Arturo Pérez Martínez, better known as ‘El Yambo’, was a 58 year-old taxi driver in Acayucan, Veracruz.

One of his sons, Gerardo Arturo, was murdered in November of 2017 and then another son, Édgar Michelle, was murdered in June 2018. Both sons, like him, were taxi drivers. Gerardo Arturo left behind three children and Édgar Michelle left behind four children.

Arturo had appeared several times in regional media to demand greater security in the area and to express his indignation at the government over the death of his two sons. In an interview published on November 16 in the newspaper Diario Acayucan, journalist Fabián Santiago reported that, during the funeral of his first son, the mayor of Acayucan, Marcos Martínez Amador, offered Arturo « his help » and 1800 pesos so that he would stop complaining about insecurity in the area and to stop criticizing the Governor Miguel Ángel Yunes. Later, Arturo revealed to the media that when he asked for security when feeling unsafe during the wake, his WhatsApp message was not answered.

In November 2017, after the death of his first child, Arturo told the press, “What I want to say is that there is too much insecurity, the authorities are not doing their job, maybe by making this statement my life will be cut short, because now he who speaks is silenced with bullets, but I declare that there is insecurity because the authorities are not acting as they should.” In June 2018, after the death of his second son he said, “This is the second [son of mine] who has been killed; enough, maybe the assassins are listening to this statement, maybe they’ll kill me later, it does not matter.”

On July 11 2018, Arturo left his home at around 4.00pm. He told his wife that he was going to a mechanic to add signage to his taxi, where he was shot, only a month after the death of his second son. Although he was taken to hospital, the doctors were unable to save his life.

Source: www.e-consulta.com Veracruz / www.alcalorpolitico.com / www.terceravia.mx