This archive report was first published on 3 December 2019.
On November 4, a brutal attack on a breakaway Mormon community with dual US-Mexican nationality left three women and six children dead, sending shockwaves across the border.
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's government faced mounting pressure to demonstrate its commitment to combating violence by drug cartels.
"They presented the progress they're making in the investigation and the cooperation between Mexico and the United States on the case," Lenzo Widmar, a relative who attended a closed-door meeting with the president, told AFP on December 3, 2019.
According to investigators, the La Linea drug cartel carried out the attack, mistakenly targeting the families for members of a rival gang. However, some relatives disputed this theory, alleging they were deliberately targeted.
Eight children managed to escape the carnage, with six of them sustaining injuries. A 13-year-old boy, who showed remarkable bravery, helped the younger ones hide and then walked 22 kilometers (14 miles) home to seek help.
Following the killings, US President Donald Trump urged Mexico to wage "war" on its drug cartels with US assistance. He later proposed adding Mexican cartels to the US blacklist of terrorist organizations, a move Lopez Obrador rejected, stating "cooperation yes, interventionism no."
