Mormon Family Massacred by Cartel Gunmen

In this map of Mexico, darker colors indicate higher levels of drug-trafficking-related violence in a state. This confrontation took place near the border between the states of Sonora and Chihuahua. (Wikipedia)

Three mothers and fourteen children were traveling from Sonora, Mexico, to the neighboring state of Chihuahua to visit family when their caravan was ambushed by gunmen who opened fire on the vans before setting them on fire. All three of the women and six of the children, were killed in the attack. The victims were dual members of the LeBaron family, U.S.-Mexican citizens living in the breakaway La Mora Mormon community that settled in Mexico in the 1920s.

Mexican Security Secretary Alfonso Durazo initially said that it was likely that the gunmen mistook the family’s vans for those of a rival cartel. The La Mora community sits just off a quiet dirt road that leads to the U.S. border, making the area a hot-spot for drug trafficking. This prime location is being fought over by the La Línea gang and “Los Chapos,” which is a faction of the Sinaloa cartel. Some experts say that the increased violence in the area is a result of a fracturing of cartels in the area, as well as a power vacuum left by the arrest of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán in 2016. According to this explanation, the LeBaron family caravan was the victim of a tragic case of mistaken identity.

Family and community members are unsatisfied with this explanation, instead arguing that their loved ones were the victims of an intentional, targeted attack. This would not be the first time members of the LeBaron family were targeted by cartels. The family has been vocal about the need for all Mexicans to stand up to organized crime, publishing articles on the topic in local papers as well as giving radio interviews. In 2009, Erick LeBaron was kidnapped by a cartel and held for ransom before eventually being released. His brother, Benjamin, who led the campaign for his release, was later beaten to death. 

The tragedy has received a strong international response, with President Donald Trump tweeting, "This is the time for Mexico, with the help of the United States, to wage WAR on the drug cartels and wipe them off the face of the earth." He even offered U.S. military assistance, saying that the U.S. "stands ready, willing and able to get involved and do the job quickly and effectively.” Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who ran a campaign focused on fighting the drug-trafficking problem with “hugs, not bullets,” was quick to respond that Mexico has already tried the strategy of declaring a war on drugs and that it did not work. In response to Trump’s offer to help, Durazo responded that the best way that the U.S. could help would be by stemming the flow of illegal firearms into Mexico.

The LeBaron family is taking solace in the fact that eight children survived the attack. The oldest surviving child, 13-year-old Devin Blake Langford, hid his younger relatives in a bush before walking six hours back to their community to get help. Five of the six hidden children were severely injured and were transported to a hospital in Phoenix, Arizona, where they are receiving care. Despite this tragedy and the increasing violence in recent years, the LeBaron family has no plans to leave La Mora any time soon, instead vowing to fight these issues of systemic violence as a community.