Bodies of 2 U.S. citizens found in Palomas mass grave

2 Deming, New Mexico men among 20 victims found in mass grave
by Maggie Ybarra \ El Paso Times



Two Deming, New Mexico men reported missing in October were among the 20 victims unearthed at a grave site on the outskirts of Palomas, Chihuahua.

But the mother of one of the men said her son is not among those killed.

Mexican authorities found the New Mexico driver's license and U.S. passport card of Lorenzo Rentería, 27, buried in or near one of the 11 4-foot-deep graves. Initially, Mexican authorities reported that they had found a woman's identification, but they later confirmed that it belonged to Rentería.

The other Deming man, who was reported missing by his family in October, was also found among the dead, said officials with the Luna County Sheriff's Office. He was identified as Camerino F. Corral, 31, officials said.

Family members told sheriff's officials that Corral was in Juárez the last time they heard from him, said Capt. Arturo Baeza of the Luna County Sheriff's Office.
Rentería's mother, Esther Rentería, said she went to the morgue in Juárez on Wednesday to see whether she could identify her son. She said Mexican authorities have the wrong man.

"I don't think it was my son. First of all, this body they showed me looked very different," she said. "A mother can tell when it is not her son. Only if the DNA tests positive will I accept it. Right now, to me, my son is alive."

Esther Rentería said she believes it's possible that someone took his New Mexico license and U.S. passport card and buried it with the bodies. She said she would go to the Chihuahua state attorney general's office on Friday to seek a DNA test.

The last time Esther Rentería heard from her son, he was headed to Ascensión, also in Chihuahua, to see his wife.

"I told him call me when you arrive. At 8:32 p.m., he called me from Palomas saying, 'Mom, they have just stopped me. I will call you in a little bit. I love you,' I told him, I love you too," she said. "I thought he would call me later, but he never did. He did not tell me who stopped him."

Lorenzo Rentería was born in Deming, she said.

The Mexican army discovered the victims' bodies early Sunday.


Relative of Deming, New Mexico victim accuses Mexican authorities of murder


http://lapolaka.com/2010/12/02/soldados-metidos-en-un-broncon/

Mexican Army soldiers and Ascension municipal police are accused of murdering several of the victims found in the Puerto Palomas, Chihuahua clandestine mass grave.

Relatives of three missing persons whose bodies were found in the mass graves charged that soldiers and police are responsible for the deaths of at least two Mexican citizens and a U.S. citizen.

The three victims found among the 20 bodies that have been exhumed were identified as Daniel Flores Saucedo, 22, and Efrain Aguilar, 20, both Mexican citizens, and Camerino Corral Franco, 32, a U.S. citizen from Deming, New Mexico.

According to the relatives of the victims, they asked for help from Mexican authorities after U.S. police, using global positioning system signals to locate the phones of the disappeared men, determined they were at an Army base located in the area.

The relatives of the victims unveiled this evidence to the Mexican press after leaving the Semefo morgue, where they identified the remains of their murdered relatives. After identification of the three bodies, relatives said they have evidence to prove serious crimes were committed by the military and police.