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US State Department Calls on Mexico to Investigate Educator's Death
 Frank C. Girardot & Rebecca Kimitch - Whittier Daily News
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January 06, 2010
| | Salcedo family speaks out on slaying (KCAL 9 Los Angeles) | |
The U.S. State Department on Tuesday called on Mexico to conduct a thorough investigation into last week's slaying of an El Monte educator in that country, and the FBI and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced promises of federal and state assistance.
A spokesman for a U.S. Consulate in Mexico said he expects Mexican authorities to conduct a "strong investigation" into the murder of Agustin Roberto "Bobby" Salcedo, 33, who was gunned down with five other men on New Year's Eve.
"This has created a lot of interest on both sides of the border, and when there is public focus and media interest, that bears down on pressure," said Brian Quigley, spokesman for the U.S. Consulate General in Monterrey, Mexico, which has jurisdiction over the region where the slayings occurred.
Salcedo was visiting his wife's family in the Mexican city of Gomez Palacio, in the state of Durango. He, his wife and some of her friends were sharing a table at a restaurant when all the men at the table were abducted.
Their bodies were found the following morning next to a canal surrounded by more than 100 shell casings, according to Mexican newspaper reports.
Salcedo grew up in El Monte and South El Monte and was a popular educator in the communities for more than a decade. Most recently he was an assistant principal at El Monte High School and a board member on the El Monte City School District.
"Bobby Salcedo was a true leader who dedicated his life to serving his community," Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Tuesday. "His death is profoundly tragic and we join the El Monte and South El Monte community in expressing our sadness. On behalf of all Californians, Maria and I send our deepest condolences to Bobby's family, friends and to the community he loved so much. California stands ready to assist in the investigation in any way possible."
U.S. authorities do not have the jurisdiction to investigate crimes in other countries. Instead, they can only monitor another country's investigation and provide assistance as requested, according to Adriana Gallegos, a press deputy with the State Department's division of Consular Affairs.
State Department spokeswoman Virginia Staab said U.S. officials have pressed Mexican law enforcement agencies to act swiftly and prevent the contamination of DNA and other evidence.
"We provide a lot of support to the Mexican government," Staab said. "We've let them know we have a close interest in this case and we are taking the matter very seriously."
State Department officials said they have been in contact with authorities in Durango. Secretary of State Hilary Rodham Clinton has not been briefed on the incident, Staab said.
Laura Eimiller, a spokeswoman in the FBI's Los Angeles office, said the FBI would assist "with whatever investigation needs to take place in this country."
She would not comment on how, specifically, the FBI would help.
Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Judy Chu, D-El Monte, is urging action on the part of both the U.S. and Mexican governments, writing letters to the State Department and Mexican Embassy.
Chu said the United States shares some of the responsibility for addressing the drug-related crime wave that has devastated Mexico in recent years.
"Ninety percent of the cocaine, heroin and meth that is used in the United States comes from Mexico," she said.
Next week Chu will introduce a congressional resolution honoring Salcedo's work that will likely urge her colleagues in Congress to do more to address the Mexican crime wave, her spokesman Fred Ortega said.
She plans to deliver a flag flown over the U.S. Capitol to Salcedo's family before the educator's funeral Thursday.
"He was such an important person in our community. He gave so much. I talked to him only two weeks ago and I said, `how can you be campaigning, serve on the board of education, be an assistant principal, and be finishing your PhD all at the same time?' He said to me, `I do it for education, I want to give people the same chance I got through education,"' Chu said.
Sen. Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles, and Assemblyman Mike Eng, D-El Monte, both honored Salcedo in the state Senate and Assembly, respectively, Monday.
As others have, they praised him as a rising star who did much to improve the lives of students and residents in the community.
"Many influential people want justice for Bobby Salcedo and his family and this community," Eng said at a vigil for Salcedo on Monday night.
A spokesman for Sen. Barbara Boxer said the senator sends condolences to Salcedo's family.
"Senator Boxer sends her deepest condolences to the Salcedo family," Boxer spokesman Zachary Coile said in a written statement. "This senseless act of violence is a heartbreaking reminder of the dangers posed by the drug cartels."
Neither Boxer nor Sen. Dianne Feinstein have publicly commented on the case.
frank.girardot(at)sgvn.com | rebecca.kimitch(at)sgvn.com
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