A banner left at the scene of a drug war killing. On December 16th, 2009, Arturo Beltrán Leyva, leader of one of the largest and most violent illegal drug enterprises in Mexico, was killed in a shootout. Orchestrated by the Mexican federal government and based on intelligence from the US, it took place in a suburb about an hour’s drive south of Mexico City, as part of a coordinated assault on the upscale apartment building where Beltrán Leyva was staying. But while press conference-fueled reports emerged on international newswires — not unlike those that emerged when Joaquín El Chapo Guzmán Loera was arrested in February — Beltrán Leyva’s death also received a different sort of treatment on Facebook and Twitter.
Comments are closed.
