Vallarta execution victims were Guadalajara attorneys

They were sent to P.V. to recover real estate, it appears

What does Jalisco's PRI governor Aristóteles Sandoval have to say about narco crime in his state? This week he urged citizens, "Be patient with us while we finish off those drug cartels" (all 80 of 'em?)

Guadalajara -
Two brothers executed early yesterday morning in the heart of Puerto Vallarta's tourist district were attorneys who practiced law in the suburban Guadalajara community of Zapopan, authorities reported.

The vehicle in which the brothers were traveling was ambushed about 1:00 a.m. Thursday in front of a popular sports bar. The victims were riddled with automatic weapons fire by a team of assassins armed with AK-47s. They died almost immediately. Narco execution in Puerto Vallarta tourist zone claims two Guadalajara brothers.

The attorneys, who worked for a Notary Public in Zapopan, had traveled to the world famous resort to carry out a real estate foreclosure or eviction at a local hotel, investigators reported. They had arrived only hours before they were killed.

A Mexican Notary Public is nothing like his/her U.S. counterpart, where notaries are generally clerical personnel who merely attest to the authenticity of signatures on legal and business documents. A Mexican Notary, in contrast, is one of a very select group of attorneys required to carry out important transactions, especially those involving real estate. Most Mexican attorneys are not Notaries Public, and are not authorized to handle legal matters involving land ownership. A Notary Public office in this country is typically owned by a senior attorney with many years of experience, assisted by younger associates who are still in their apprenticeship. Notary Public legal business can be highly lucrative.

The Puerto Vallarta Public Ministry, which carries out preliminary criminal investigations, reported that a briefcase containing court papers and legal documents was found in the victims' vehicle. The basis for the foreclosure or property eviction action remains unclear, as does the identify of the hotel management, operators or owners.
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Mexican drug cartels are diversified enterprises often engaged in much more than just narcotics trafficking. Commercial extortion of legitimate businessmen is a huge supplemental revenue raiser which affects tens of thousands of establishments across the nation, both large and small. Owners must pay the derecho de piso, or a "floor charge," if they want to remain in business and remain alive. The problem is so severe in Cancún, Playa del Carmen and along Mexico's southeastern coast that an estimated 80% of all businesses - almost everyone but mega corporate chains, which generally can insulate themselves from narco demands - must pay the "rent" (Mexico's Caribbean Riviera Maya in the hands of drug cartels and extortionists). Mom and pop operations pay the extortionist, as do prostitutes and taco salesmen (Cancún Zetas extort even street vendors). Hotel owners who refused to pay have been killed, as have transvestites plying their trade on street corners which are under the dominion of local crime gangs.

In other cases drug cartels and organized crime simply take over profitable businesses, making the owner an "offer he can't refuse." Investing in legitimate enterprises is the single most effective way to launder massive narcotics revenues and avoid large unexplained bank deposits of cash. Extortion in Mexico: one way it’s done.
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Whether the Puerto Vallarta hotel which may be at the center of yesterday's brutal executions was paying, or refusing to pay, Mexico's dreaded derecho de piso, or is under the control of a cartel or organized crime group, has not been established. Jalisco state police are leading the investigation, but they have neither stated a motive nor identified suspects. A Spanish press source this morning called the entire case "very suspicious."

The third victim of the attack was identified as a 45 year old family member of the brothers. He is in critical condition.

Police said they had recovered 42 expended 7.62 mm shells at the scene of the bloody ambush. That round is commonly used in the AK-47, a weapon colloquially known in Mexico as the cuernos de chivo, or "goat horns," due to a distinctive magazine shape


Nov. 29 - Aristóteles advierte a delincuencia que "van por ellos"
Oct. 19 - Guadalajara attorneys were carrying a million pesos in cash when they were executed
Oct. 16 - Guadalajara's police force could be slashed in two weeks
Oct. 11 - Ex-cops working for Los Matazetas involved in shootout which killed three Jalisco police
Sept. 24 - Jalisco prosecutor arrests gang members involved in bar attacks which killed American
Aug. 17 - The death house on Lope de Vega
June 22, 2012 - Dire prognosis for Mexico's next government, with violence threatening Guadalajara

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