Salvadoran Woman Who Died in Mexican Police Custody Has History of Abuse

Authorities reported on Tuesday that the Salvadoran woman who died while in Mexican police custody was also an abuse victim. She was reportedly abused by her companion, whom the police has arrested.

The governor of the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Carlos Joaquin, confirmed that the Salvadoran victim, Victoria Esperanza Salazar was abused, but the governor did not specify whether the abuse was physical or sexual.

According to Associated Press, officials of the Mexican Police stated that Salazar died on Saturday after a female police officer was spotted kneeling on her on a street in the resort of Tulum. The officials also added that there is an ongoing investigation conducted towards four officers. The autopsy found that the neck of Salazar was broken.

In addition, Governor Joaquin also mentioned that one of the woman's two daughters was also abused and the man responsible was arrested as part of the state government's efforts in ensuring justice for the Salvadoran woman. Meanwhile, Nayib Bukele, the President of El Salvador, tweeted that the arrested man was a Mexican and had sexually abused the daughter of the dead victim.

Bukele wrote in his Twitter account that Victoria filed a complaint weeks prior to the incident and took her daughter into a shelter in order to protect her. The Salvadoran president added that the situation is very unfortunate as the incident could have been prevented if the Mexican authorities have done something about the complaint. He said Mexican police are just following up on the case because Victoria was already murdered.

Police officers under investigation

Moreover, the four officers, which involved three men and a woman, have been arrested in relation to the death of Salazar. They are scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday. But based on the prosecutors, the defense asked for additional time until Saturday, as four of them remain in custody, Aljazeera reported.

Oscar Montes de Oca, Quintana Roo State Prosecutor, stated that the autopsy confirmed that the broken neck of Salazar coincides with submission maneuvers applied to the victim during her detention. He also added that it was caused by the disproportionate use of force by police.

Furthermore, Governor Joaquin of Quintana Roo acknowledged that the death of the Salvadoran woman, Victoria Esperanza Salazar, did a lot of damage to their state's image and they were also saddened about the life loss. But the problems of the state did not end with the death of Victoria.

The other cases

A foreign woman was also wounded Tuesday in a bar shooting incident in Tulum. The Prosecutor's Office did not disclose the nationality of the victim but they shared that the victim had been brought and treated in a local hospital. The woman was eventually released. The suspect of the incident was also detained by the local authorities, Reuters reported.

Meanwhile, in another case of violence, Governor Joaquin mentioned that the killing of a woman over the weekend in the resort of Holbox, the northern coast of the state, had to do or can be connected with passion motive. He also said that the suspect in the alleged crime of passion had been arrested and in the hands of law enforcement.

WATCH: Mexico investigating Salvadoran woman's death in police custody - Aljazeera English