Francisco Blake Mora
Encyclopedia
José Francisco Blake Mora (22 May 1966 – 11 November 2011) was a Mexican
lawyer and politician who served as the Secretary of the Interior
in the cabinet
of Felipe Calderón
from 2010 to 2011. He was Mexico
's top cabinet secretary and key figure in the battle against the drug cartels and corruption in the country. Blake Mora was also an important official in the dialogues of Felipe Calderón's drug policy, where he constantly traveled to meet with governors and victims of the drug war
.
, Baja California
. He obtained a degree in law from the Autonomous University of Baja California
(UABC) and a diploma in strategic planning and public policy from the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico
(ITAM). He was elected to the office of Alderman of the City of Tijuana from 1995 to 1998, and later served as a federal deputy for the Fifth Federal Electoral District of Baja California
in the LVIII Legislature from 2000 to 2003. He then served as a member of the Congress of Baja California
from 2004 to 2007. According to Fox News, Blake Mora gained popularity as a public official because he had promoted the cooperation of military forces and civil authorities to combat the drug cartels in his homestate of Baja California before becoming Secretary of Interior.
On 1 November 2007, he was appointed Secretary General of the Government of Baja California by Governor
José Guadalupe Osuna Millán
. In 2009, he was named as a possible candidate for the office of Attorney General of the Republic. On 14 July 2010, President Felipe Calderón
named him Secretary of the Interior to replace Fernando Gómez Mont.
Blake Mora promoted Felipe Calderón's strategy of eradicating the organized crime
in Mexico and the notoriously corruption-plagued state and police forces. The British newspaper The Guardian
described Blake Mora as Mexico's number-two official in fighting the drug cartels
, after the president. In addition, Blake Mora carried out the project for new national identity card
for underage people, with modern features that included digitalized fingerprints and iris images saved in government databases, which was intended to prevent criminals from using false IDs
.
. There were no survivors. The helicopter, an Aérospatiale
Super Puma, was traveling to Cuernavaca, Morelos, for a meeting of prosecutors when it went down. Marcelo Ebrard
, the Head of Government of the Federal District
, said in an interview through CNN México
that the helicopter was "completely destroyed," since it crashed head-on against a hill. Then, the helicopter impacted several times over the terrain as the pilot tried to land the aircraft safely.
Reports state that early in the morning before Blake Mora left Mexico City
, the helicopter took a few minutes to take off due to dense fog
, which has made observers speculate that visibility was a major factor of the collision. After the helicopter failed to arrive at the estimated time, aircraft were sent to investigate the situation, and eventually reported the damaged helicopter at 11:12a.m. local time. Along with Blake Mora, the following people were killed in the accident: Felipe Zamora, General of Legal Affairs; José Alfredo García Medina, Director of Social Communiations; Diana Hayton Sánchez, Blake Mora's secretary; René de León Zapien, Lieutenant General; Felipe Cortés and Pedro Ramón Escobar, both Air Force
lieutenants; and Jorge Luis Juárez Gómez, Army Sergeant.
Although not confirmed, some sources claimed that the President Felipe Calderón
had plans to travel in the helicopter that Blake Mora was killed in, and was awaiting the flight until the accident occurred. President Calderón said that the helicopter was flying in foggy conditions, and that the crash "was probably an accident." Investigations regarding his death are under way. The death of Blake Mora is the second loss in this position during the Calderón presidency, the first one being Juan Camilo Mouriño
, who died in a plane crash in 2008.
Blake Mora's last Twitter
post before his death recalled the previous death of the former Secretary of Interior, Juan Camilo Mouriño:
: "Barack Obama
called to tell President Calderón that he was shocked and saddened to learn of the tragic death of the Mexican Interior Minister Francisco Blake Mora, along with, apparently, seven of his Mexican government colleagues, in a helicopter crash earlier today. [Obama] said that his thoughts and prayers are with the families of those who were lost, with President Calderón, and with the Mexican people. The United States worked closely with those who were lost in this crash and considered them to be close partners, and know that they were strong public servants for the Mexican people. And the President reinforced his commitment to the close partnership between the United States and Mexico in this difficult time and committed to stay in close touch with President Calderón going forward."
United Nations
: (Translation) "The news filled us with dismay... [and we] respectfully unite in the national mourning."
Felipe Calderón
: (Translation) "Blake Mora was not only an exceptional public servant. He was an exceptional Mexican. Mexico has lost a great patriot and a good friend. I will work to the best of my abilities to bring the causes of the accident and bring transparency."
