Mexican judge sentences eight in 1993 killing of Mexican cardinal

Published: 2004-05-10

MEXICO CITY (CNS) -- Nearly 11 years after Guadalajara Cardinal Juan Jesus Posadas Ocampo died in a hail of gunfire as he sat in his car, a Mexican judge has sentenced eight drug-gang members to 40 years in prison for their roles in the murder. However, Judge Felicitas Velazquez Serrano ruled May 6 that the murder was an accident, citing testimony that the gunmen confused Cardinal Posadas' luxury car at the Guadalajara international airport for that of a regional drug baron they were sent to kill. The ruling infuriated Mexican church officials who have maintained since the 1993 shooting that Cardinal Posadas was killed because he knew about alleged connections between the drug cartels and high-level government officials. Cardinal Juan Sandoval Iniguez of Guadalajara called the ruling a "smokescreen" to cover up a conspiracy behind his predecessor's death. Cardinal Sandoval told local media in Guadalajara May 7 that he believed the judge was "paid" to say his predecessor's death was an accident.

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