Fernando Martí Haik (–2008) was the 14-year-old son of a wealthy sporting goods chain owner Alejandro Martí, whose kidnapping and murder caused a national outrage in Mexico, with some hoping that involvement of such a wealthy family might help draw attention to the issue. The murder was notable for its implication of mid-level law enforcement officials in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

Kidnap and murder

Martí was driven in an armored BMW with a bodyguard to the British American School on June 4, 2008, when he was stopped at a roadblock by officers wearing uniforms of Mexico's

Federal Investigations Agency The Federal Ministerial Police (, PFM) is a Mexican federal agency tasked with fighting corruption and organized crime, through an executive order by President Felipe Calderón. The agency is directed by the Attorney General's Office (FGR) and ...

, the equivalent of the United States'

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

. The driver was tortured by having his teeth pulled out and later killed, and the bodyguard was choked. The bodyguard survived and later implicated

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of the government or other social institutions who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by investigating, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms gove ...

, including Jose Luis Romero, commander of the detective unit at

Mexico City International Airport Mexico City International Airport (); officially ''Aeropuerto Internacional Benito Juárez'' (Benito Juárez International Airport) is the primary international airport serving Greater Mexico City. It is the List of the busiest airports in Me ...

. On July 12, 2008, the ransom of 5,135,000 pesos (about US$404.3K) was agreed, but initially the official information was that a total of US$6 million was paid by all the Martí family. After several days of waiting on August 1, 2008, the body of Fernando Martí was found inside the trunk of a car that was left abandoned in the city. The case prompted public outrage in Mexico, and there was growing pressure to reintroduce

capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence (law), sentence ordering that an offender b ...

Criminal Investigation

On June 17, 2009, the Subprocuraduría de Investigación Especializada en Delincuencia Organizada (SIEDO), which specializes on criminal organized gangs, initiated an investigation for organized delinquency and kidnapping against the organization of La Flor (The Flower), thought to be responsible for the kidnapping and murder of Fernando Martí Haik. On October 18, 2010, Alejandro Martí, now president of Mexico SOS, published photos of the alleged criminals. By the time he did so, the " Procuraduria General de la Republica" (PGR) announced that $15,000,000 (about US$1,181,000) would be paid as a reward to anyone who could provide reliable and useful information that contributes to the location, arrest or detention of these criminals. Alejandro Martí declared:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marti, Fernando 2000s missing person cases 2008 murders in Mexico Child murder in Mexico Incidents of violence against boys July 2008 in Mexico Missing person cases in Mexico Murder in Mexico

Kidnap and murder

Criminal Investigation

See also

References