Mexican authorities on Sunday made a number of arrests in connection with the fiery shooting deaths of nine women and children in northern Mexico last month.
In a news release, The Mexican Attorney General’s office said a suspect arrested in November allowed investigators to obtain “fundamental information” pertaining to the incident.
Officials did not identify the suspects or specify how many people were apprehended, saying only that “several” arrests had been made.
“When there is more information, reliable and trustworthy, it will be released immediately,” the release said in Spanish.
The release said the arrests were made in a joint effort by the the federal ministerial police, the national guard, the Mexican army and navy and the national intelligence centre.
Mexican officials said the nine victims of the Nov. 4 shooting were travelling in a large SUV convoy at the border of Chihuahua and Sonora.
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Gunmen from the Juarez drug cartel had apparently set up the ambush as part of a turf war with the Sinaloa cartel, and the families drove into it.
Mexican officials said the attackers may have mistaken the group’s large vehicles for those of a rival gang.
The victims have been identified as Rhonita Miller, 30; Howard Miller, 12; Krystal Miller, 10; and eight-month-old twins Titus and Tiana Miller.
Christina Marie Langford Johnson, 30; Dawna Langford, 43; Trevor Langford, 12; and two-year-old Rogan Langford were also killed in the attack.
All of the victims were U.S. citizens, and most also held dual citizenship with Mexico.
They belonged to the LeBaron family, a breakaway Mormon community that settled in northern Mexico’s hills and plains decades ago.
Funerals for the deceased were held last month.
According to a CNN report, members of the LaBaron family were scheduled to meet with Mexico’s president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Monday.
— With files from The Associated Press and Reuters
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