U.S. cardinal supports new probe into Mexican cardinal's 1993 killing

Published: 2006-04-07

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The 1993 murder of a Mexican cardinal was drug-related, warranting a reopening of the investigation by Mexican authorities, said Washington Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick at a congressional hearing. He also asked the U.S. government, which is holding several Mexican suspects and witnesses in the case, to aid Mexican authorities in the investigation. Cardinal Juan Posadas Ocampo of Guadalajara, Mexico, was "a martyr in the war against drugs," said Cardinal McCarrick April 6 in testimony before the House Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights and International Operations. The initial Mexican ruling that Cardinal Posadas was accidentally killed in a crossfire between rival drug gangs was "a travesty of justice," said the U.S. cardinal. The House subcommittee has been pressuring the U.S. Justice Department to explain why it does not want to allow Mexican authorities to question the Mexican suspects and witnesses it is holding or to turn them over to Mexican authorities.

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