Puebla: The Valsequillo Water Channel Heavily Used For Disposal Of Corpses

"Sol Prendido" for Borderland Beat

The Valsequillo drain crosses several municipalities such as Tehuacán, Tecamachalco, Tlacotepec de Benito Juárez, Yehualtepec, Ajalpan and Tepanco de López. 

Among them are some that comprise the Red Triangle, named after the theft and transfer of fuel and the high crime rate that this area represents.

Many years ago the Valsequillo drain was used for irrigation of the land that is located in the Tehuacán region. Today, these waters are highly contaminated because all kinds of waste are deposited there and it’s one of the favorite places for criminals to get rid of human bodies that are found days later in a state of decomposition.

The Valsequillo drain crosses several municipalities such as Tehuacán, Tecamachalco, Tlacotepec de Benito Juárez, Yehualtepec, Ajalpan and Tepanco de López. Among them are some that comprise the Red Triangle, named after the theft and transfer of fuel and the high crime rate that this area represents.

Due to this, for at least the last two years to date the Valsequillo drain became the dumping grounds for corpses. In this area, bodies with signs of torture, tied up, people who were reported missing and victims of femicides have been found. To this are added some accidental deaths by drivers who have fallen in with everything and their vehicles.

One of the most recent cases is that of Sotero Damaso G.P., 25 years old. On Wednesday, July 14, he was abducted in the municipality of Tecamachalco. His brother, Emiliano, 21, was a municipal policeman in the town of Tlacotepec de Benito Juárez. And on Thursday, July 15, he was murdered when he left his home located in the neighborhood of La Villita, in Tecamachalco, to go to work.

Emiliano had already worked as a policeman in San Salvador Huixcolotla and Tecamachalco. He had only been on the job for 15 days in the Tlacotepec corporation.

The next day, on Friday, July 16, Sotero's vehicle was located in the Valsequillo drain near Tecamachalco. And it wasn’t until Sunday morning when his body was located floating in the waters of the canal on the Yehualtepec-Tlacotepec stretch.

A day before, also in the drain but near Lienzo Charro, in Tecamachalco, a floating body was located. At that time the authorities didn’t specify whether it was a man or a woman and in what condition they were found, but it was the second finding in that area in less than 24 hours.

Previously, the body of a man of approximately 35 years of age who had gunshots and traces of torture was found.

On May 5, another body was found floating in the canal but near the capital of Puebla. As in all cases, Civil Protection elements carried out rescue work to recover the body. Afterwards it was placed at the disposal of the Attorney General's Office.

Guanely Pérez Ramírez, 24, and Idalia Torres Sánchez, 28, were reported missing in the municipality of Cuapiaxtla de Madero. The first was last seen on March 31 and the oldest of the two since April 19. Both were found dead in the Valsequillo canal a day apart.

The bodies of Guanely and Idalia were found by peasants near Tecamachalco. And although it hasn’t been officially reported if there was any kind of relationship between them, Governor Miguel Barbosa declared that these and two other femicides that occurred in Tecamachalco were linked.

Periódico Central