National Action Party
: (Translation) "He was a politician of huge trajectory." "We reiterate our trust in the Federal government to lead the investigations of Blake Mora's death."
Institutional Revolutionary Party
: (Translation): "A transparent investigation and clear reasons are necessary to uncover this unfortunate incident."
Party of the Democratic Revolution
: (Translation) "Our condolences to Blake Mora's family and those of the passengers killed. We will await the upcoming results of the investigations."
Ecologist Green Party of Mexico
: (Translation) "We express our condolences to the president Felipe Calderón for the irreparable loss of a close collaborator and good friend of his. We unite in this national mourning."
and that it had recently undergone maintenance. Before Blake Mora, Juan Camilo Mouriño
, who was also head of the Interior, was killed in a helicopter accident on November 4, 2008 with the presidential security adviser Jose Luis Vasconcelos
and six other officials. And in September 21, 2005, Ramón Martín Huerta
, the former Public Security Secretary
, also died in a helicopter accident with José Antonio Bernal, who worked for the Human Rights Commission
, Tomás Valencia, head chief of the Federal Police in Mexico, and six other officials. Although not proven, these high-profile deaths have fueled speculations on whether they were foul plays by the drug cartels
.
Moreover, the death of Blake Mora and the seven others in a helicopter crash puts into relevance the fact that Mexico has no law or protocol that would prevent senior officials from flying in the same aircraft, as in other governments worldwide, to preserve the integrity of government and decision makers. Mexican law has no protocols to prevent the president or his cabinet, including members of the Legislature or the Judiciary, from travelling in the same vehicle for security reasons. In addition, CNN México
announced that soon after the death of Mexico's interior secretary, one Twitter
user posted on Blake Mora's page a day before his death caught the attention of the media. At the time of the plane crash, only 14 hours had passed since the tweet was posted. One individual under the username @Morf0 posted the following message on Blake Mora's Twitter page:
Nevertheless, the man that posted the Twitter message was interviewed through a phone call on live television, and claimed that his tweet was a prank among a community of internet surfers that were attempting to make predictions online. On another note, Hiram Fernando Escobar said his brother Pedro, co-pilot of the ship, told him two days before the incident that the helicopter was not ready to travel on Friday, the day he crashed in a mountainous area south of Mexico City. Pedro Escobar allegedly told his brother that the helicopter was "not well" and presented signs of failure. In addition, the helicopter, an Aérospatiale
Super Puma, was bought from a casino in the United States
in 1985, and had been used for governmental purposes in Mexico
since 1987. The controversy lies on the idea that the helicopter was "out-of-date" and that it was bought with a considerable amount of flight hours.
, Mexico
, and France
, along with Eurocopter, are assisting the Mexican government investigate the helicopter accident that killed Blake Mora. President Calderon has solicited help from the National Transportation Safety Board
, a U.S. agency specialized in aviation accidents, as well as France's BEA
to work together in the investigation regarding the secretary's death. Experts in the Mexican Air Force
will also be aiding in the investigations. After preliminary investigation and visual contacts of the accident, the wreckage did not show any damage caused by an explosion or fire, which has made investigators deduce that the collision was due to poor visibility. Investigations by the Secretariat of Communications and Transportation
prove that the pilot of the helicopter did not lose control of the aircraft. Initial investigations show that the coordinates of where accident occurred coincide with the last record taken by the helicopter's radar. Moreover, government sources mention that the pilot of the helicopter took a different route in an attempt to escape the cloudiness and find a lower and more visible trajectory to their destination, but eventually wrecked in a hill known as Ayaqueme, situated in the municipality of Chalco.
Forensic investigations and autopsies show that "...all (the deaths) were (caused by) traumas," since the bodies came very complete, and doctors mention that the cause of death of all occupants of the helicopter was due to a very severe impact. Moreover, experts mention that if the helicopter had flown 200 feet (60 meters) higher or 300 meters further south, the helicopter would have not crashed. The reasons why the pilot decided to fly over 200 miles per hour against the mainland, without opening the landing gear, still remains a mystery.
were temporarily assumed by the Secretary of Government, Juan Marcos Gutiérrez, while President Calderón
appoints a new secretary. Several academics and journalists from the National Autonomous University of Mexico
, the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education
, the Universidad Veracruzana
, and CNN México
have debated the possible impacts Blake Mora's death can have on Mexico's drug policy and politics. In addition, CNN
has sponsored tweets on Twitter
and forum discussions on Facebook
through the program known as Mexico Opina to allow people to debate and analyze the causes and consequences of Blake Mora's death.
