El Monte plans candlelight vigil for school board member killed in Mexico

El Monte plans to hold a candlelight vigil tonight for Bobby Salcedo, the school board member kidnapped and killed by suspected drug cartel members in Mexico last week.

Salcedo's death has shocked El Monte, where the educator was a popular figure. He was part of a group of men abducted from a bar in Gomez Palacio and later found shot to death. He was on vacation with his wife.

The vigil is scheduled for 6 p.m. in the football stadium at Mountain View High School.

Salcedo had no ties to narcotics trafficking, his family and friends said. He is believed to be the first U.S. elected official killed in the 4-year-old spasm of carnage in Mexico.

Salcedo had deep ties to the central Mexican city where he died. The school administrator, who was born and raised in California, was a past president of the South El Monte-Gomez Palacio sister cities organization and raised money for scholarships, clinics, firefighters, orphanages and playgrounds.

He met his wife, Betzy, in 1999 when she traveled from Gomez Palacio to Southern California on a sister-city exchange student scholarship. The couple was visiting her family when he was abducted and shot to death.

At Mountain View High School, where Salcedo was once student body president, then later football coach and assistant principal, he was remembered as an involved administrator, attending sporting events, dressing up on Halloween and exercising often on the school's track.

Former El Monte Police Chief Ken Weldon described Salcedo as conscientious and hard-working, a "giver" and a leader. "This is a dagger in the hearts of a lot of people," he said.

-- Shelby Grad

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Pastor's plea for $900,000 in donations garners $2.4 million

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Comments

[Tom, Long Beach, California]

no ties, then why was he killed?

[BobinSantaMonica]

The original story made clear they cleared all the men out of the restaurant, and killed them all. No one knows who the actual target was, or if there was an individual target. It may have been an act of narcoterrorism.

People in this country who buy drugs need to think about their role in this. A family and a whole community is suffering unspeakable loss because Americans buy drugs from the people who did this.

[Michelle]

Why would anyone want to go on "vacation" in Mexico? Doesn't anyone read the news? Mexico is a war zone and the drug dealers seem to be winning. America should be over there right now and put a stop to this mess...leave the middle east alone. C'mon we share a border with Mexico and that poison is spreading. Phoenix has one drug related kidnaping a day connected to Mexico. When are we gonna wake up???

[William]

This is a horrible story, but more common than you realize. In May, 2009 my Aunt was kidnapped from her hair salon in Juarez, Mexico for no reason. Although this was not drug related, we eventually got her back two weeks later after paying a $14,000.00 ransom (down from the initial $100,000.00). There was absolutely no one we could trust down there and the Police themselves were corrupt.

I'm telling you all this becasue MEXICO is extremely dangerous all over! It's not as safe as it was just a few years back!

[cottonbelly]

@Tom

Wrong place, wrong time. There have been many abductions of innocent people in recent years in Mexico.

[Tara]

there's no such thing as a "spasm of carnage". a spasm is short-lived & isn't capable of destabilizing a country as the drug cartel/mexican gov't war has. carnage is the right word--brutal, destructive & seemingly an invitation for u.s. troops to enter northern mexico to protect the U.S. also, the Mexican people need to start speaking out, taking charge, demonstrating instead of cringing & scurrying.

[Tara]

"The vast majority of the deaths have been among criminals, not civilians, Calderon and other Mexican officials have said repeatedly.

Though the family has received no official word about whether the killing was related to drugs, "We imagine it had something to do with it," Salcedo's sister, Griselda, said in a telephone interview." CNN

[Kelly]

I saw some of the vigil on the news last night. I heard his brother ask that we write to our leaders asking them to step in and do something.

Why should we go through all of that? I last travled to Mexico the week that Princess Diana died. I remember back then on the drive home being rushed out of a friend's relatives house because bad stuff was going to start to happen. And I remember saying a prayer to God that if he somehow go me back over the border that I would never come back. And I have not been back. We hear it all the time...becareful don't travel there. These two people took on the responsiblity of going down there, they rolled the dice and one of them paid the price. I feel bad for his family but really they knew what they were getting into. How long has it been since Diana died and like I wrote I remember getting rushed awake early in the morning and chatter all around me about how we had to hurry up and get back. At the time I couldn't understand much spanish and it wasn't until we were back home after a few days that I ended up asking my friend what the rush was but I do remember being thankful when I made it back to US soil. So the uncertaintly of visiting that area or not new its been going on for a few years.

[Spencer]

He went to a bad area. Word on the street is that the Zetas did it because the bar owner wouldn't pay protection money. There are certain areas in Mexico where you shouldn't go out at night unless you like risking your life.

I live in Mexico and it is safe here, much safer and less crime than where I have my other home in Santa Barbara, interestingly enough in SB there is a problem with Mexican gang bangers which is getting worse because nobody wants to identify the problem for fear of being labeled racist so they continue tagging and killing each other.

All Mexico isn't bad. Mexico does need to step up and wean itself off the easy profits of drugs and stop sending its most poor, uneducated and desperate to the US and educate them. There are many opportunities in Mexico but you must follow the rules and study and the US offers people a chance to survive while breaking the rules.

[Frank]

No Spencer, word on the street is the other way around, the guys who did it where looking for Zetas, that's why they asked who was the owner of the truck with plates from Tamaulipas (the Zeta birthplace). Since no one claimed its ownership, they concluded that it had to belong to one of the men in the bar so they took them all. If anything, it was chapo guzman people that did this, the zetas main rival.

[Heather]

Tom, you might as well ask why the people who worked in the WTC were killed. They were killed because there are some really bad people out there who don't care who they hurt. Whether Sept. 11 terrorists or present-day narcoterrorists, most of the people who are hurt are completely innocent.

[3H Dragon]

Looks like no Cartel wants to brag and claim this one. They asassinated a US Official so none of the cowards want to own up for it. But this is the fork in the road since this is the 1st incident of an official being murdered the Cartels are waiting to see the official US reaction. So far I think it's been weak. If we dont show a stronger reaction you can expect more of this.