The dismembered and ravaged body of an assistant prosecuting attorney was found in northern Guatemala on May 24, just one day after he had been abducted. The victim, Allan Stowlinsky Vidaurre, is presumed to have been murdered by Los Zetas - a Mexican criminal organization that has become increasingly powerful and violent as it seeks further control of the narcotics trade in Guatemala. The same narcoterrorist organization has been blamed for the mass murder of 27 persons on May 15 in a region of Guatemala bordering Mexico.
According to official sources, "the murdered individual is Assistant Prosecutor Allan Stowlinsky Vidaurre who was abducted yesterday (May 23). He partcipated in the investigations into capturing the presumed leader of the Zetas, Hugo Gomez - a.k.a. El Comandante Bruja (Commander Witch)."
The crime occured in Coban, the capital city of the province of Alta Verapaz, north of the national capital, Guatemala City. According to official sources, the murderers left pieces of the dismembered body in plastic bags labeled with a message and signed 'Z200.'
This is a short-hand for Hugo Gomez, who leads the cell of the Zetas now raging in the Central American republic. Some of the plastic bags containing the remains of the prosecutor were found next to the main offices of the provincial government, while others were found at a local public market. Stowlinsky Vidaurre was abducted on the evening of May 23 when he went to a sports center in Coban to collect his son from a soccer match.
The crime occured in Coban, the capital city of the province of Alta Verapaz, north of the national capital, Guatemala City. According to official sources, the murderers left pieces of the dismembered body in plastic bags labeled with a message and signed 'Z200.' The origin of the province's name in Spanish means 'real peace.'
This is a short-hand for Hugo Gomez, who leads the cell of the Zetas now raging in the Central American republic. Some of the plastic bags containing the remains of the prosecutor were found next to the main offices of the provincial government, while others were found at a local public market. Stowlinsky Vidaurre was abducted on the evening of May 23 when he went to a sports center in Coban to collect his son from a soccer match.
The message found with Stowlinsky Vidaurre's body set out the narcotraffickers' threats to anyone who seeks to go crosswise with Los Zetas. "This is for all those who go wrong with Z 200," the message said. "I told them one by one that I would be killing them. Go ahead and think you are 'gringos' (Americans). If they are willing to fight, leave them alone and don't be stupid because you will end up fucked." Along the same vein, the message added "I'm collecting the 500 kilograms (1100 pounds) you took off of me," and "I will continue collecting the debt, take care of yourselves, sincerely Z 200." Stowlinsky Vidaurre had been working on a case earlier in the year that brought in 432 kilograms (952 pounds) of confiscated cocaine from the Alta Verapaz region. It was to this stash to which the Z200 message made reference
Attorney General Claudia Paz y Paz claimed in a press conference that Stowlinsky Vidaurre's death shows that it is actually the narcotraffickers who are currently hurting. "They have a clear objective by sending a message to provoke fear in us, but we will not back down." Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom expressed "deep outrage" regarding the spectacular murder, reiterating his full support to the country's police forces. Guatemalan has faced over the last two years an escalation of cross-border violence perpetrated by Mexican drug traffickers, while its police force has been rife with accusations of ineptitude and corruption. In addition, a UN official resigned and left the country in disgust last year after having publicly question the government's willingness to address the international body's concerns over law enforcement, transparency, and governance. The official had been given the task to clean up Guatemala's security forces and address concerns about corruption and human rights abuses.
Guatemala announced that it was stepping up security at its national investigative agency's headquarters and its branches throughout the country. This is in the wake of Stowlinsky Vidaurre's murder and the May 15 massacre. It was then that approximately 200 armed members of the Z 200 bloc of Los Zetas arrived at Los Cocos farm, which is located in Peten jungle region of Guatemala, famous for its Mayan ruins. There they massacred 27 people, among them two women. Of these, 25 were decapitated. They were allegedly looking for Guatemalan drug lord Otto Salguero, who has since disappeared. The assassins killed the farm workers at Los Cocos after having asked them to traduce Salguero. Since the beginning of May, Guatemalan security forces have arrested some 20 suspected members of Los Zetas in a number of raids throughout the country. Among those arrested are three Mexican nationals.
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