Mexican feds probe killing of crime activist

More than a dozen Mexican anti-crime, community and union groups issued a statement calling for justice in the killing, as Benjamin LeBaron and his neighbor Luis Widmar were buried in northern Chihuahua state, where they were killed Tuesday.

"The Chihuahua case is emblematic, because this is a community whose members have not only suffered attacks by criminal gangs, but have also been the victims of reprisals when they decided to speak out," according to the statement. "The criminals have tried to silence the press, and as Mexicans we should not allow them to do the same with rest of society."

Such killings are usually investigated by state authorities in Mexico, but the Attorney General's office said it was taking over the case because it believes the killing was linked to the kidnapping of LeBaron's brother and to the arrest of 25 men dressed in paramilitary gear in a nearby town.

The office said it had put together "a special team of prosecutors, federal agents and forensics experts to investigate the case," and the army said it had sent 100 soldiers to the area to ensure the safety of the hamlet of Colonia LeBaron, Chihuahua.

Video footage showed two simple wooden coffins and mourners lined up beside them at the Thursday funeral, which was attended by Gov. Jose Reyes Baeza. LeBaron, 32, and Widmar, 29, left behind 10 orphaned children.

The crime — described as the first retaliation killing of an anti-crime activist in Mexico — made a huge impact in Mexico, despite the fact that LeBaron was a dual-national U.S. citizen and belonged to a tiny and little-known group of Mormons who immigrated from the United States to settle in Mexico more than a half-century ago.

On Wednesday, Mexico's Congress called for a minute of silence in honor of the two men's memory, and radio, television and newspaper editorials called on authorities to investigate.

The two were abducted from LeBaron's house by a gang of armed men in military-style camouflage gear tossed into a truck and then shot in the head on a nearby road.

Members of Colonia LeBaron pledged to forge ahead with community efforts to stop kidnapping and extortion, despite LeBaron's death.

LeBaron helped lead the town's approximately 2,000 inhabitants in protests against the May 2 kidnapping of LeBaron's 19-year-old brother, Eric LeBaron. The residents refused to pay the $1 million ransom kidnappers requested and demonstrated in the Chihuahua state capital to demand justice.

Even after Eric was released unharmed a week later, the LeBaron people continued to lead marches demanding more law enforcement in the rural, isolated corner of Chihuahua state.

They also set up a committee to report any suspicious activities in town to police, quickly becoming an example for other Chihuahua communities plagued by drug-related kidnappings and extortion.

Both the army and police increased their presence in the town following Eric's kidnapping, perhaps contributing to the arrest of 25 suspected hit men for the Sinaloa drug cartel in the nearby town of Nicolas Bravo.

LeBaron's killers left a banner saying his slaying was revenge for those arrests.

Another of Benjamin LeBaron's brother, Julian LeBaron, said the banner was signed "El General," an apparent reference to Sinaloa cartel lieutenant Jose Garcia.

Colonia LeBaron was founded in the late 1940s by polygamist Mormons from the United States after the U.S. church disavowed the practice. Few of the families in the hamlet still practice polygamy, and many are no longer practicing Mormons. The townspeople now mainly farm, run cattle ranches and grow pecans.