Here is the last story in Rantburg concerning the murder of Mario Gonzalez.

by Chris Covert

Patricia Gonzalez, Chihuahua state attorney general under the previous administration of Governor Jose Reyes Baeza, is under investigation by the Mexican national attorney general for her role in the murder of her brother Mario Gonzalez, say Mexican news accounts.

In a press conference and statement released to the press Thursday evening Arturo Chavez Chavez said evidence sufficient to warrant looking into Gonzalez's activities as attorney general existed and that as part of the investigation into her brother's murder would include the former attorney general.

Mario Gonzalez, who was an attorney in private practice, was abducted October 21st from his office in Chihuahua city by an armed group sympathetic to the Sinaloa drug cartel and in a publicly released Youtube video forced at gunpoint to say Patricia Gonzalez was on the payroll of the Juarez drug cartel, Sinaloa's main rival in Chihuahua state. Subsequent information leaked by the criminal gang said that Gonzalez ordered several high profile murders during her term in office, which ended October 3rd.

Mario was found murdered only a week after the videos were released, shot to death in a remote area near Chihuahua city.

Patricia Gonzalez has since been called to Mexico City to talk to the Procuradora General de la Republica (PGR) about the public charges, and statements released by the PGR at the time said Gonzalez was under investigation.

The latest statement by the PGR is the first in which Mexico City will look into specific charges.

High level Mexican officials are typically placed under preventative detention pending investigation especially if the charges being investigated warrant such a measure and it appears charges will be made.

Preventative detention which calls for detention without charge for up to 40 days, requires a judge's approval, and may be renewed if necessary. The process is colloquially known as "rooting".

No such move has apparently been contemplated by the PGR inasmuch as the charges are occasionally repeated by Chihuahua state press from time to time.

Mario's kidnapping was part of a larger campaign in Patricia's term as attorney general between the Sinaloa cartel and the Juarez cartel, which included kidnapping, murders and "narcografitti" emblazoned on walls and blankets hung in public places. The charges made in these messages usually included charges by one cartel about corrupt officials on the payroll of the other.

The spokesman for the PGR was careful to note the investigation into Mario's murder must include Patricia and that no specific evidence existed tying to to her brother's murder, other than information developed from a previous investigation.

The situation regarding Patricia Gonzalez's term as attorney general is tense as a woman was killed last Thursday night in front of government office in Chihuahua city, whose daughter was also murdered.

Updated to correct the name of the murdered activist and her murdered daughter...
Marisela Escobedo was an activist with a justice group called Causa en Comun ( Common Cause) because her daughter, Rubi Marisol, was murdered by drug gangs, the shooter of which was ordered released because Patricia Gonzalez's court arguments had several omissions which forced the release.

The three judges who presided over that trial were removed from office last Friday by current Chihuahua governor Cesar Duarte.