GRUPO HERCULES IMPLICATED IN DEATH OF THREE SIBLINGS

By Juan Montoya
The death of three U.S. citizens who wqere visiting their father in el Control, about 15 miles from Matamoros is being attributed to a paramilitary group formed by Matamoros mayor Leticia Salazar Vazquez just early last September.
Salazar, who has been heavily criticized for its formation, established the group ostensibly as her personal guard, but now it appears that the members of Grupo Hercules took a direct part in the beating and kidnapping of the three U.S. citizens and the boyfriend of the girl.
Alex,22,  Jose Angel, 21, and Erica Alvarado, 26, were picked up Oct. 13 by the group and their bodies were found thrown in a roadside ditch. Their father identified them through the articles of clothing they were wearing.
Also found was the woman's boyfriend, a Mexican national by the name of José Guadalupe Castañeda Benítez.
According to their mother Raquel, the brothers came upon Grupo Hercules members beating up on Erica and Castañeda and tried to intervene and all were hauled away in two trucks bearing the name of the Matamoros mayor.
Their bodies – showing signs of torture and beatings – were found in an empty lot west of Matamoros and east of el Control where they were picked up.
Salazar, who said her administration was ready to cooperate with state authorities investigation the siblings disappearance and deaths. So far, she said, no one has requested that they be held for questioning.
Salazar's recent actions have come under heavy criticism for what some say is her authoritarian manner. She has outlwed alaatrs to La Santa Muerte in Matamoros and stopped women in scanty clothing from serving alcoholic beverages in convenience stores arguing that it will lead them to prostitution.
Her remarks that "next to God, I am the maximum authority" in Matamoros has added fuel to the fire.
Now, with the FBI reportedly investigating the case, it is expected that members of the Grupo Hercules will be questioned on the role they played in the students' disappearance and deaths. According to Tamaulipas state police sources, the three siblings and Castañeda were killed the same day they were picked up by the group and were found last Thursday. Their hands and legs were tied with rope and each bore a single gunshot to the head.y were tied.
The Tamaulipas Attorney General told CNN tht if "it is necessary to call in the mayor to testify since the Grupo Hercules is under her responsibility, she will be called within the strictures of the law, said Ismael  Quintanilla Acosta.The U.S. embassy in Mexico told CNN it had no information on the matter.