Gay American Murdered In Mexican Prison

[Lee]

(Laredo, Texas) A gay American man accused of killing a man in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico has been brutally stabbed to death in prison only a month after the US government said he was being tortured by guards, and only one day after prison officials assured a consular official that he was safely separated from the general prison population.

Washington is demanding answers to questions surrounding the killing of Mario Medina, 23. The US State Department wants to know how his killer got to him if he were segregated.

Medina was stabbed 88 times. The State Department also wants to know if more than one prisoner were involved in the slaying.

Mario Medina, 23, and his partner Hiram Oliveros, 28, both of Laredo, Texas, have been held by Tamaulipas state authorities since March 26 as suspects in the slaying of a newspaper editor Roberto Mora. The body of Mora, editor of El Manana, was found March 19. Police say he had been stabbed 26 times.

Police claim the motive for the killing was Medina's jealousy. Investigators say that Medina suspected Oliveros was having suspected affair with the victim. Both men deny knowing Mora.

From the moment Medina and Oliveros were arrested there have been questions about their guilt. The men said they were innocent, and independent investigations have lent credence to their claims.

Mora's own colleagues at El Manana and human-rights advocates have accused the police of incompetence in their investigation.

Mora had a reputation as a hardnosed newspaper man and had made a number of enemies over the years. Reporters at El Manana say they believe Mora's killers were drug traffickers and corrupt government officials whom Mora had exposed through his newspaper.

While they were being held Mexican authorities denied Medina and Oliveros access to US consular officials, a violation of international law. When US government representatives were allowed to see the men, nearly a month after they were arrested Medina and Oliveros complained they had been tortured. (story) "The United States abhors and vigorously objects to mistreatment of its citizens," the State Department told the Mexican government last month. Oliveros said he thought that they had been targeted by police because they are gay

Following pressure from the US government a judge ordered two police officials whom Medina accused of torturing him to appear in court hearings on the matter. Neither officer showed up.

In renewed pressure from Washington, the attorney general for the state of Tamaulipas has resigned.

Nevertheless State Department demands for a copy of the autopsy report have gone unanswered and the safety of Oliveros continues to be a concern.

The body of Medina was returned to his family in Laredo, Texas for burial.

http://www.365gay.com/newscon04/05/052504mexPris.htm

Thats just horrid

My thoughts and prayers go out to this mans family

Regards,

Lee

[Bec]

This is truly a heart breaking story ... whether he was guilty or innocent the treatment he received is inexcusable. My thoughts and prayers go out to him, his family, and I can only pray that his partner does not meet the same fate.