Mexican Interior Minister dies in plane crash (2nd most powerful person in Mexico)

This from CNN:

The death toll in a plane crash that claimed the lives of Mexico's interior minister and two other high-ranking officials has risen to 13, a Mexico City official told the state-run Notimex news agency on Wednesday.

The small aircraft carrying Interior Minister Juan Camilo Mourino, 37, and seven others crashed Tuesday night in Mexico City.

(snip)

Former Deputy Attorney General Josi Luis Santiago Vasconcelos and Miguel Monterubio Cubas, director of social communication, were among the dead, President Felipe Calderon said in a televised address Tuesday night.

(snip)

As interior minister, Mourino oversaw the country's domestic affairs, particularly law enforcement. It is Mexico's second most powerful post.

I'm not saying there is a direct connection - but it is a strange coincidence that the night there is a sign of a major shift in U.S. power coming, that the second most powerful person in Mexico dies in a plane crash. This is a person who, according to the article, "...has unleashed federal police and soldiers in states across Mexico and tightened controls on money laundering and corruption among local and municipal police forces, whom drug traffickers have infiltrated."

Perhaps it's just a coincidence, but anyone see a conspiracy here? Who would be motivated by the change in U.S. power to take this guy out? Is there something going on in the underworld of intelligence we need to know?

I think it was drug related and they took him out to show that they can reach anyone.

Do you think the US should get more involved in the escalating drug war in Mexico before it flows over into our country?

Remember that these people are far more likely to die in plane crashes than other folks simply because they fly more than most people on the planet, and usually on small private planes as opposed to chartered ones (which are more safe, due to the ease of fitting more equipment to them, and the redundancy multiple large engines/control surfaces/APUs offers).

Until there's some evidence to suggest anything else, it's a tad unwise to jump to the conclusion he was killed. Of course it's possible, but there's nothing to suggest it at this point.

reply to post by harrytuttle


I was following this when it broke but didn't have a chance to follow the story...here is information regarding the deceased, in particular, the Interior Minister Juan Camilo Mourino; very interesting indeed and the info on him makes it that much more suspicious. Sorry if this is overkill on the subject.

Profile: Juan Camilo Mourino
Mexican Interior Minister Juan Camilo Mourino, who has been killed in a plane crash, was the rising star of the country's political scene.


Mr Mourino was known as the president's "strongman"

During his short tenure at the Interior Ministry, the 37-year-old became inextricably linked with Mexico's increasingly bitter battle with powerful drug cartels, presiding over a series of tough measures aimed at combating the trade.

He was known to have a close relationship with President Felipe Calderon - co-ordinating his election campaign and serving as the Chief of Presidency's Office from 2006 to 2008.

news.bbc.co.uk...

ColoradoJens

[edit on 5-11-2008 by ColoradoJens]

The drug cartels have already taken out Edgar Millan Gomez on May 8th. He was the highest-ranking law enforcement officer in Mexico, responsible for overseeing most of Mexico’s counternarcotics efforts.

articles.latimes.com...

In Juarez, Chih., Mexico alone, there have been over 1,000 deaths since the beginning of 2008. That city is only a few hundred yards from the US city of El Paso. The El Paso Times has a special section for Juarez.

www.elpasotimes.com...

i tend to agree with Harryturtle so much as it is suspisious that this happens at all let alone on election day in the US. Perhaps the Mexican anti naco division was doing a too good a job of finding out those who are most deeply involved in drugs. To happen on election day means that the story wont get global circulation, as it would have if it had occured at any other time.

i live in el paso and i always hear the news of the killings in juarez mex.
its basically a war between a couple of cartels. the people they kill or
businesses they shoot up are directly involved with money laundering
and drug trafficking. i dont feel any sympathy for them thats the nature
of those type of cut throat businesses (literally).

as far as for this official dying i think most people would jump to the conclusion that
he was killed. i would wait for further word on the investigation. plane
crashes are usually fairly easy find out whether it was a technical accident
or something else.

El Paso Times reporter Diana Washington Valdez's blog has an article regarding the crash and whether it was intentional or not by Kelly McKenzie...

dianawashingtonvaldez.blogspot.com...

There was a previous plane crash near Presido, TX back in September. I found it interesting that the day after the place went missing, the Mexican Government said that the US found the plane but later retracted... similar to the plane crash in Mexico City where the media reported that it was an accident before there was any investigation.

www.cbsnews.com...
www.cbsnews.com...

Mexican and U.S. authorities were searching Tuesday for a small plane that disappeared while carrying the U.S. and Mexican heads of the International Boundary and Water Commission.

Mexico's Foreign Relations Department said in a statement late Tuesday that search crews from the two nations have been combing both sides of the border near the town of Ojinaga, across the border from Presidio, Texas.

"Unfortunately... the search has not yielded any results," the department said.



Earlier Tuesday, Chihuahua state Gov. Jose Reyes Baeza Reyes told reporters in Ojinaga that U.S. investigators had located the plane and that all four passengers had died in a crash. His press office later retracted his statement and said the search for the plane continued.

[edit on 7-11-2008 by Kankindog]