Sunday, December 19, 2010

On the day of the funeral of a prominent social activist in Chihuahua, Mexico, a business she had ties with was burned down by a group of armed men

A four-alarm fire was reported at the lumber yard belonging to the boyfriend of activist Marisela Escobedo in Ciudad Juarez. Witnesses said gunmen doused the building with gasoline minutes before the blaze started. Escobedo was killed outside of the state capitol in Chihuahua City while trying to collect signatures, said Carlos Gonzalez, spokesman for the Chihuahua state attorney general's office. Manuel Monge, Escobedo's boyfriend, was at the funeral at the time of the incident, but his 37-year-old brother, who was at the business, was kidnapped, witnesses said. Like many businesses, the lumber yard was the victim of extortion and when he failed to pay, it was burned, Gonzalez said. Local activists say criminals are targeting the Escobedo family - and activists like her - for spending the past two years seeking justice for the killing of their daughter.

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