Mexican Authorities Target Arizona Rancher Accused of Shooting Illegal Immigrant: Attorney
If the Mexican government can’t get a guilty verdict in an American court for the death of an illegal migrant who was allegedly spotted with a group of armed men on private property, its response, apparently, is to target the rancher who shot the migrant — and help sue the pants off of him.
Arizona rancher George Alan Kelly, 75, will not be retried in the death of 48-year-old Gabriel Cuen-Buitimea in January of 2023, The Associated Press reported, after a jury deadlocked on charges of second-degree murder and aggravated assault. The charges were dismissed by Superior Court Judge Thomas Fink on Monday after he declared a mistrial April 22.
According to The New York Times, Brenna Larkin, an attorney for Kelly, said that jurors were deadlocked 7-1 in favor of a not-guilty verdict.
“Because of the unique circumstances and challenges surrounding this case, the Santa Cruz County Attorney’s Office has decided not to seek a retrial,” Deputy County Attorney Kimberly Hunley told Fink in court on Monday, according to the AP.
Kelly, a cattle rancher who lives near Nogales, Arizona, said he was eating lunch on Jan. 30, 2023, when he saw a group of men crossing his property near his home. The men were armed with rifles, Kelly testified.
The rancher said he fired several warning shots from his rifle over the group of men to scare them off. However, Cuen-Buitimea — who lived just south of the border in Nogales, Mexico, and had been deported from the United States several times, according to the AP, the last time in 2016 — was hit in the back and died when he was hit roughly 100 yards away.
“You shoulda shot him because he was getting ready to shoot you…”
George Alan Kelly gets emotional recounting the day that he says armed men trespassed on his property—One of them was shot and killed—Kelly maintains he didn’t shoot anyone but rather shot over their… pic.twitter.com/hjaFVJ1BX2
— Ali Bradley (@AliBradleyTV) May 2, 2024
“Mr. Kelly and his wife have been living through a nightmare for over a year, and they can finally rest easy,” Larkin said in a statement, according to Newsweek.
“While that injustice to Gabriel and his family is unfortunate, we are at least pleased to know that the injustice will not be compounded by scapegoating an innocent man.”
Which is why, of course, the top Mexican official in Nogales, Arizona is choosing to scapegoat Kelly.
“This seems to us to be a very regrettable decision,” said Mexican Consul General Marcos Moreno Baez in a statement, according to the AP.
“We will explore other options with the family, including a civil process,” he added.
And, according to NewsNation’s Ali Bradley — who covers the border crisis for the network and is seen interviewing Kelly in the clip above — that’s exactly what they plan to do.
According to a post on X published late Wednesday night, Bradley said she had learned that “Mexico is now working with Cuen-Buitimea’s family to sue George Alan Kelly according to his attorney, Brenna Larkin.”
In a statement, Larkin condemned the interference of the Mexican government in the case, particularly given the criminal background of the deceased.
“The defense is curious about the Mexican government’s continued involvement in this case, and its attempts to influence judicial proceedings in this case. Myself and my colleagues have represented many different Mexican nationals who have been stuck in custody in the United States,” she said in a statement.
“The Mexican consul general rarely (if ever) reaches out to get involved in their cases.”
NEW: Mexico is now working with Cuen-Buitimea’s family to sue George Alan Kelly according to his attorney, Brenna Larkin.
Here is her response:
“The defense is curious about the Mexican government’s continued involvement in this case, and its attempts to influence judicial…
— Ali Bradley (@AliBradleyTV) May 2, 2024
Cuen-Buitimea and his group were “clearly involved in criminal activity,” the statement continued.
“Mr. Cuen-Buitimea had previously been deported numerous times from this country. Had he obeyed the law, he would never have been there and he would never have met this end.
“We would hope that the Mexican consul general would encourage their citizens to respect the laws of the United States, just as we encourage our citizens to respect the laws of Mexico. It is unfortunate that Mr. Cuen-Buitimea continued to make the tragic choices that put him in harm’s way, but those were his choices.”
Bradley added that Kelly’s team was exploring its options in regards to suing the government.
Regardless of what happens next, it’s worth noting the hypocrisy at play here.
If this had happened to a Nogales, Arizona, resident who had illegally crossed the border and was shot by a homeowner in Nogales, Mexico — and if there was reasonable suspicion of criminal activity aside from just the illegal border crossing — the Mexican government would be foaming at its collective mouths if there was a peep out of any American official.
It would likely be hours, not days, before the visage of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador would appear on national television in a conniption, demanding an apology from the highest levels of Washington, D.C., officialdom. It would be an international incident. Vice President Kamala Harris would be shuttled to the Mexican state of Sonora, home of Nogales sur, in order to address the “root causes” of such activity.
But amid a border crisis of record proportions and a not-infrequently deported man who was killed while undertaking illegal activity and trespassing on private property, the Mexican government apparently feels it’s not only in a position to lecture the United States on how its juries and courts rule, but also to help the family of the deceased man target the rancher whose property he was trespassing on.
Mexican officials should not interfere with U.S. courts, period. The fact is that if they had their own border under control, this quite likely never would have happened.
If the dead man’s family members want to sue anyone, maybe they should sue their own government, instead, which refuses to clamp down on illegal immigration even as it strengthens criminal cartels and strains relations between Washington and Mexico City.
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