Animals 24-7 March 31, 2022 By Merritt Clifton citizens died and a fourth was critically wounded at an illegal cockfight on March 27 about halfway between Mexico City and Jalisco citizens were among the 20 dead and six reported survivors in killings that Mexican authorities told media were apparently undertaken as revenge for the masacre of 17 people at a funeral in nearby San José de Gracia on February 27 The gunmen who conducted the San José de Gracia massacre took the bodies of the dead with them dead in the Zinapecuaro attack was Jose Abiel Alvarez Senior Despite the distance from Zinapecuaro to Phoenix Jose Abiel Alvarez Senior was identified by the Michoacán Prosecutor’s Office as owner of El Paraiso the unlicensed cockfighting arena where the shootings occurred “The Paradise,”  meant that the victims went to Paradise before they died Killed with Jose Abiel Alvarez Senior was one of his sons Salvador Alvarez identified himself on Facebook as “Organizador de Eventos at Palenque Rancho El Paraíso.” Falling with the Alvarez father and son was self-identified cockfighter Daniel Stalin Martinez Equihua of Morelia who promoted his cockfighting activities on at least two Facebook accounts and was on Salvador Alvarez’s Facebook “friends” list “They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time,”  posted Alvarez son and brother Jose Abiel Alvarez Jr citizen killed in the Zinapecuaro cockfight massacre was Melissa Silva             (See Wildfires, COVID-19, & cockfighting besiege Monterey County and More cockfighters than stars in Doris Day/Clint Eastwood country?             Critically injured was Melissa Silva’s younger sister Their brother Alex told media that they journeyed to Zinapecuaro “two or three times a year” on vacation to visit relatives “They were there for vacation to celebrate the holidays,” said the victims’ brother “They were there for a couple of months.” “The two sisters are the oldest and youngest of a family of nine children  who grew up in the western suburbs [of Chicago specifically Warrenville.] They were in Mexico with their parents Melissa Silva “leaves behind four children ages 20 12 and 10,”  reported Ricardo Tovar for KION-TV of Monterey Melissa Silva “was found dead by her parents moments after the massacre,”  Tovar added “They arrived shortly after the bullets stopped and found my older sister was already dead,”  brother Alex Silva told Telemundo Chicago  “A meter away was my younger sister on the floor as well They got ambushed by a bunch of guys with high caliber weapons Invitation to a cockfight at El Rancho Paraiso “Alex was also in Mexico at the time his older sister Melissa was killed and his younger sister Arleth was critically wounded in the mass shooting He was told of his sister’s murder over the phone by their mother.”  ‘Melissa… Melissa’s dead  She’s right in front of me,’  I said ‘What are you talking about  What’s going on with my little sister?” What was going on with both sisters is that they traveled 2,017 miles south from Watsonville and 2,050 miles south from Chicago where by definition there are no innocent bystanders Nothing humans do involving animals is more often associated with murder than cockfighting even where cockfighting is fully legal and openly practiced  “Two children ages 11 and 16 were among four people killed in Ensenada  when gunmen stormed a crowd of several hundred spectators gathered to watch a cockfight,”  reported Sandra Dibble for the San Diego Union-Tribune “An additional 15 people were wounded in the attack,”  which occurred at the Póker Palenque cockfighting arena The death toll from the Póker Palenque murders was exceeded several times over on November 9 Recounted Allen Garcia for Agence France-Presse  and five others were wounded when a gunfight erupted between armed civilians at a cockfight in Cuajinicuilapa (See Why is cockfighting the blood sport most often linked to murder?) The others killed at the cockfight were partially identified by Michoacán Prosecutor’s Office as male victims José Andrés M.;  Jose H.;  Erik Salvador M.;  Damian M.; Federico L.;  Juan Pablo L.;  Jesus Horacio L.;  Miguel Angel M.;  Alejandro Michel G.;  Carlos Alberto M .;  Jose Martin A.;  John Ignatius G.; and Juan Jesus M.;  Jennifer Karina T.;  and Martha Elba P. plus a man known so far only as “El Chapo de Guatemala.” Mexican media reported that the Zinapecuaro killings are believed by police to have been directed in particular against an alleged regional head of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel  who switched allegiances from his former affiliation with another drug gang called the Familia Michoacana “That day an event open to the public was held in which around 40 cockfights were held without betting and supervised by the National Section of Breeders of Fighting Birds  which was organized for genetic selection purposes,”  reported the Reuters news service “After the palenque closed its doors to the general public,”  more than seven hours later “armed men entered the place aboard a Sabritas fried food truck  which had been stolen days before,”  Reuters said “At the same time and in a coordinated manner  was used to maintain a blockade outside the building and thus prevent the victims from escaping from the scene  the assassins abandoned the vehicle in which they arrived and fled the scene in cars stolen from the victims.” erupting toward the end of 2020 and featuring many previous murders may have begun with a dispute over control of an extortion racket that terrorized eastern Michoacán merchants Among the killings were a videotaped beheading in February 2021 and the March 25 2022 murder of an alleged extortionist who charged poultry sellers in the village of Maravito a fee of five pesos for each kilo of chicken they sold The Zinapecuaro murders came a week after Philippine president Rodrigo Dutero announced that his government would not suspend “e-sabong,”  or online betting on cockfights despite the disappearance of at least 34 cockfighters between April 2021 and January 2022 (See FBI raids alleged Kentucky cockpit; 31 cockfighters “disappear” in Philippines.) “All are alleged to have been involved in bout-fixing,”  reported Philip Conneller for the web site Casino.org  “whereby the performance of one bird is sabotaged for the benefit of a gambling ring All are believed to have visited cockpits owned by e-sabong operator Lucky 8 Star Quest before their disappearance.” Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email March 31, 2022 at 8:40 am Cockfighters and their supporters are violent people who put themselves in situations of danger to themselves May the cockfighters and their allies NOT rest in peace Karen Davis, PhD, President, United Poultry Concerns. http://www.upc-online.org March 31, 2022 at 11:32 am The US needs to send its military INTO Mexico to exterminate every single Mexican gang member April 1, 2022 at 12:16 am March 31, 2022 at 3:26 pm March 31, 2022 at 8:04 pm What exactly was “tragic” here other than the organized chicken abuse that attracted the deserving-victims in the first place There is only so much sympathy and compassion to go around in this world to foolishly waste it on trash April 1, 2022 at 12:02 am Sympathy and compassion are not limited quantities is that sinners can redeem themselves through doing good deeds that one’s karma can be improved through doing good deeds is that many of the most effective animal advocates have themselves participated in various forms of animal exploitation and abuse before an awakening of some sort changed their outlook The late animal rights philosopher Tom Regan often reminded his audience that he had begun his adult life working as a butcher; Showing Animals Respect & Kindness founder Steve Hindi points out that at age 34 preceding his 33 years of dynamic activism against cockfights We do not know what the future of any of the people killed at the cockfight in Zinapecuaro might have been; what we do know is that no one will now ever know that many of them had family & pets whom they appeared to love and care for though their compassion did not extend to gamecocks and that nothing is lost by mourning that their lives were wasted as well as the lives of the birds they misused April 1, 2022 at 6:54 pm then the worst criminals of history should have been pardoned and given a second chance Who knows what good works a rehabilitated Bundy Most were reportedly good family men and some owned pets April 1, 2022 at 10:14 pm If any person truly believes that a 16-year-old (or a 36-year-old) who attends a cockfight is in the same category of moral reprehensibility and possibility of redemption as serial killers and the worst mass murderers in history that person has such a skewed perspective on human nature as to be incapable of persuading anyone to change any behavior I am reminded of being told in the fifth grade at the Seventh Day Adventist school I attended that if one drank beer I got kicked out of class for observing that if the penalties for drinking beer & committing murder were the same why should any beer drinker not commit murder too March 31, 2022 at 7:06 pm “. . .there are no innocent bystanders.” When you play with fire, you risk getting burned. These people knowingly placed themselves and their family members in danger, so it’s difficult to feel any sympathy for them; but I do feel sorry for all the birds who suffered and died for someone’s gain and entertainment. They weren’t there by choice. MEXICO CITY (AP) — Gunmen burst into a clandestine cock fight and opened fire, killing 20 people and wounding six, prosecutors in Mexico's western state of Michoacan said Monday. Three women were among the dead after the attack late Sunday near the town of Zinapecuaro. Prosecutors said drug cartels and other criminal gangs had been fighting in the area. "There are indications that the attack involved a confrontation between criminal groups," the federal Public Safety Department said in a statement. It added that a team of federal investigators had been sent to the scene. Michoacan has been the scene of a longstanding turf battle between local cartels and the Jalisco cartel, from the neighboring state of Jalisco. The fighting has included the use of bomb-dropping drones, landmines and home-made armored cars. Cock fighting, while illegal in many areas, remains a popular pastime in parts of Mexico, though the fights are usually held clandestinely. Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Tap to enable a layout that focuses on the article The attack occurred late Sunday near the town of Zinapecuaro, Michoacan. The dead include 16 men and three women, and a number of people were wounded in the attack. World & Nation Scuffles have broken out in the Mexican city of Tapachula between authorities and some of the tens of thousands of migrants who have been stranded there. The office said that drug cartels and gangs had been fighting in the area. Cockfighting, while illegal in many areas, remains a popular pastime in parts of Mexico, though the fights between roosters are usually held clandestinely. Subscribe for unlimited accessSite Map The gunmen raided the event near the town of Zinapecuaro News | World Nineteen people were killed when gunmen burst into a secret rooster fight in western Mexico and fired into the crowd Prosecutors in the western state of Michoacan said the shooters raided the event near the town of Zinapecuaro where a gang turf war has flared up The dead include 16 men and three women and a number of people were wounded in the attack on Sunday Michoacan has been plagued by a power struggle between local cartels and the Jalisco cartel The fighting has included the use of bomb-dropping drones The area is disputed by a number of gangs which smuggle stolen petrol and tap into the petrol pipes owned by the state-run oil company and sell it on Cockfighting is illegal in many areas, but remains a popular pastime in parts of Mexico. Organisers set up the rooster fighting pits in secret locations to stay ahead of the law Forensic experts said all the victims had been killed by gunshots Witnesses said the gunmen sprayed bullets indiscriminately before fleeing in cars In a recording tweeted by local news site Red Michoacán Soldiers have been deployed to they area and are hunting for the killers Cockfighting has been an activity held at venues across Mexico for over a hundred years The birds fight to the death with those attending betting on the outcome Prince Louis steals the show at VE Day parade as he keeps dad William looking sharp and mimics brother George Prince Louis steals show with sweet antics at VE parade VE Day 2025 fashion: best looks from the day VE Day 2025 fashion: Princess of Wales to Lady Victoria Starmer UK tourists face major travel shake-up as Dubai airport set to close Royals watch historic flypast as huge crowds turns out for VE Day 80th anniversary  Royals watch historic Red Arrows flypast for VE Day 80th anniversary David Beckham’s 50th birthday bash in London 'shut down' by council over noise complaints David Beckham’s 50th birthday bash 'shut down' over noise complaints