11 young people vanish in suspected kidnapping from Mexico City bar close to US Embassy
2 of 11 Victims in Mexico Mass Abduction Were Sons of Drug Traffickers
The mothers of two of the 11 young people kidnapped from a Mexico City bar in a shocking, daylight abduction acknowledged Friday that the youths’ fathers are serving prison sentences for drug-related crimes.
Authorities have been searching desperately for motives in the abductions early Sunday at a bar just off the city’s leafy, skyscraper-lined main boulevard, blocks from police headquarters and the U.S. Embassy. It followed the May 9 beating death of Malcolm Shabazz, grandson of the late Malcolm X, in a fight over a bill at another rough Mexico City bar. Two waiters have been arrested in that killing.
People who worked near the bar involved in Sunday’s abductions long suspected it was connected to drug traffickers or criminals because of the shady characters, street disputes and flashy cars that were frequently seen outside.
But the mothers of those abducted said Friday that authorities may be too eager to look for a possible drug connection because of the fathers and the fact that the youths are from the rough-and-tumble Tepito neighborhood, known for decades as Mexico City’s main contraband market.
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