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Mexico’s Defense Ministry Announces Arrest Of 16 Soldiers Allegedly Involved In The Execution Of Five Men

(Photo by PEDRO PARDO/AFP via Getty Images)

Dylan Housman Deputy News Editor
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The Mexican Ministry of Defense announced Saturday authorities arrested 16 military personnel who were allegedly responsible for executing five men after a truck crash last month.

Mexican media outlets published a video last week dated May 18 showing around a dozen soldiers surrounding a truck after it had crashed into a wall, pulling five occupants from inside and shooting them, according to Reuters. A military court issued arrest warrants Thursday for 16 individuals involved for “crimes contrary to military discipline.”

The video, taken in the northern state of Tamaulipas, shows the soldiers kicking and punching the occupants of the truck while removing them from the vehicle and putting them against a wall. The soldiers then take cover and fire shots into the distance, before shooting and killing the five men pulled from the truck.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador addressed the incident during a press conference this week, saying the video appeared to show an “execution.” Further details about the circumstances of the video are unclear, although one of the charged soldiers is seen in the footage removing a long gun from the truck. (RELATED: Mexican President Begs Florida Hispanics Not To Give DeSantis ‘One Single Vote’)

The Mexican government is believed to have lost control of certain areas of the country which have fallen under the violent rule of powerful drug cartels. Tamaulipas, which borders the southern tip of Texas, is known as a hotspot of violence in the battle between the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas, a violent crime syndicate.