On November 5, 2019, Nine Dual citizens of the U.S. and Mexico were murdered in Northern Mexico. Six children were among the victims of the massacre. Gun Men belonging to a Drug Cartel are the suspected killers. After the car was riddled with bullets, it was then set ablaze shortly after the ambush. The Dual citizens were Mormons living in a small village in Mexico, amongst other Mormons. 

For Generations, A Small Village by the name of La Mora housed American Mormons living in the Mountains of North-Western Mexico. These Villagers coexisted peacefully with the Sinaloa Cartel, which is Currently the most powerful cartel in Mexico. This part of Mexico is considered “lawless” with multiple cartel checkpoints throughout the village. “Basically, it was we won’t bother you if you don’t bother us.” Stated Adam Langford, whose grandfather was one of the first American Mormons who moved to Mexico.

The rising violence in Mexico reached a point of no return. That Monday Morning, Sicarios from the Sinaloa Cartel stopped three vehicles on a dirt road outside of town and opened fire on the vehicles. The Gunmen killed three women and six children, shooting them at close range and proceeding to set the vehicles on fire. Mexican Officials found 200 cartridges from assault rifles favored by drug traffickers at the sight of the attack. 

There has been speculation that the families were targeted intentionally by a cartel from the neighboring state of Chihuahua as revenge for the community proximity to a local cartel in Sonora where La, Mora is located. The residents of La Mora have been in the middle of an escalating turf war between the two cartels. Months before the attack, cartel members were a lot friendlier to the Mormons often times apologizing to them when stopped at checkpoints. Kenneth Miller 32, Stated, “They would say, ‘Sorry guys, we are just guarding our territory.’” As the months progressed, signs of peace slowly started to disappear. The Local Cartel advised the residents of La Mora to stop purchasing gas in Chihuahua because it funded the Rival Cartels Operations. Also, new gunmen were stationed at checkpoints and seemed “Jumpier” than the previous cartel members, often pointing their guns at civilians passing through.  

Across Mexico, cartel-related violence has skyrocketed within the past year, with 33,341 homicides and over 40,000 people missing. Fourteen police officers were killed in an ambush in Michoacan, 27 people murdered at a bar in Veracruz, and the siege of Culican, Sinaloa where members of the Sinaloa Cartel overpowered government security forces and demanded the release of Ovidio Guzman Lopez a well-known drug trafficker and son of “El Chapo” Guzman. 

Since the Brutal Murders, over 150 residents of La Mora have left Mexico some leaving temporarily and others permanently. Many of the residents are returning to the United States, and others are finding shelter in a nearby community by the name of “Colonia LeBaron,”  which has more resources and security. Overall, Nine Dual Citizens were killed in the attacks leaving a wound on the Mormon Communities in Mexico. U.S. President Donald Trump has offered Help to Mexico in wiping out the Drug Cartels. Mexico accepted help, asking for the Federal Bureau of Investigation for assistance.