Mexican military accused of gunning down 5 young men in border city sparking clashes with residents

• Videos show clashes between civilians and Mexican military.
• Soldiers are accused of killing 5 men in Nuevo Laredo.
• NGO denounces abuses by soldiers.

A non-governmental organization accused the Mexican military of gunning down five young men early Sunday morning after they left a nightclub in the border city of Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas. Videos from the scene showed at least one soldier firing into the ground to drive civilians away.

According to a statement from the Human Rights Committee of Nuevo Laredo, the Mexican soldiers shot the young men at the intersection of Huasteca and Méndez streets. They were heading home in a white Chevrolet Silverado pick-up truck, which was hit with more than 20 bullets.

The military is accused of a terrible massacre in Nuevo Laredo

The incident occurred in the Manuel Cavazos Lerma neighborhood of the border city. The organization identified the young men who were killed as Gustavo Pérez Beriles, Wilberto Mata Estrada, Jonathan Aguilar Sánchez, Gustavo Ángel Suárez Castillo (who is believed to be an American citizen)  and Alejandro Trujillo Rocha.

In addition, another young man identified as Luis Gerardo was in serious condition in a private hospital. The statement noted that the Human Rights Committee of Nuevo Laredo informed the president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador that in «Nuevo Laredo the military is out of control».

Civilians confront the soldiers

On the other hand, the NGO said that the military in Nuevo Laredo don’t respect the credo: «Do not kill the wounded, do not commit massacres and respect the human rights of people.» Videos of civilians clashing with soldiers circulated on social media.

“This new massacre that occurred on this border city inflamed hundreds of residents and dozens of relatives of the victims who confronted the military personnel, even beating them, considering that the victims were not armed and there was no reason for them to be deprived of their lives in an arbitrary manner,” the NGO said in the statement.

Soldiers shot at the civilians during a confrontation

In the videos broadcast on social media by Proceso and El Norte, multiple members of the Mexican army confront citizens in the area and drive them back by shooting bullets into the air and into the ground. So far, the Secretary of National Defense (SEDENA) has not issued a statement in this regard.

“We are making an urgent call to the President of Mexico, to the Attorney General of the Republic and to the National Human Rights Commission to order an exhaustive investigation of this new massacre committed by members of the Mexican Army, aggravated by dispersing with bullets a group of citizens enraged by so much abuse and injustice,” wrote Raymundo Ramos Vázquez, president of the Human Rights Committee.

At least two young people were «finished off» by the military in Nuevo Laredo

«Neighbors of the sector say that at least two young people were finished off with shots to the neck while they were lying on the pavement,» the organization said in the statement. Raymundo Ramos Vázquez, president of the Nuevo Laredo Human Rights Committee, declared that around twelve units of the Mexican army were guarding the scene of the shooting, amid complaints from relatives and neighbors.

«When Mexican Army personnel tried to drag the victims’ truck to FGR facilities, families of the victims and settlers began to exchange blows with several of the soldiers and the operation got out of control,» Ramos explained.