Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico Police Chief resigns amidst Body Guards’ kidnapping of young couple

By: Jose G. Landa, Copyright 2014, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc.

The City of Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico Chief of Police, Major Jose Antonio Campa Arredondo, resigned his top law enforcement post on Monday, June 30, 2014, citing personal health reasons and his desire not to intervene in the ongoing investigation of three of his personal body guards and three other elite security members alleged kidnapping of a young couple from Eagle Pass, Texas and Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico.

The young couple comprised of a young American citizen male from Eagle Pass and a young Mexican citizen female from Piedras Negras, Coahuila were kidnapped on Sunday, June 22, 2014, after attending a musical concert in Piedras Negras, Coahuila by at least six armed persons. The elite Mexican Marines operating in Piedras Negras, Coahuila swiftly acted upon being advised and were able to locate and rescue the young couple after the kidnappers had telephoned the parents of the couple demanding a three million pesos ($240,000 U.S. Dollars) ransom for their return.

According to Mexican news reports, one or more of the kidnappers allegedly raped the young female while held captive before her rescue by the Mexican Marines.

The resignation of the Piedras Negras, Coahuila Police Chief Major Jose Antonio Campa Arredondo was expected in light of the revelation that the alleged kidnappers of the young couple include three members of the Police Chief’s personal body guards and three members of the elite Grupo de Armas y Tacticas Especiales Muncipales (GATEM) of the State of Coahuila.

The incident has raised concerns both in Eagle Pass and Piedras Negras, Coahuila that law enforcement forces in the Mexican border city of Piedras Negras can not be trusted to protect citizens and businesses from criminal elements. News of the young couple’s kidnapping and rape has caused many Eagle Pass and American citizens from visiting and traveling to Piedras Negras, Coahuila on the United States-Mexico border.

The case is under investigation by the State of Coahuila Attorney General’s Office. Some of the suspects have been detained and given confessions regarding their participation in this heinous crime while other suspects fled and warrants of arrest against them have been issued.