Cuernavaca, Morelos: Social Activist Alejandro Garcia ‘El Chepe’ Executed

"Sol Prendido" for Borderland Beat  

El Chepe, as Alejandro García Zagal was known, was shot dead in his management house

The murder took place in the Antonio Barona neighborhood. 

Alejandro García Zagal, who was better known as "El Chepe" was shot dead last Tuesday morning, in the city of Cuernavaca, Morelos. The man was a social activist, and died in his authority council in the Antonio Barona neighborhood.

Josefina García León, his niece, demanded that the authorities submit Cuernavaca alderman Albina Cortés Lugo to investigation, a couple of weeks ago she threatened "Chepe". Just last Thursday, another activist was also shot dead in the city of Cuernavaca.

The Attorney General's Office (FGE), reported on the murder of García Zagal, who at 11:29 a.m. received reports at C5 about the gunfire that was heard in the Antonio Barona neighborhood, and upon arriving at the place, the death of Alejandro García was confirmed, whose body suffered deep injuries from gunshots.

Prosecutor Uriel Carmona Gándara went to the crime scene, and regretted that again, the neighborhood presents a violent act. A year ago, in the same colony, an armed group shot at people watching over the bodies of two young men who had also been shot dead, a situation that the prosecutor reserved. Ten people shot dead in that attack and so far the Prosecutor's Office has not been able to stop the alleged attacks, and the motive for the attack is not known either.

On the murder of "El Chepe", his niece Josefina García, demanded justice and review of the security cameras in the area, in addition to investigating the alderman Albina Cortés Lugo, in March 2020 she was denounced, along with Mayor Antonio Villalobos Adán, before the Attorney General's Office, for allegedly sending a gunman to kill "El Chepe".

The man had received death threats.

On that occasion, on March 30, 2020, Alejandro García reported that when he left his home, in the Antonio Barona neighborhood, he saw a guy wearing a navy blue shirt and denim pants, who called him by name, and when he turned around, he was shot, however, he managed to crouch down and dodge them. Even so, he was injured and had to be taken to a hospital to be treated.

In that day's statement, "El Chepe" assured that the attack against him was related to the demonstrations he has led in the Antonio Barona neighborhood, to demand drinking water service and denounce excessive charges of up to 10,000 pesos bimonthly per family.

He also said, in an interview he gave in the Zócalo of Cuernavaca, that months ago he had received some warnings, in which he was asked to "calm down," and later, the councilor Albina Cortés, sent one of his workers to intimidate and threaten him, on that occasion he pointed out the mayor of the capital Antonio Villalobos and the councilor of any situation of violence that could happen to him.

His niece Josefina narrated that in the last attack, in which "El Chepe" lost his life, someone knocked on the door of the management house, his uncle went out to open, and that's where he was shot.

Previously, the activist had already suffered an attack, where he was only injured. 

"He received threats from Albina Cortés, I want an investigation to be made and justice done. I have a lot of pain because I barely buried my uncle Esteban and now they’ve taken my other uncle away from me; it's not fair, he fought against these people who don't help others," Josefina told the newspaper El Universal.

He also accused that his uncle had received death threats, they had warned him to calm down "or something was going to happen to him."

"El Chepe" led some demonstrations in the Antonio Barona neighborhood and a few weeks ago called on citizens to unite and not pay the water bills to Sapac (Drinking Water System) to prevent that money from going into the pockets of Mayor Antonio Villalobos, instead of paying the CFE.

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