Manuel Buendía
 Manuel Buendía    (journalist) | |
|---|---|
| Born | 24 May 1926 Zitácuaro, Michoacán, Mexico |
| Died | 30 May 1984 (Age 58) Mexico City, Mexico |
Cause of death | Gunshot wounds |
| Nationality | Mexican |
| Alma mater | Escuela Libre de Derecho |
| Exposed | CIA/Drug trafficking |
| Victim of | • assassination • CIA • Federal Security Directorate |
| Interests | Rafael Caro Quintero |
Manuel Buendía Tellezgirón was a Mexican journalist and political columnist who last worked for the daily Excélsior, one of the most-read newspapers in Mexico City. Buendía was recognized largely for his investigative reporting, and particularly for his coverage of the CIA's covert operations in Mexico.[1]
Death
On the afternoon of 30 May 1984, Buendía left his office in Mexico City and was walking to his car when a man shot him from behind several times, killing him on the scene.
Those close to Buendia said he was after a huge story that was meant to disclose a triangle between Latin America's right-wing paramilitaries, the CIA and the drug trade. His assassination came after he uncovered links between Mexico's federal police agency, the CIA and long-time fugitive drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero.[2]
Hector Berrellez, a former DEA supervisor and special agent who served in Mexico in the 1980s, told in 2015 that the CIA killed Buendia, claiming that the order came from the then-Interior Minister Manuel Bartlett.
For over five years, the murder case remained unsolved and with several irregularities, including the loss of evidence. In 1989, several members of the extinct Federal Security Directorate (DFS), Mexico's top police force, were arrested for their involvement in the murder of Buendía. The murder case was closed after the perpetrators were arrested, but several journalists doubt the probe's results and believe that the masterminds behind Buendía's murder were never arrested.[3]
