Five People Arrested After Dead Baby Smuggled Into Mexican Prison
Human rights advocates say the baby could have been used to transport drugs, but the state governor ruled that out.
MEXICO CITY — Mexican authorities have arrested five people after a dead baby was smuggled into a notorious prison, including the woman who allegedly brought in the corpse and the inmate suspected of requesting and receiving the body.
The tragic case of Tadeo—the deceased 3-month-old boy discovered in a trash can inside the notorious San Miguel prison in the central state of Puebla in January—shocked the nation. Rights activists have suggested that he was used as a human drug mule.
But Puebla State Governor Miguel Barbosa said Friday the investigation so far did not indicate that Tadeo’s body was used to smuggle drugs. Instead, he told a morning news conference the baby may have been a way for inmates to force the removal of prison officials and sow unrest in the prison.
“No other motive has been found that has to do with introducing drugs in the baby’s body, nor esoteric witchcraft,” Barbosa said. “This is a matter of pressure, of a fight for control.”
He did not provide additional proof and said the investigation would continue. While Barbosa appeared to suggest the case was solved, he did not rule out additional arrests.
“More facts will surely come to light but the fundamental thing is done,” he said. “These evil people who dared to carry out such serious, diabolical things now face the start of a process.”
The disturbing case began when an inmate reportedly found Tadeo’s body in a trash can while looking for plastic bottles on Jan. 10. The case hardly made headlines until Reinserta, a nonprofit group that works with at-risk youth, heard the news and demanded answers. At the time, neither the baby’s name nor his family had been identified, nor was it clear whether the infant had entered the prison dead or alive. It was only known that the child had been found with an incision on his abdomen.
Reinserta co-founder Saskia Niño de Rivera told Mexican TV news network Milenio she suspected the infant “could have been used to bring drugs inside the prison.”
Only after that did Barbosa address the growing scandal publicly. “A lot of filth is going to appear,” he said, a week after the body was discovered.
https://www.vice.com/en/article/n7n4eq/five-arrests-dead-baby-mexico-prison
https://www.vice.com/en/article/n7n4eq/five-arrests-dead-baby-mexico-prison