Remembering Robert Salcedo, and what it means for U.S.-Mexico Relations

Agustin Roberto “Bobby” Salcedo, a school board member in El Monte, a suburb of Los Angeles, was kidnapped and murdered over the Christmas holidays while visiting family in Mexico. Salcedo, 33, is believed to be the first U.S. elected official killed in Mexico’s narco war.

His death in Gomez Palacio, Durango state, also brings home the horrors of the drug-fueled violence down south to the can-do, immigrant-friendly communities of California; this is the first time a prominent and admired Mexican American who had no known ties to the drug wars.

According to reports, Salcedo and his wife, a native of Gomez Palacio, were out at a bar with friends on Wednesday, December 30.  Armed men stormed into the place around 2 AM, and hauled off six men, Bobby among them. Their dumped bodies were discovered the following morning.

There have been cries of shock and outrage, Salcedo's relatives, colleagues and classmates have called on the U.S. to act in response to this killing.