Felipe Calderón, the president of Mexico, named Alejandro Poiré Romero as the new interior minister, six days after the previous head of the agency, Francisco Blake Mora, died on a helicopter accident.
|-
Mexican people
Mexican people refers to all persons from Mexico, a multiethnic country in North America, and/or who identify with the Mexican cultural and/or national identity....
lawyer and politician who served as the Secretary of the Interior
Secretary of the Interior (Mexico)
The Mexican Secretary of the Interior is the head of the Secretariat of the Interior, concerned with the country's internal affairs, the presentation of the president's bills to Congress, their publication and certain issues of national security. The country's main intelligence agency, CISEN,...
in the cabinet
Cabinet (government)
A Cabinet is a body of high ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive Committee.- Overview :...
of Felipe Calderón
Felipe Calderón
Felipe de Jesús Calderón Hinojosa is the current President of Mexico. He assumed office on December 1, 2006, and was elected for a single six-year term through 2012...
from 2010 to 2011. He was Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
's top cabinet secretary and key figure in the battle against the drug cartels and corruption in the country. Blake Mora was also an important official in the dialogues of Felipe Calderón's drug policy, where he constantly traveled to meet with governors and victims of the drug war
Mexican Drug War
The Mexican Drug War is an ongoing armed conflict taking place among rival drug cartels who fight each other for regional control, and Mexican government forces who seek to combat drug trafficking. However, the government's principal goal has been to put down the drug-related violence that was...
.
Career
Blake Mora was born in a humble, working-class family in TijuanaTijuana
Tijuana is the largest city on the Baja California Peninsula and center of the Tijuana metropolitan area, part of the international San Diego–Tijuana metropolitan area. An industrial and financial center of Mexico, Tijuana exerts a strong influence on economics, education, culture, art, and politics...
, Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
. He obtained a degree in law from the Autonomous University of Baja California
Autonomous University of Baja California
The Autonomous University of Baja California, is a public university in the Mexican state of Baja California. UABC is one of the 43 state universities throughout Mexico as part of the country's state university system. The Autonomous University of Baja California headquarters are located in the...
(UABC) and a diploma in strategic planning and public policy from the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico
Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México
The Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México , commonly known as ITAM, is a private Ph.D.-granting research university located in Mexico City, Mexico...
(ITAM). He was elected to the office of Alderman of the City of Tijuana from 1995 to 1998, and later served as a federal deputy for the Fifth Federal Electoral District of Baja California
Fifth Federal Electoral District of Baja California
The Fifth Federal Electoral District of Baja California is one of the 300 Electoral Districts into which Mexico is divided for the purpose of elections to the federal Chamber of Deputies and one of eight such districts in the state of Baja California.It elects one deputy to the lower house of...
in the LVIII Legislature from 2000 to 2003. He then served as a member of the Congress of Baja California
Congress of Baja California
The Congress of Baja California is the state legislature of Baja California, a state of Mexico. The Congress is unicameral....
from 2004 to 2007. According to Fox News, Blake Mora gained popularity as a public official because he had promoted the cooperation of military forces and civil authorities to combat the drug cartels in his homestate of Baja California before becoming Secretary of Interior.
On 1 November 2007, he was appointed Secretary General of the Government of Baja California by Governor
Governor of Baja California
The Governor of Baja California represents the executive branch of the government of the state of Baja California, Mexico, per the state's constitution. The official title is "Free and Sovereign State of Baja California" , and the position is democratically elected for a period of 6 years, and is...
José Guadalupe Osuna Millán
José Guadalupe Osuna Millán
José Guadalupe Osuna Millán is a Mexican economist and politician member of the National Action Party who is the current Governor of Baja California.-Personal life and education:...
. In 2009, he was named as a possible candidate for the office of Attorney General of the Republic. On 14 July 2010, President Felipe Calderón
Felipe Calderón
Felipe de Jesús Calderón Hinojosa is the current President of Mexico. He assumed office on December 1, 2006, and was elected for a single six-year term through 2012...
named him Secretary of the Interior to replace Fernando Gómez Mont.
