Benjamin LeBaron, 31, and Luis Widmar, 29, American Mormons, were laid to rest in a funeral which included both heavy law enforcement and military presence as well as several government officials. The two men were shot to death Tuesday by gunmen from the Juarez drug cartel, known as La Linea, or the Line.

A top member of a breakaway Mormon sect was dragged from his home by marauders and killed early Tuesday in a village founded and named for the American families that settled the remote community in the northern Mexican desert.

Benjamin LeBaron, 31, and Luis Widmar, 29, a brother-in-law who tried to help him, were grabbed by at least 15 commandos shortly after midnight in Colonia LeBaron, which is about 200 miles southeast of El Paso, witnesses said.

The bodies of the men, both naturalized U.S. citizens with five children each, were found nearby shortly afterward, each shot several times in the head, Brent LeBaron, a cousin of Benjamin who lives in the village, said by telephone.

Benjamin LeBaron had led successful protests earlier this year to free his kidnapped brother and demand police protection for their isolated rural community.

Attacked cousin’s house

The attackers struck his cousin’s house as the family slept trying to knock down the front door and smashing its windows, Brent LeBaron said. A panicked Benjamin LeBaron phoned two brothers-in-law for help.

But after the attackers threatened to throw a grenade into the house, LeBaron opened the door.

The gangsters beat Le-Baron and one threatened to rape his wife in front of their children before carrying their victims away, Brent LeBaron said.

-nationalterroralert.com

LeBaron had become a public face for families coping with rampant kidnapping in the border state of Chihuahua after having his own 17 year old brother, Eric, kidnapped for a $1 million dollar ransom, which he refused to pay. LeBaron became a fierce anti- kidnapping activist. His brother was released shortly after his refusal and LeBaron continued his crusade in search of not only his own community’s well being and security against cartel kidnapping and extortion, but all citizens.

“We want to be an inspiration and the conscience of all afflicted people from kidnapping. We have to be responsible for our freedom. If we want to have a life of tranquility freedom and peace, we have to earn it, betting everything we have, it is in the magnitude of our bet where our wish to accomplish our goal will be.
-Benjamin LeBaron

Due to Benjamin’s efforts, the colony’s new leader, Julian LeBaron, along with local and state law enforcement have secured law enforcement training and support for their community by way of a step similar to deputizing local residents.

“There are 77 residents of Colonia Lebaron who are willing to participate as community police. We are taking the necessary steps to make them community police.”

“They can work on serious crimes that occur in communities like these and coordinate with the appropriate authorities to investigate.”

-Patricia Gonzalez ,Chihuahua state Attorney General

No date has been set for creating the new LeBaron force, and state police and soldiers have been dispatched to provide security following the killings.

“We told the government that we don’t trust our local police, because they’re always on the payroll of the drug runners. They tell us that they’d be willing to train us to train people from our own community so that our cops could be people we could confide in. The governor is telling us that he can make it happen if we give him people that know how to use weapons. ... that if they already have a knowledge of how to use weapons that he could train them and give us at least a couple of guys in 30 days”
-Julian LeBaron

Neither Chihuahua state authorities nor the community group has said what kind of weapons would be given. The killings this week in Colonia LeBaron were carried out by men armed with assault rifles and possibly grenades.