AP News, July 31st, 2007
The body of a Cuban-American who was under investigation in a migrant smuggling case was found riddled with bullets along a road outside this Caribbean resort, authorities said Tuesday.
Luis Lazaro Lara Morejon, who was wearing only white Bermuda shorts, was found handcuffed and blindfolded with duct tape late Monday night. He had been shot at least 10 times, said Didier Vazquez, the director of the judicial police in Quintana Roo state, where Cancun is located.
Vazquez said Mexican police were investigating whether Lara was part of a Cuban-American group that smuggled Cubans from southern Mexico to the United States. He said Lara was from Miami and moved a year ago to nearby Merida, the capital of Yucatan state. He was reported missing July 20.
Earlier this month, Mexican authorities outside Cancun arrested eight people _ six of whom were Cuban-Americans or Cubans with U.S. residency _ on suspicion of smuggling migrants.
The U.S. Embassy in Mexico City said American authorities traveled to Cancun to interview the detainees and confirm their nationalities, but refused to comment further.
It was unclear if Lara was also being investigated by U.S. authorities.
Mexican police are still searching for Lara's girlfriend, who was also reported missing July 20.
Quintana Roo's state prosecutor, Bello Mecho Rodriguez, told a news conference Tuesday that Lara was born in Cuba and first arrived in Mexico illegally. He later crossed the border into the United States, where he eventually became a citizen. Mecho Rodriguez gave no further details.
Mexico, whose Caribbean coast is about 120 miles southwest of Cuba, is increasingly used by smugglers as a route to get Cuban migrants into the United States.
Migrants arriving here travel to the U.S. border, where they identify themselves as Cubans to American officials and are usually allowed to stay. Cuban migrants detained in Mexico are also often allowed to stay.
