TWO young girls shot dead in a car were executed in cold blood by the military, their heartbroken family says.
Troops blasted 38 rounds into the car Leidy, 11, and Alexa, seven, were travelling in after mistaking them for gangsters – and tried to cover up the tragedy.
The two girls were driving in their family‘s pickup truck through the mountains of Sinaloa, northwest Mexico, on May 6, when they encountered a three-car military convoy of 24 soldiers just after 2.30pm.
Suddenly, bullets ripped through the vehicle and struck six of the passengers.
Tragically, Leidy and Alexa – sat in the truck bed – were killed.
Two other children and two adults were wounded, but survived.
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Víctor Alonso Medina, the girls’ cousin, told The Sun: “They were two amazing girls and they were innocent. There is no justice for that.”
The circumstances of the daylight shooting were immediately contested, with the soldiers claiming they responded to a threat.
Leidy and Alexa’s family have since been embroiled in a months-long fight for the truth.
But Mexico‘s defence secretary last week confirmed six soldiers from the 42nd Infantry Battalion have been jailed in relation to the case – as the community was left to grieve.
An 11-year-old school friend of the girls who attended their memorial said: “I feel sad, because I shouldn’t have to come out and plead for justice for a classmate.”
Describing Leidy Rojas, a teacher said: “She was a very easy girl to love, good, intelligent, applied, loving and detail-oriented, always concerned about others, with a huge and unique heart.”
Another teacher described Alexa Medina, as a “beautiful girl inside and out”.
They said: “She dreamed of becoming a ballet teacher. Alexa was an excellent girl. She left us on Tuesday, May 6, but will live forever in our hearts.”
Initially, the shooting was reported as the tragic result of a clash between soldiers and armed civilians.
The soldiers said they were heading to a nearby town where bodies of three people had been found next to a Jeep the previous day.
On the way, they said the convoy was ambushed by armed civilians – and this was supposedly what led to more than half the soldiers discharging their weapons.
The family car was simply caught in the crossfire, they claimed.
But relatives of the girls and the other victims insisted the soldiers fired without provocation.
Víctor said: “From the first moment, the military wanted to make it look like they [the family] were bad people who brought weapons.
“But we can no longer hold that narrative.”
Víctor says he spoke with his uncle – one of the four survivors in the car and the father of one of the girls.
He said: “They were coming from their ranch in Badiraguato Sinaloa heading to Culiacan Sinaloa but the road was cut so they had to turn back.
“When they returned, they bumped into the military who were escorting bodies of the deceased from another community.
“Instead of stopping them or saying anything, they just opened fire.
“First they hit one girl and then the other and another child was injured in the foot.
“They should have made them stop and questioned them. But they did not.”
The governor of Sinaloa, Rubén Rocha Moya, also contradicted the soldiers’ version of events in the days that followed.
He said: “I’ll say this even though I’m not an investigator: it wasn’t that they were caught in the crossfire and simply happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“The circumstances will certainly have to be thoroughly investigated.”
Instead of stopping them or saying anything, they just opened fire… they should have made them stop and questioned them. But they did not
Victor Alonso Medina,
The lieutenant in command of the convoy said he heard no shots fired before his men responded, and that he ordered them to down their weapons.
At least 13 of the soldiers in the convoy admitted to firing their weapons, according to El Pais.
An ammunition count revealed that a total of 119 rounds were fired, with 38 of them striking the black GMC Sierra.
It’s now emerged that 12 of the 13 troops who admitted to discharging their weapons were initially detained in the course of two probes – a military investigation and a standard legal case.
Six of those remain in prison after the conclusion of the military probe, with El Pais reporting this is on counts of disobedience.
The other – which could see officers charged with homicide – remains open.
The Secretary of National Defense, Ricardo Trevilla, said: “Investigation folders were opened at the Attorney General’s Office and the Military Attorney General’s Office.
“In the case of the military, the judge sentenced six elements to prison… the Attorney General’s Office is following up on the homicide case. That is the situation.”
Responding to the newsa human rights group said justice for families was not guaranteed.
The Miguel Agustín Pro Juárez Human Rights Center (Prodh) said: “The opening of parallel proceedings in the military perpetuates impunity in cases of serious human rights violations.”
They were just innocent children… the military mistook the car my family was travelling in and began shooting relentlessly until they took the lives of my girls. It is a completely unjust act
Family member
The NGO called for effective controls over military power to prevent human rights violations.
A post from an aunt of the girls – posted before the arrest revelation and later taken down – said: “They were just innocent children, completely unaware of all the events that happened in Badiraguato.
“The authorities are currently handling it as ‘collateral damage’ or ‘crossfire’.
“Unfortunately, this information reported by the authorities and some media outlets is COMPLETELY FALSE.
“The government only talks about what suits them. My little girls were killed by the MILITARY, yes, our own government.
“The military mistook the car my family was travelling in and began shooting relentlessly until they took the lives of my girls. It is a completely unjust act.
“They are supposed to be ‘fighting crime,’ but this time they themselves took the lives of my little girls, they took their dreams in an instant.
“This cannot go unpunished, for my little girls, my niece and cousin.”
Surge in violence
It comes amid a surge in violence in Sinaloa, where criminal gangs have been locked in brutal turf war for the last eight months.
According to news outlet Northwestsix other killings were reported in the state on May 7, bringing the monthly total to 47.
So far in 2025, Sinaloa authorities have documented 595 homicides, 547 forced kidnappings and 2,608 vehicle thefts.
The case has reignited debate over the military’s role in crime ridden areas.
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Just last month six people were fatally shot by an army convoy in Tamaulipas, a northern state bordering the U.S, prompting an investigation by authorities.
A year earlier, in Chiapas, soldiers also killed six migrants, allegedly in a case of mistaken identity.
Trump’s war on drugs
DONALD Trump has launched his full-scale war on drugs – favouring missiles over law enforcement.
The first day of Trump’s second term kicked off with the designation of narcotraffickers as terrorists – giving him the right to kill them before they can reach American shores.
This is the argument he has used in the face of law experts warning that his decision to strike dozens of suspected drug-smuggling boats has been illegal.
Washington-watchers claim that the gangsters should have been arrested – but the White House says that law enforcement is ineffective.
Trump vowed after one of the first blitzes: “There’s more where that came from.”
He has since attacked several other vessels and shared the footage of the bombings online.
The US President has long spoken of his desire to enact force to take on drug cartels, which he accuses Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of actively backing.
Maduro has denied the allegations, and the last few months have seen teetering escalations deteriorate into a tense standoff.