Anti-violence activist who accused police in son's kidnapping slain in Mexico

[Judi Lynn]

Anti-violence activist who accused police in son's kidnapping slain in Mexico
Corrupt officials blamed; authorities say man had criminal past
By E. EDUARDO CASTILLO, JAVIER QUINTERO
updated 1 hour 20 minutes ago 2011-11-29T19:30:20

HERMOSILLO, Sonora — An activist who publicly accused police officers of kidnapping his teenage son was shot to death as he drove through his hometown in northern Mexico, a slaying that instantly fueled a bitter nationwide debate over crime and corruption.

Corrupt officials were being blamed Tuesday by citizen activists who worked with Nepomuceno Moreno in a national anti-crime movement that has been calling for an end to organized crime, police abuse and a military-led government assault on drug cartels.

Patrolling 'smugglers' alley' by air along the Rio Grande
The prosecutor's office in the border state of Sonora told reporters, however, that Moreno had a criminal past and it was that, not activism, which appeared to have led to his death. Officials said Moreno was shot at least five times when he stopped his van at an intersection Monday afternoon in Hermosillo, the capital city Sonora, which borders Arizona.

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Many Mexicans focus the blame for tens of thousands of crime-related deaths on the incompetence and corruption of federal, state and local authorities. President Felipe Calderon, in turn, has outraged crime victims and their families by saying that 90 percent of those slain in a 5-year-old government war on drug cartels were themselves involved in crime.

More:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45480587/ns/world_news-americas/