Outspoken Anti-Cartel Activist Flees to US After Receiving Death Threats

On the 4th of November 2019, residents of La Mora, a remote community, were passing along the southern border of Mexico-United States and was traveling to attend a wedding when armed men ambushed them and killed nine members.

They suspected that a drug cartel was behind all the tragic events. A few months after the incident, a distinguished member of the same community received a death threat and decided to retreat to the United States.

That person who is known in his community for exposing and condemning the violent and criminal acts and the conspiracy between the local authorities and the gangs, Julián LeBarón, was displeased with the ongoing issue about the 35,588 murder in 2019 was announced by Mexico.

Julián LeBarón called and reported to The Associated Press on Saturday that he thinks that the problem is going beyond the limit and that people don't want to see or hear about all of these criminal activities anymore.

He also added that they are fed up with feeling like their movements should be limited and conservative so that they won't be involved in this kind of mess.

In his own opinion, the threat has something to do with his choice not to follow what people have said to him which is to remain silent and be unbothered of the situation.

He also said the recent verbal dispute between him and the local police might have been the last solution left but still did not work.

On February 17, LeBarón was alarmed by a gunfight he heard in a Chihuahua state, Casas Grandes, where he was staying at that time. The following day, he called the local police to inquire about that event.

The officer that answered his call said they don't know a thing about what he was talking about but it ended with an argument.

LeBarón stated that night that some trusted source contacted him at home and told him that they had a piece of information about the gang La Linea, who operates as Juarez Cartel's enforcers and the gang has given a death threat.

According to the source, the gang also advised LeBarón to run to the north of the border for shelter.

He panicked and immediately called the federal police for help which is posted in the vicinity of Colonia LeBaron. Colonia LeBaron is a well-trusted police station of the community deeply and has maintained a good relationship with each other.

The community witnessed the local police struggle when they reached Casas Grandes.

A maid of a relative claimed that he witnessed 15 gunmen in a canal a couple of blocks from the home of LeBarón and that he assumes that LeBarón might have been their objective.

LeBarón believed that him keeping a low profile for a few days on a farm would keep him away from the threat. After a while, his uncle escorted him along with the federal police in convoy to the border of Arizona.

He mentioned that in the future, he would be going to Seattle because a construction job was offered to him. He wants to lay low for a while and wait if things would go back to how they used to be.

Unidentified people asked LeBarón whether he is coming back to Mexico or not and he answered that if the authorities could get the people who are responsible for the death of his cousins, then maybe there would be a big possibility that he would.