at 14:22 on December 3, 2007, EST.
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MEXICO CITY - A Mexican singer was shot to death in her hospital bed, police said Monday, the fourth time in a year assailants have killed performers of a popular northern music whose lyrics often focus on drug trafficking and violence.

Zayda Pena, 28, was shot in the heart Saturday in the city of Matamoros, across the border from Brownsville, Texas, while recovering from a gunshot wound to the neck received on Friday, police detective Abel Infante said.

No suspects had been identified. Two people with Pena were killed in the Friday shooting.

Pena headed a band known as Zayda y los Culpables - "Zayda and the Guilty Ones." One of her songs was "Tiro de Gracia," a reference to an execution-style gunshot.

Several other "gruperos" - performers of an accordion-based music from northern Mexico - have been slain in recent months.

On Nov. 25, 2006, Valentin Elizalde was shot to death along with his manager and driver shortly after performing across the border from McAllen, Texas. Police are investigating a possible link between Elizalde's killing and a grisly video posted online that was set to one of his songs, "To My Enemies."

Last December, Javier Morales Gomez of the band Los Implacables del Norte was shot to death in a park in Michoacan, a western state plagued by drug-related gunbattles, killings and beheadings. Police have not spoken of a motive in that case.

In February, gunmen shot to death four members of the musical group Banda Fugaz after they performed in Michoacan.

Many gruperos write songs called "narco corridos," which focus on the exploits of drug traffickers. Pena's songs were mostly romantic ballads, however.


©The Canadian Press, 2007



This is scary

pathetic and sad

Zayda Pena and two of her friends were killed in the hospital in MX. A gunman went to the hospital and shot her and the other two friends.

She was shot in a hotel with her supposed female lover and the hotel manager who was in the hotel room with them. Her lover and the hotel manager were killed at the hotel.

I work in Brownsville at the border and this is common place in Mexico.

sounds like mexican Hip Hop...terrible...sad

Damn!!!! what the hell did she do.... Mexican's are not playing huh ?? they went in the hospital to finish the job... these fake gangsters here in the states would never do something like that....


Rip

banks said:

I read in the local paper that the singer's mother may have talked about some drug activity, so this may have been payback. Also, I heard that the singer's husband or boyfriend was the one doing the shooting because of her affair with another woman.

Here is the article from the local paper:

Local lawmen have joined the search for the man that gunned down Zayda Peña as the singer recovered in a Matamoros hospital room.

The Cameron County Sheriff’s Department is working with Mexican authorities to help identify a suspect in Peña’s killing and possibly two other deaths related to this case.

Peña was the vocalist for Zayda y Los Culpables a moderately popular band that produced mostly romantic ballads.

She was fatally shot while recovering from a gunshot wound she received Friday at a hotel in Matamoros. Two others that were with Peña Friday were killed in the attack, The Associated Press reported Monday.

Sheriff’s deputy Alvaro Guerra, the liaison between county lawmen and the Tamaulipas State Police, confirmed late Monday that Mexican investigators contacted him regarding the 28-year-old singer’s slaying.

Police are searching for a man they believe knew his victims but have not named their suspect, Guerra said. They believe he recently bought a vehicle in Brownsville.

“That’s all the information we have so far,” Guerra said. “They are supposed to get back to me with more information, I haven’t heard from them again.”

A Mexican Web site, tamaulipasenlinea.com, is reporting that Peña was shot in the face early Saturday while recovering at El Hospital Alfredo Pumarejo. The Associated Press reported she was shot in the chest.

Sources in Mexico report that the victim was involved in a love triangle with another woman, Ana Bertha Gonzalez. Gonzalez was one of the two victims killed Friday, presumably by the same man that killed Peña.

Leonardo Sanchez, an employee at the hotel where the two women were gunned down, was also killed Friday night, the Web site reported.

The Associated Press lists Peña’s death as the next in a string of recent killings to strike the Mexican music community.

On Nov. 25, 2006, Valentin Elizalde was shot to death along with his manager and driver shortly after performing across the border from McAllen.

Police are investigating a possible link between Elizalde's killing and a grisly video posted online that was set to one of his songs, “To My Enemies.”

Last December, Javier Morales Gomez of the band Los Implacables del Norte was shot to death in a park in Michoacan, a state plagued by drug-related gun battles, killings and beheadings. Police have not spoken of a motive in that case.

In February, gunmen shot to death four members of the Banda Fugaz after they also performed in Michoacan.

And Monday night, the tortured body of the lead singer of a popular Mexican band was found along a highway and another singer was shot to death, police said.

Sergio Gomez, a singer with K-Paz de la Sierra, was tortured and killed after he was reported missing Sunday. Police have not identified a motive or suspect in that killing.

Associated Press reporter Mark Stevenson contributed to this report.

Don't mess with any of the drug lords, drug traffickers, or gangs in Mexico. I remember a priest being shot at the Guadalajara airport when we were visiting a while back. He was trying to intervene to keep kids off drugs.

They do mean business, are ruthless and very brutal and unfortunately, most likely no one will ever be caught or charged in these most recent murders.

How awful is that!

It's they kind of thing you see in a movie: *Someone recovering from almost being killed is in hospital and then the killer shows up to finish the job off*. It's shocking and sad that such things are going on in real life.

banks said:

Like thats something to be proud of in America

The Mexicanos do NOT play! These murders seem like a warning to anyone thinking about speaking out against these drug lords. Definitely not a good time to be a singer in Mexico.

jbchavez said:

wow

Terrible

paisleypark4 said:

who said anything about being proud.. my point is that you have a lot of people talking about how mean and ruthless they can be and i doubt that they would try something like this here in the USA