Blake Mora promoted Felipe Calderón's strategy of eradicating the organized crime
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
in Mexico and the notoriously corruption-plagued state and police forces. The British newspaper The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
described Blake Mora as Mexico's number-two official in fighting the drug cartels
Mexican Drug War
The Mexican Drug War is an ongoing armed conflict taking place among rival drug cartels who fight each other for regional control, and Mexican government forces who seek to combat drug trafficking. However, the government's principal goal has been to put down the drug-related violence that was...
, after the president. In addition, Blake Mora carried out the project for new national identity card
Identity document
An identity document is any document which may be used to verify aspects of a person's personal identity. If issued in the form of a small, mostly standard-sized card, it is usually called an identity card...
for underage people, with modern features that included digitalized fingerprints and iris images saved in government databases, which was intended to prevent criminals from using false IDs
Impostor
An impostor or imposter is a person who pretends to be somebody else, often to try to gain financial or social advantages through social engineering, but just as often for purposes of espionage or law enforcement....
.
Death
Blake Mora died in a helicopter accident along with eight other people in Chalco de Díaz Covarrubias, Estado de México, just outside Mexico CityMexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
. There were no survivors. The helicopter, an Aérospatiale
Aérospatiale
Aérospatiale was a French aerospace manufacturer that built both civilian and military aircraft, rockets and satellites. It was originally known as Société Nationale Industrielle Aérospatiale...
Super Puma, was traveling to Cuernavaca, Morelos, for a meeting of prosecutors when it went down. Marcelo Ebrard
Marcelo Ebrard
Marcelo Luis Ebrard Casaubón is the current Head of Government of the Federal District since December 5, 2006. He is a Mexican politician affiliated to the Party of the Democratic Revolution who served as Secretary-General of the former Mexican Federal District Department, minister of public...
, the Head of Government of the Federal District
Head of Government of the Federal District
The Head of Government wields executive power in the Mexican Federal District.The Head of Government serves a six-year term, running concurrently with that of the President of the Republic....
, said in an interview through CNN México
CNN en Español
CNN en Español is CNN's Spanish language news channel. On March 17, 1997, CNN launched CNN en Español, a 24-hour Spanish-language news network for the Hispanic American and United States marketplace.-Mexico programming:...
that the helicopter was "completely destroyed," since it crashed head-on against a hill. Then, the helicopter impacted several times over the terrain as the pilot tried to land the aircraft safely.
Reports state that early in the morning before Blake Mora left Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
, the helicopter took a few minutes to take off due to dense fog
Fog
Fog is a collection of water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. While fog is a type of stratus cloud, the term "fog" is typically distinguished from the more generic term "cloud" in that fog is low-lying, and the moisture in the fog is often generated...
, which has made observers speculate that visibility was a major factor of the collision. After the helicopter failed to arrive at the estimated time, aircraft were sent to investigate the situation, and eventually reported the damaged helicopter at 11:12a.m. local time. Along with Blake Mora, the following people were killed in the accident: Felipe Zamora, General of Legal Affairs; José Alfredo García Medina, Director of Social Communiations; Diana Hayton Sánchez, Blake Mora's secretary; René de León Zapien, Lieutenant General; Felipe Cortés and Pedro Ramón Escobar, both Air Force
Mexican Air Force
The Mexican Air Force is the aviation branch of the Mexican Army and depends on the National Defense Secretariat . Since 2008, its commander is Gen...
lieutenants; and Jorge Luis Juárez Gómez, Army Sergeant.
Although not confirmed, some sources claimed that the President Felipe Calderón
Felipe Calderón
Felipe de Jesús Calderón Hinojosa is the current President of Mexico. He assumed office on December 1, 2006, and was elected for a single six-year term through 2012...
had plans to travel in the helicopter that Blake Mora was killed in, and was awaiting the flight until the accident occurred. President Calderón said that the helicopter was flying in foggy conditions, and that the crash "was probably an accident." Investigations regarding his death are under way. The death of Blake Mora is the second loss in this position during the Calderón presidency, the first one being Juan Camilo Mouriño
Juan Camilo Mouriño
Juan Camilo Mouriño Terrazo was a Mexican politician affiliated to the National Action Party and the Secretary of the Interior in the cabinet of President Felipe Calderón...
, who died in a plane crash in 2008.
