Page 32 - Inside Mexico News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Crime has dealt the hartleys another blow. you feel right now there's people in mexico maybe even police in mexico who won't say what happened to david. >> uh-huh, i do. >> reporter: because they're afraid. >> yes. if you have threats against your loved ones, if you don't know if they're going to come home, i mean, that's a fear that i can't imagine. i don't want to imagine. that's why it's like, this has to stop. >> reporter: without any clear answers from mexico, the hartleys have turned to intelligence sources north of the border who can try to explain why the couple was targeted. former in...

Suspect just about on my side. >> reporter: inside mexico, the army has visibly taken over much of the security in border towns. local mexican police who are not corrupted by the cartels are targets of them. thousands killed. and americans have been targets, too. >> you know, i almost think that we're flying over tribal pakistan, the way you describe this area. are you surprised or are you hardened to the fact that most of america doesn't realize this is going on? >> you know, it does amaze me, and maybe it's because i'm exposed to it so much working on the southwestern border, but we're in a ...

>> there has been a lot of suspicions based on some of her behaviors. >> tonight, a cnn special report. "murder in mexico: what happened at falcon lake." >> reporter: it's late afternoon in mccallen, texas. air operations are about to begin. >> there are areas mcallen, west of mcallen along the southwest border that are completely out of control in my opinion. >> reporter: captain stacy holland and his team from the texas department of public safety are trying to stop drug smugglers from crossing from mexico into the u.s. >> right there, right there.

>> what most people don't realize when you're looking at the border is that there are certain portions that are not controlled by the mexican government. and the area of falcon lake was directly controlled by the zetas, and this was a very strong smuggling corridor for them. >> reporter: so you believe this was mistaken identity? >> clearly, all evidence indicates that this was a case of mistaken identity based on the tactical intelligence i've seen surrounding the case. >> the most likely scenario is, david and tiffany hartley had wandered into a drug war and were mistaken as the enemy. >> re...

Newspaper attention still at viral levels, authorities in texas were trapped. they could dispatch all the boats and helicopters they wanted, but law enforcement in mexico was still in charge. and what happened next in mexico showed just how difficult getting any answers would be. >> one mexican detective did try to find out what happened to david hartley. but his head was severed from his body and his decapitated head was delivered to the mexican army here in a border town. his suspects, brothers who lived near the half submerged church in mexico, old guerrero. it's unclear if he went looking ...