operation Cyclone, more than 300 agents of the Federal Investigations Agency, supported by [[police helicopters]],<ref name=":6" /> arrested at least 32 suspects.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /> Alicia "La Gorda" Zamora Luna and Eduardo Torres Montes, identified as the lynching's main instigators,<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":8" />
Controversy arose concerning agents' conduct throughout the operation, as units entered homes without [[Search warrant|search warrants]] and reportedly looted homes. Suspects Martín Andrés García and Edgar Molotla were both severely beaten once detained, something which their families believe played a role in their deaths some years later.<ref name=":7" />
== Reactions ==
=== Local ===
Many Tláhuac residents were ashamed of the incident, emphasizing that the actions of the lynch mob did not represent the community as a whole. An unnamed man reportedly said the
A vocal minority, however, tried to justify the lynching; in an interview with ''[[La Prensa (Mexico City)|La Prensa]]'' reporter Raúl Macías, an unknown person said "What we did was well done, it was them or our children."<ref name=":0" />
=== Government ===
Members of the three
[[José Luis Soberanes]], the president of the [[National Human Rights Commission (Mexico)|National Human Rights Commission]], stated that the lynching "call[ed] into question the institutions of prosecution and administration of justice..." as well as "shock[ed] the rule of law." The Mexico City
==== Dismissals ====
Much criticism was given towards the [[Secretariat of Citizen Security of Mexico City]] due to its perceived passiveness throughout the lynching;<ref name=":4" /> high-ranking police officials' claims of high traffic preventing a quicker response
Eventually, on 7 December 2004, President Fox announced that Ebrard, alongside
== References ==<!-- See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Referencing_for_beginners on how to create references. -->
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