3 of Mexico Ambush Victims Laid to Rest

Many had attended the first funerals of the fallen members of a Mormon group in the northern part of Mexico who were part of the recent Mexico ambush.

Soldiers of the Mexican government stood as guards in the entrance to the La Mora community as many vehicles by the dozen with the United States number plates reach the area in a convoy.

The 1st funeral was held for 3 of the 9 casualties of the Mexico ambush. They were Dawna Ray Langford and her 2 sons (ages 11 and 2). The other casualties in the incident are expected to be buried at a later time.

The preliminary investigations conducted by Mexican officials suggest that the incident regarding the violence was a case of mistaken identity. The families of the casualties in the incident do not believe the result of the initial investigation.

In the Sonora state in the northern part of Mexico, two gangs are fighting for reign and power. One of the gangs is La Línea, which is presumed to be in-network with the Juárez cartel. The other one is Los Chapos, which is presumed to be in-network with the Sinaloa cartel.

Under strict and high-profile security, more or less 500 attendees of the funeral mourn under the white marquee tents. The funerals were conducted in Rancho La Mora. Many were singing hymns and crying.

"We have come to honour their memory and to try to understand what is happening," said the leader of the convoy of vehicles, Alex LeBaron.

All of the victims of the Mexico ambush were US-Mexican citizens. The Langfords, LeBarons, and Millers were part of the huge group of Mormons from the United States of America who relocated to Mexico near the end of the 19th Century. They fled the country to avoid persecution because of their religion's traditions.

Dawna Ray Langford and her two sons were put into hand-made coffins. They were buried in one grave.

"The eyes of the world are upon what happened here, and there are saints all over this world whose hearts have been touched," said Jay Ray, Dawna's father, during the funeral.

Claudia Pavlovich, the Governor of Sonora, had also attended the funerals for the three.

It was reported on Monday that seventeen people (3 mothers and their 14 children) from the La Mora ranch was traveling in three vehicles to Colonia LeBaron when they were ambushed by multiple gunmen near Bavispe. Dawna and her two children were among the victims of the incident.

Some of the survivors had hidden in the bushes and walked 6 hours back to La Mora.

Mexican authorities state that the three vehicles that the victims were riding may have been wrongfully identified as rival gang members. The families, however, rejected the presumed cause of the attack because they had a history of being the targets of cartels.

The relatives of the victims suggest that they may have been the target of those gunmen for living soundly with the Los Salazar gang which is a part of the Sinaloa Cartel.