ASST. DA'S "SUICIDE" IN MATA (MEXICO) SMELLS FISHY

By Juan Montoya

The reported death by suicide of an assistant Cameron County District Attorney elicits a similar response from a majority of people talking about it: Virtually no one believes the version in the Mexican newspapers.

Mexican media reported that 26-year-old chief misdemeanor case chair Arturo Jose Iniguez was found dead Saturday in his SUV and that a bottle of cat and dog sedatives was also found nearby. On Sunday, the Bravo carried the story in its notorious Red Page special with the victim lying in the vehicle's front seat and the plastic bottle with the skull and crossbones lying on the seat nest to him.

While most U.S. media don't report suicides as a matter of consideration for the victim sand their families, Mexican newspapers don't usually observe such niceties. Usually the story is carried with phrases like "siguio la puerta falsa," or "el camino del engaño," or other trite synonyms.

However, this particular death is suspicious to many people who had contact with Iniguez in the day prior to the discovery of his body. The story mentioned that the vehicle had been reported abandoned in the afternoon, but it was only after a second report later that night that authorities investigated.

One person who spoke with the Asst. DA recalled that he spoke with him Friday afternoon at the Cameron County Courthouse and that the young man gave no indication that he was contemplating the alleged suicidal act.

"He talked to me about his two-year-old child and about just getting a promotion," said a local attorney. "He didn't seem to be depressed or stressed about anything. You don't spend all that time and money to get a law degree and do something like that. You know that sometimes you can't believe what they say happened over there."

The Associated Press reported that the victim's mother Maria Elena Alvarez Lugo told reporters that her son had died in a car accident. However, the photos that appeared in the Mexican newspapers did not show any damage to the SUV.

Retired Brownsville Police Department detective Ray Ortiz whose legendary forays into Matamnoros on cases related to crime in Brownsville said there is no telling what really happened to Iniguez in Matamoros. His SUV was found in a busy thoroughfare – Lauro Villar – noticeable to anyone passing by on the sidewalk.

"I would question anything that comes out in the newspapers, especially if it involves someone in law enforcement," he said. "I didn't know that young man, but it's not hard to believe that something else might have been working here."