Mexico City, The August 3 massacre in the US city of El Paso, Texas, which resulted in 22 deaths, was inspired by the attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, and shows that there exists a group of white supremacists that communicates via the social networks, Mexico’s foreign secretary said.
“It’s evident that the act was inspired in New Zealand, was linked with a propaganda objective and, with the appearance of a manifesto, shows that it is a sensible person. It’s terrible what he says, but he’s not crazy,” Marcelo Ebrard said on Wednesday, Efe news reported.
This week, the manifesto published on a far-right Web site minutes before the attack by El Paso suspect Patrick Crusius was made public, and in it he uses language similar to US President Donald Trump about an alleged “Hispanic invasion” of the US and mentions the New Zealand massacre.
The foreign secretary defended the Mexican government’s intention to bring terrorism charges against the El Paso shooter, whose victims included eight citizens of Mexico.
Ebrard said that on Tuesday a meeting was held to place “all the documents, testimony and evidence in the corresponding investigation file at the disposition of the FGR (Mexican Attorney General’s Office).”
The El Paso massacre is a “contemptible, abominable and reprehensible” case of terrorism which, although it was evidently committed by a single person, is “part of a network,” Mexico’s top diplomat said.
“At this point, the social network are eyewitness networks” and the attack “was linked with a propaganda objective,” he said by way of asserting that the attack was part of a white supremacist network.
Ebrard said that the US might try the case as “domestic terrorism,” but that will not change Mexico’s intention to file terrorism charges against the author of the attack.
He said that he hoped that both countries will respect their legal cooperation agreements.
This unusual decision to denounce a case outside its borders as terrorism is aimed at seeking justice and, above all, “preventing, dissuading, so that these acts will not be committed again.”
Finally, he reported that this week Mexican officials will travel to El Paso – which lies just across the border from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico – to gather details about the case, adding that the US “has conducted itself well” in terms of the attention it has devoted to the tragedy and to accommodating its Mexican counterparts.
Ebrard also announced that, shortly after the attack, he spoke with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who expressed his solidarity with Mexico and his dismay over the Mexican casualties.
