El Diablo, another of the alleged killers of Javier Valdez executed in Sonora

Translated by Otis B Fly-Wheel for Borderland Beat from a Proceso article

Subject Matter: Luis Idelfonso Sanchez Romero, El Diablo
Recommendation: No prior subject matter knowledge required

Luis Idelfonso Sanchez Romero, El Diablo, one of the sicarios that allegedly assassinated the Journalist Javier Valdez Cardenas, was killed, confirmed the Special Attorney for the Attention of  Crimes Committed against the Freedom of Expression, Ricardo Sanchez.

Reporter: Proceso Redaction
According to a report from the notice portal, Riodoce, the remains of Sanchez Romero were discovered by the Ministerial Police of Sonora in the Moctezuma de San Luis Rio Colorado colonia.

Local media information ensures that  El Diablo  was killed along with Ricardo Romero Landeros. Their charred bodies were found, along with that of a 23-year-old woman, inside a vehicle destroyed by fire.

Relatives came to identify the remains and asked the State Prosecutor's Office to do DNA tests. In February of this year, the results confirmed the identities of Sánchez Romero and Romero Landeros. The next day the two bodies were transferred to Sinaloa by their relatives to bury them.




Ríodoce  interviewed the head of Feadle, Ricardo Sanchez, who said that they had knowledge of these facts and that the probability that Sánchez Romero was murdered is "very high". However, he clarified that this fact will not affect the course of investigations of the crime of Javier Valdez.

According to the ongoing investigation,  El Diablo  had a leading role in the murder of the journalist, as he was the one who was traveling as co-pilot in the gray Nissan Versa car and tinted windows. It was he who got out of the car, demanded Valdez get out of his vehicle and shot him with a 9-millimeter pistol.

And while another gunman fired on the reporter several times with a .380 caliber pistol,  El Diablo  took the Toyota Corolla car driven by Javier Valdez and minutes later left him on the street Aquiles Serdán almost corner with Cristóbal Colón. Immediately, he exited Valdez's vehicle and fled with his accomplices.

Luis Idelfonso Sánchez Romero was identified by a witness of the Prosecutor's Office in the Crime Investigation, to whom he showed images derived from the follow-up made to the videos captured by security cameras of private companies.

El Diablo  was imprisoned in the prison of Culiacán, accused of homicide. He was captured in that capital by elements of the Unit Specialized in Apprehensions (UNESA), in June 2010. Then, the authorities reported in a statement that the detainee, aged 21, residing in the Colonia Revolución, was accused of murdering Arturo Sarabia Fragoso, 33 years old. The assault was recorded shortly after 8:00 pm on February 11, 2010 at the victim's home, after an argument.

The subject was imprisoned for seven years and when he left, he joined the ranks of organized crime.

Last Monday in Tijuana Heriberto Picos Barraza,  El Koala ,was captured, another of the alleged murderers of the author of the book "Mala Yerba".