Like every day for weeks, Maria Ramírez spends hours on Facebook, her nose glued to the screen. On his personal feed, the same face keeps coming back: that of a young man with brown hair in his twenties. It’s not about her new lover, nor a family member, nor a fashionable singer. The only cry that this boy inspires in him is written under each photo: “ Assassin! » It’s almost a year that the poor woman has been thinking about him from morning to evening. An obsession, ever since that sad night when she saw her son die before her eyes, killed by a scumbag he knew only too well. Víctor Lara, the boy in the photo, was his best friend…
As loyal in friendship as in love
Return to the night of August 13 to 14, 2023. That evening, Fidel, Maria’s eldest son, goes out to join his friends at the big ball which, each year, closes the festival in their Mexican village of Yanga. At 25, Fidel is a balanced boy. After earning a law degree at university, he landed a job as a “youth coordinator” at town hall. As loyal in friendship as in love, he lives up to his first name. Leo, his girlfriend, a pretty redhead with a mischievous smile, has been with him for two years. But we cannot say that she shows the same righteousness as him…
Arriving at the festival, while looking for her in the crowd, Fidel finds his darling in the arms of a certain Jesus, who is none other than Víctor’s little brother, his best friend. The deception is blatant. Furious, Fidel rushes towards the duo to demand explanations. Tone up. Jesus plays the little roosters. The two boys are not far from coming to blows. And it is finally Víctor, the big brother, who comes to intervene by taking the side of his younger brother.
Ulcerated, betrayed, Fidel returns home. He has just lost his girlfriend and his best friend at the same time! His mother, who was sleeping with one eye open, heard him slam the door at 2 a.m., then answer the phone. It’s Leo, pitiful, who asks her for forgiveness. She tells him that she is in the street, and that she wants to talk to him. Fidel comes out. But there, surprise. The young girl is not alone on the sidewalk. The two mocking brothers supervise the little redhead, as well as two other guys.
This is where the unthinkable happens
Fidel approaches the small group, jaw clenched. A few words are exchanged. This is where the unthinkable happens. Víctor, the lifelong friend, draws a revolver. And without an ounce of hesitation, he kills his old friend with three bullets fired at point blank range. The explosions tear the silence of the night. Fidel collapses. His mother, who witnessed the whole scene from her window, comes out screaming. The small group flees.
Taken to hospital, Fidel died a little later that night. The investigation quickly allows us to confirm who was around Leo at the time of the execution. Jesus and Víctor Lara, therefore, but also a certain José Benito, and a certain Eduardo Gamaliel…
On August 15, 2023, a large and silent crowd attended Fidel’s funeral. Devastated, Maria speaks in front of the assembly.
—They killed him in front of my door! she is indignant. His killer had been coming to my house since he was a child!
The same evening, she published the first message in a long series on Facebook, in which she addressed the murderer directly. “ Víctor, yesterday I saw you flee like a coward. I hope you pay it forward somehow and make your mother proud of you. Victor Lara, assassin! » From there, as we saw, not a day goes by without the mother denouncing the young man on the networks. His action did not go unnoticed, and a hashtag #justiciaparafidel (“justice for Fidel”) soon surfaced on Twitter. Even Felipe Calderón, the former president of Mexico, relays it on his personal account. “ Terrible ! the politician is scandalized. He kills his friend, the victim’s mother identifies him, and he goes free? What’s happening ? »
However, a week after the tragedy, the suspect is still at large, without even a warrant for his arrest. Revolted, Maria and her daughter wrote a four-handed letter, which they addressed directly to the current president. In this moving letter written in the first person (read box opposite), they depict Fidel himself, as if he were begging the head of state to find his assassin. Andrés Manuel Obrador does not respond directly, but the missive reaches him. Things are moving. On September 15, Jesus Lara, José Benito and Eduardo Gamaliel were arrested. But not Víctor, still on the run, nor Leo, the little redhead who started it all. Did they win the United States? When in doubt, Mexican police alert their American counterparts. A “red notice” is issued by Interpol. But despite the resources deployed, the two fugitives remained untraceable for months. Meanwhile, Maria doesn’t give up, and she continues to broadcast on the networks the photo of the man who ruined her existence… An obstinacy which will end up paying off in part.
Leo has been wanted for eight months for complicity in murder
On Friday, May 24, 2024, a police patrol is driving through the streets of Splendora, a small American town near the Mexican border, when one of the officers’ eyes is drawn to the features of a motorist with long red hair. He’s seen that face somewhere before. The police officer quickly finds where: his photo is displayed at the entrance to the police station! It’s been eight months since Leo Acosta Sanchez, 21, was wanted in Mexico for complicity in murder!
The patrol discreetly follows her and asks the central office to set up a roadblock. A few minutes later, the flighty little seductress suddenly finds herself surrounded by flashing lights. Realizing that she is cornered, she surrenders without trying to be crazy, and bursts into tears while she is handcuffed. We later discovered that she had been in the United States for almost a year, and had even found accommodation there under an assumed name. But his run is over. Immediately extradited, she was incarcerated in the Mexican prison of Veracruz. Throughout the country, the news of his arrest caused immense relief. The one who rejoices the most is obviously Maria, who makes the breaking news everywhere on the networks. But the mother of course makes it clear that her fight does not end there. She promises: she will not give up until Victor himself is behind bars. At the time of our closure, the young man was still nowhere to be found. But in his place, we would be worried. Losing the FBI is one thing. But a mother as thirsty for revenge and determined as Maria, it will undoubtedly be mission impossible…
An investigation by Axelle Winieux
