The body of Irma Hernández, a 62-year-old retired teacher who drove a taxi in Álamo Temapache, a municipality in northern Veracruz, was found this Thursday by the State Attorney General’s Office. The crime, allegedly committed by a drug trafficking group dedicated to extortion, has shocked the community and the taxi industry, which has been hit by the extortion of extortion charges.
“My name is Irma Hernández, I drive taxi 554. Fellow taxi drivers, pay your dues. You don’t play with the mafia,” the teacher said in a recording, in which she is seen kneeling in front of her captors, who are carrying long weapons and wearing masks.
The video was released shortly after the teacher was detained, and after family and friends began a search to locate her.
According to reports, the teacher was kidnapped in the center of the municipality of Álamo Temapache while driving taxi number 554.
Armed men intercepted her on Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Street, in front of the Municipal Market, and forced her into a van. The State Search Commission issued a file to locate Hernández, but authorities were unable to rescue her.
The case reached the Governor of Veracruz, Rocío Nahle García, who was questioned at her press conference last Tuesday about the cases of extortion of taxi drivers.
The official said that an investigation had been opened. “The Prosecutor’s Office has already reported to us. The strange thing is that no one has spoken to ask for a ransom or anything, but work is underway, but work is underway,” she stated.
This morning, at the State Coordination Board for Peacebuilding and Security, the Technical Secretary of the State Attorney General’s Office, Manuel Fernández Olivares, reported the location of the body in the municipality of Álamo.
“Consequently, a multidisciplinary forensic team conducted the corresponding investigations, confirming her identity. With full respect for the victim, her family was promptly notified, maintaining a sensitive approach and adhering to the principles of legality at all times,” she stated.
The Tuxpan Regional Prosecutor’s Office has compiled the corresponding investigation file and reported that it is continuing the necessary steps to clarify the events and identify and locate the probable perpetrators.
Source: sinembargo
