Criminal Justice
Mainstream Musicians Murdered in Mexican Drug Violence
Posted Dec 5, 2007, 02:42 pm CST
By Martha Neil
A wave of violence in Mexico involving warring drug gangs has now apparently targeted several well-known musicians with no known ties to the organized-crime groups, sparking increased concern that no one is safe from the rampant brutality.
Two musicians were killed within the past week, one of whom, Sergio Gomez, lead performer for K-Paz de la Sierra, was tortured before being strangled Sunday, reports the Associated Press. After a performance, Gomez was reportedly intercepted by a group driving 10 Chevrolet Suburbans
The other, Zayda Pena of Zayda and the Guilty Ones, was shot execution-style in the hospital bed where she was recovering from a previous bullet wound in the neck.
More so than earlier killings of "narcocorrido" celebrities, these murders of singers unaffiliated with drug gangs have shocked and worried people throughout the music industry, the news agency reports.
"They've just kidnapped and murdered a major international star traveling with bodyguards," says Elijah Wald, author of the book Narcocorrido, referring to Gomez. "That is a very clear message: 'We can get anybody.'"