By Mail Foreign Service
04th November 2009

Mauricio Fernandez Mexican mayor

Slip: Mauricio Fernandez announced during his swearing in ceremony as mayor of San Pedro Garza Garcia that his main rival had been found dead

A Mexican mayor has sparked fury by announcing the death of a notorious drugs baron - hours before the body was found and two days before it was identified.

Speculation has arisen that Mauricio Fernandez may have had something to do with the killing after he made the slip while being sworn in as mayor of San Pedro Garza Garcia, one of Mexico's most exclusive areas.

Speaking during his re-election ceremony, he announced: 'Black Saldana, who apparently is the one who was asking for my head, was found dead today in Mexico City.'

The problem was that the barefoot, blindfolded corpse of 'Black Saldana', whose real first name is Hector, was not found for another four hours, according to Mexico City prosecutors. His body was also not identified for another two days.

When questioned about whether he knew anything about his opponent's death, Mr Fernandez said: 'Sometimes there are coincidences in life. It's better to look at it this way.'

He added that U.S. authorities had tipped him off that intercepted drug cartel communications revealed Saldana was planning to kill him.

Mr Fernandez said unspecified intelligence sources told him Saldana was dead hours before the body was found.

Paul Knierim, a Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman in Washington D.C., said U.S. agents routinely coordinate with Mexican investigators trying to crack down on drug cartels.

He said: 'If we learned in the course of an investigation that somebody's life was being threatened.

'We would definitely, definitely make sure that information was passed on to the appropriate authorities.'
San Pedro Garza Garcia

Crime: San Pedro Garza Garcia is said to be home for some of the leaders of Beltran Leyva drug cartel

Mexican newspapers are demanding answers to how Mr Fernandez knew about Mr Saldana's death before police even arrived on the scene.

Hours after Mr Fernandez's announcement, authorities found four bodies - Mr Saldana, his brother, his half brother and another man - inside a car in Mexico City.

The word 'kidnapper' had been scrawled across three of their backs in black marker.

Notes were also found at the scene. One said 'for kidnapping' and was signed 'The Boss of Bosses' - a new nickname for alleged drug lord Arturo Beltran Leyva, one of Mexico's most wanted criminals.

Another said 'Job 38:15' - a reference to the biblical verse 'the wicked are denied their light, and their upraised arm is broken'.

A columnist in Reforma speculated he may have had something to do with the killing with 'Death squads?' as the headline.

During a radio interview yesterday, Mr Fernandez said he was setting up a group to clean up crime in San Pedro Garza Garcia.

San Pedro Garza Garcia has upscale malls, well-developed parks and is home to some of Mexico's leading business executives, as well as some of the alleged leaders of the Beltran Leyva drug cartel.

A spate of kidnappings and extortion has hit the area and Mr Fernandez blamed Mr Saldana, who is alleged to have taken over cartel operations there a few months ago.

Mr Fernandez told El Norte newspaper that Mr Saldana and his gang had been kidnapping two or three people a week, demanding around $375,000 in ransom.

He also alleged they were demanding monthly payments from stores, restaurants and bars.

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