Echoing Syrian boy, photo of dead Mexican infant becomes symbol of drug tragedy
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}(Photo: Oaxaca attorney general's office via Twitter)
A single photo has been known to change the course of history.
Some are speculating that the horrific image of a slain seven-month-old infant and his bloodied parents, taken just moments after their murder and now circulating on social media like wildfire, could become a powerful symbol of the senseless violence sweeping thru Mexico in recent years.
The family has been identified as 24-year-old Juan Alberto Pano Ramos, 17-year-old Alba Isabel Colón and their child, Marcos Miguel Pano Colón, 7-months.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}According to the Oaxaca state attorney general’s office, several armed men are suspected of killing the family Friday, outside of a convenience store in the city of Pinotepa Nacional in the southern state of Oaxaca. The incident appears to have been drug-related, CNN reports.
"A rival drug gang from [the neighboring state of] Guerrero located them and had them riddled with bullets," prosecutors said in a statement to CNN, adding that the baby's parents sold drugs.
- Sean Penn speaks out on ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán interview: ‘My article failed’
- Mexico says two cartel members killed in secretive cross-border police operation
- ‘Chapo’ Guzmán boasted about his empire to Sean Penn – how much of it is true?
- Mexico announces arrest of presumed Beltrán Leyva Cartel leader
- America’s Third War: Texas Strikes Back in Fight Against Mexican Drug Cartels
- Mexican Cartel Money Laundering Operations In L.A.’s Fashion District Raided
The picture is being compared to the now historic photo of three-year-old Aylan Kurdi, a Syrian refugee whose body was discovered on a beach in Turkey, after he drowned in the Mediterranean.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Several Twitter users have posted photos of the murdered infant side-by-side with the Syrian toddler.
One tweet making the comparison reads, "And the outrage over [the shooting at] Pinotepa Nacional? It would seem that Mexicans are more compassionate for others than for ourselves."
Columnist Octavio Martínez posted a drawing of the baby on top of a photo of the Mexican flag for the website La Silla Rota for an op-ed piece.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}On the same night that the infant was gunned down, a suspected drug trafficker identified as Isidoro González Gerónimo – a.k.a., “El Isis,” who was reportedly Pano Ramos' boss – was also killed in the same region.
The next day, four people were arrested in connection with González’s death.
Frontline reports that according to government data, between 2007 and 2014 more than 164,000 people in Mexico were victims of homicide.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}