American woman brutally killed in Mexico in horrific case of mistaken identity
An American woman was brutally shot dead in Mexico after cartel members mistook her dad's Ford F-150 for that of a rival gang.
Isabel Ashanti Gómez, 22, was traveling home with her father Valentín and friend Dánae, 26, from a dance when they came across an unofficial checkpoint believed to have been set up by the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel (CJNG).
After noticing the criminals, her father decided not to stop and the alleged criminal opened fire in the early hours of Sunday morning, believing the group were rival gang members, TV Azteca reported.
Gómez was shot and killed. Her father and her friend were both seriously injured and rushed to the hospital.
The shooting was linked to William Edwin Rivera Padilla, who goes by the alias 'El Barbas,' preliminary reports said, TV Azteca reported. Padilla is a regional lieutenant of the gang.
No one has been arrested for Gómez's death.
Valentín had offered to pick up the girls after the event ran over and it had grown late.
On the way back, they came across the checkpoint on the Zitácuaro-Aputzio highway in Juárez.
Police are still investigating the shooting. Gomez was a dual US-Mexico citizen and often visited the country.
Just hours before her death, Gómez had posted a video of herself and her uncle dancing and wished him a happy birthday.
'I hope you keep celebrating many more birthdays. See you later, after I've had a shower,' she wrote.
May Mendoza, who is in a civil union with Gómez, wrote on Facebook: 'I will always carry you in my heart my beautiful girl.'
She also changed her Facebook cover photo to Gómez's eyes.
A funeral for Gómez took place earlier this week. Several wreaths of flowers and photos of her were seen near her white and gold casket.
Cartels are prevalent in Mexico and they control drug routes and more. It is estimated that around 300,000 people work for Mexico's cartels.
CNJC emerged from the Milenio Cartel around 2010 and is known for its aggression.
It is one of Mexico's leading criminal threats, according to Insight Crime.
In 2015, the gang killed 15 Mexican police officers in an ambush, which was one of the deadliest attacks on law enforcement in the country. A month later, they shot down a police helicopter.
The cartel has also made attempts at killing public figures, such as Former Security Secretary Luis Carlos Nájera in 2018 and Public Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch in 2020.
The US government has offered a $10million reward for information leading to the arrest of the group's leader Nemesio Oseguera Ramos, who goes by the alias 'El Mencho.'
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