Furore over future of ‘rented’ tiger
Albert, a six-month old Bengal tiger has been held at a dog pound in Guadalajara’s Animal Control Center since being seized by the Jalisco branch of the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (PROFEPA) in May. Animal rights groups say Albert suffered neglection and malnourishment, and have called for him to be taken to a sanctuary in Colorado.
Armando Basulto had been renting Albert to Guadalajara’s Rehilete Alcalde amusement park, having bought him from a bankrupt zoo in Nuevo Vallarta. During a routine inspection PROFEPA confiscated the tiger, whom they suspected was being kept illegally in improper facilities, along with several ducks, sheep, a crocodile, a red-tailed hawk and four turtles.
Upon discovery, endangered species are normally sent to the Center for Research and Conservation of Wildlife (CIVS). However, the Jalisco CIVS has no room for a tiger, so the city council offered to take care of Albert until his future was resolved. Albert is currently living in a caged enclosure fitted with a wooden desk, a tire swing and a small pool of water.
The tiger could now be returned to Basulto, who claims legal ownership, because investigations have shown it is of legitimate Mexican origin. Authorities have verified that Alberta was not smuggled into Mexico; he was born in captivity in Nayarit, where he was tagged with a microchip implant.
PROFEPA says Basulto “must submit a detailed report” proving he can “meet health and safety requirements” in terms of housing and transport for the animal. Basulto has two weeks to collect Albert or he will be considered abandoned and relocated.
PROFEPA’s decision to return the tiger has outraged animal rights activists, who responded with an online petition demanding “Life in a sanctuary for Albert.”
“We propose that the tiger is delivered to the Wild Animal Sanctuary in Colorado, which is already familiar with the case of Albert and willing to receive him,” reads the petition.
Established in 1980, the 300-acre, nonprofit sanctuary specializes in caring for large carnivores that were born in captivity but looked after inadequately. With spacious enclosures and a specialist veterinary hospital, the sanctuary houses more than 290 animals, including lions, tigers, leopards, cougars, bears and wolves.
By Wednesday morning the petition had been signed by over 6,200 people. “Every living thing deserves freedom and a decent life … animals have feelings too,” wrote Yesenia Barron.
“A sanctuary is the best option for animals in Albert’s situation, with people prepared to serve them, respect them and fight to rehabilitate them,” said Sarahi Padilla.
To sign the petition visit www.change.org/es/peticiones/vida-para-albert-en-un-santuario.
Foreigners murdered in Jalisco, Mexico
US citizen murdered in Guadalajara
San Fransisco native Stephen Marcus Peat was found dead Sunday night at his home on Calle España in Guadalajara’s Moderna neighborhood.
Peat, 39, died from stab wounds and asphyxiation up to eight days before his body was discovered. Authorities were alerted by the strong smell coming from his house.
Peat was found with his hands and feet bound and with traces of masking tape on his face. None of the locks had been forced, suggesting the culprit may have been someone he knew.
Peat sold his home in downtown Guadalajara and began renting the house in Colonia Moderna around six months ago. In the last month he had used the money from the sale to buy a blue Mazda 3 and several new electrical appliances, all of which were stolen.
An accomplished interior designer, Peat received formal recognition of his work from the city council in February. He won second place in the Annual Award for Conservation and Restoration and received 30,000 pesos in prize money from Aristoteles Sandoval, then mayor of Guadalajara.
Canadian stabbed to death in Vallarta
A Canadian citizen found dead while on vacation in Puerto Vallarta last month was stabbed 23 times, investigators revealed on Tuesday.
The body of Duane Joseph Lang, 46, was discovered by his landlord on July 30. He had been renting an apartment at Francisco I. Madero 498, in the Emiliano Zapata neighborhood, since May.
Puerto Vallarta police spokesman Adan Leyva said friends asked his landlord to check up on Lang after he stopped answering his phone for several days.
Upon entering the apartment, the landlord discovered Lang lying face-up in a pool of blood in the bedroom, Leyva said. There was evidence of a struggle and the lights were still on, suggesting the attack took place at night or in the early morning.
The body was already in a state of decomposition, causing a strong odor, and an autopsy revealed Lang had been dead for 48-72 hours. The police do not have any suspects.
Lang ran an insurance company with his father Joe, and his sister Les, and frequently visited Mexico over the years.
He was an active member of the gay community in his native Regina, Canada. Puerto Vallarta is considered Mexico’s gay capital and Lang was the third gay man to be murdered there this year.
Jalisco cartel boss arrested in Zapopan
Eliot Alberto Radillo Peza, also known as “El Pancho,” was captured in a dawn raid on his home, Rinconada del Pino 45, in a gated community just off Avenida Guadalaupe.
Federal police officers arrived at the residence on foot around 6 a.m., with armored “rhinoceros” vehicles arriving shortly afterwards, while a Black Hawk helicopter circled overhead.
The operation lasted 40 minutes and the convoy was later seen heading toward the Guadalajara airport. No casualties were reported, although neighbors complained the police damaged three security cameras and four electronic barriers.
The alleged leader of CJNG operations in the metropolitan area, Radillo, 30, stands accused of the kidnapp and murder of civilians and members of rival gangs. He is also linked with the deaths of 12 to 15 police officers, said Ramon Eduardo Garcia Pequeño, head of the Federal Police Narcotics Division, at a press conference on Monday afternoon.
Radillo was arrested alongside 36-year-old Juan Carlos Salazar de la Cruz, alias “Charly,” from Guadalajara, Eduardo revealed. During the raid, police seized two rifles, a hand grenade, ammunition, a vehicle, communications equipment, a laptop and a package containing what appeared to be crystal meth.
“The suspects and all the property seized were turned over to federal prosecutors, who will conduct the investigation and determine their legal status,” Eduardo said.
According to the authorities, Radillo started out as a drug distributor for the Milenio cartel in 2009. He later joined the CJNG, reporting directly to Jose Angel Carrasco Coronel, the nephew of Ignacio “Nacho” Coronel, who ran Sinaloa Cartel operations in Guadalajara until he was killed in a shootout with federal police in July 2010.
A faction of the Sinaloa Cartel created after Coronel’s death, the CJNG has since become locked in a turf war with rival offshoot La Resistencia, with both gangs vying for control of the Guadalajara “plaza.”
Twelve high-ranking members of the CJNG have now been arrested since July 2011, Eduardo added.
The Tequila Files 