Blake Mora's last Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
post before his death recalled the previous death of the former Secretary of Interior, Juan Camilo Mouriño:
Reactions
United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
: "Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
called to tell President Calderón that he was shocked and saddened to learn of the tragic death of the Mexican Interior Minister Francisco Blake Mora, along with, apparently, seven of his Mexican government colleagues, in a helicopter crash earlier today. [Obama] said that his thoughts and prayers are with the families of those who were lost, with President Calderón, and with the Mexican people. The United States worked closely with those who were lost in this crash and considered them to be close partners, and know that they were strong public servants for the Mexican people. And the President reinforced his commitment to the close partnership between the United States and Mexico in this difficult time and committed to stay in close touch with President Calderón going forward."
United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
: (Translation) "The news filled us with dismay... [and we] respectfully unite in the national mourning."
Felipe Calderón
Felipe Calderón
Felipe de Jesús Calderón Hinojosa is the current President of Mexico. He assumed office on December 1, 2006, and was elected for a single six-year term through 2012...
: (Translation) "Blake Mora was not only an exceptional public servant. He was an exceptional Mexican. Mexico has lost a great patriot and a good friend. I will work to the best of my abilities to bring the causes of the accident and bring transparency."
National Action Party
National Action Party (Mexico)
The National Action Party , is one of the three main political parties in Mexico. The party's political platform is generally considered Centre-Right in the Mexican political spectrum. Since 2000, the President of Mexico has been a member of this party; both houses have PAN pluralities, but the...
: (Translation) "He was a politician of huge trajectory." "We reiterate our trust in the Federal government to lead the investigations of Blake Mora's death."
Institutional Revolutionary Party
Institutional Revolutionary Party
The Institutional Revolutionary Party is a Mexican political party that held power in the country—under a succession of names—for more than 70 years. The PRI is a member of the Socialist International, as is the rival Party of the Democratic Revolution , making Mexico one of the few...
: (Translation): "A transparent investigation and clear reasons are necessary to uncover this unfortunate incident."
Party of the Democratic Revolution
Party of the Democratic Revolution
The Party of the Democratic Revolution is a democratic socialist party in Mexico and one of 2 Mexican affiliates of the Socialist International...
: (Translation) "Our condolences to Blake Mora's family and those of the passengers killed. We will await the upcoming results of the investigations."
Ecologist Green Party of Mexico
Ecologist Green Party of Mexico
The Ecologist Green Party of Mexico is one of the six political parties to have representation in the Mexican Congress. The party's congressional strength currently stands at 17 deputies and five senators .-Elections 2000:...
: (Translation) "We express our condolences to the president Felipe Calderón for the irreparable loss of a close collaborator and good friend of his. We unite in this national mourning."
Controversy
The question of whether this incident was a mere coincidence or a conspiracy has been discussed in numerous newspapers, blogs, and other internet sites. However, President Calderón has tried to quell any suggestions of sabotage, saying Blake Mora's helicopter "was always under guard" in the hangar of Mexico's equivalent of the Secret ServiceSecret Service
Secret Service may refer to:* Secret service, umbrella term for various kinds of police or intelligence organizationsAny of the following specific organizations:* Australian Secret Intelligence Service, intelligence agency...
and that it had recently undergone maintenance. Before Blake Mora, Juan Camilo Mouriño
Juan Camilo Mouriño
Juan Camilo Mouriño Terrazo was a Mexican politician affiliated to the National Action Party and the Secretary of the Interior in the cabinet of President Felipe Calderón...
, who was also head of the Interior, was killed in a helicopter accident on November 4, 2008 with the presidential security adviser Jose Luis Vasconcelos
José Luis Santiago Vasconcelos
José Luis Santiago Vasconcelos was a Mexican lawyer and civil servant.Santiago Vasconcelos, a native of Mexico City, earned a law degree at the National Autonomous University of Mexico . In 1993 he began working for the office of the federal Attorney-General , in the drug-trafficking control area...
and six other officials. And in September 21, 2005, Ramón Martín Huerta
Ramón Martín Huerta
Ramón Martín Huerta was a Mexican politician affiliated to the National Action Party . He served in Vicente Fox's cabinet as Public Security Secretary.-Personal life:...
, the former Public Security Secretary
Secretary of Public Security (Mexico)
The Secretary of Public Security of Mexico is the head of the Secretariat of Public Security .The current Secretary of Public Security is Genaro García Luna....
, also died in a helicopter accident with José Antonio Bernal, who worked for the Human Rights Commission
Human rights commission
A Human Rights Commission is a body set up to investigate, promote or protect human rights.The term may refer to international, national or subnational bodies set up for this purpose, such as national human rights institutions or truth and reconciliation commissions.-International Human Rights...
, Tomás Valencia, head chief of the Federal Police in Mexico, and six other officials. Although not proven, these high-profile deaths have fueled speculations on whether they were foul plays by the drug cartels
Mexican Drug War
The Mexican Drug War is an ongoing armed conflict taking place among rival drug cartels who fight each other for regional control, and Mexican government forces who seek to combat drug trafficking. However, the government's principal goal has been to put down the drug-related violence that was...
.
Moreover, the death of Blake Mora and the seven others in a helicopter crash puts into relevance the fact that Mexico has no law or protocol that would prevent senior officials from flying in the same aircraft, as in other governments worldwide, to preserve the integrity of government and decision makers. Mexican law has no protocols to prevent the president or his cabinet, including members of the Legislature or the Judiciary, from travelling in the same vehicle for security reasons. In addition, CNN México
CNN en Español
CNN en Español is CNN's Spanish language news channel. On March 17, 1997, CNN launched CNN en Español, a 24-hour Spanish-language news network for the Hispanic American and United States marketplace.-Mexico programming:...
announced that soon after the death of Mexico's interior secretary, one Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
user posted on Blake Mora's page a day before his death caught the attention of the media. At the time of the plane crash, only 14 hours had passed since the tweet was posted. One individual under the username @Morf0 posted the following message on Blake Mora's Twitter page:
Nevertheless, the man that posted the Twitter message was interviewed through a phone call on live television, and claimed that his tweet was a prank among a community of internet surfers that were attempting to make predictions online. On another note, Hiram Fernando Escobar said his brother Pedro, co-pilot of the ship, told him two days before the incident that the helicopter was not ready to travel on Friday, the day he crashed in a mountainous area south of Mexico City. Pedro Escobar allegedly told his brother that the helicopter was "not well" and presented signs of failure. In addition, the helicopter, an Aérospatiale
Aérospatiale
Aérospatiale was a French aerospace manufacturer that built both civilian and military aircraft, rockets and satellites. It was originally known as Société Nationale Industrielle Aérospatiale...
Super Puma, was bought from a casino in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1985, and had been used for governmental purposes in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
since 1987. The controversy lies on the idea that the helicopter was "out-of-date" and that it was bought with a considerable amount of flight hours.
Investigations
Aeronautic specialists from United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, along with Eurocopter, are assisting the Mexican government investigate the helicopter accident that killed Blake Mora. President Calderon has solicited help from the National Transportation Safety Board
National Transportation Safety Board
The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and incidents, certain types of highway crashes, ship and marine...
, a U.S. agency specialized in aviation accidents, as well as France's BEA
Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la sécurité de l'Aviation Civile
The Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile is an agency of the French government, responsible for investigating aviation accidents and making safety recommendations based on what is learned from those investigations. It is headquartered in Building 153 on the grounds...
to work together in the investigation regarding the secretary's death. Experts in the Mexican Air Force
Mexican Air Force
The Mexican Air Force is the aviation branch of the Mexican Army and depends on the National Defense Secretariat . Since 2008, its commander is Gen...
will also be aiding in the investigations. After preliminary investigation and visual contacts of the accident, the wreckage did not show any damage caused by an explosion or fire, which has made investigators deduce that the collision was due to poor visibility. Investigations by the Secretariat of Communications and Transportation
Secretariat of Communications and Transportation (Mexico)
The Secretariat of Communications and Transportation of Mexico is a federal entity that regulates commercial road traffic and broadcasting...
prove that the pilot of the helicopter did not lose control of the aircraft. Initial investigations show that the coordinates of where accident occurred coincide with the last record taken by the helicopter's radar. Moreover, government sources mention that the pilot of the helicopter took a different route in an attempt to escape the cloudiness and find a lower and more visible trajectory to their destination, but eventually wrecked in a hill known as Ayaqueme, situated in the municipality of Chalco.
Forensic investigations and autopsies show that "...all (the deaths) were (caused by) traumas," since the bodies came very complete, and doctors mention that the cause of death of all occupants of the helicopter was due to a very severe impact. Moreover, experts mention that if the helicopter had flown 200 feet (60 meters) higher or 300 meters further south, the helicopter would have not crashed. The reasons why the pilot decided to fly over 200 miles per hour against the mainland, without opening the landing gear, still remains a mystery.
Aftermath
After Blake's death, his functions as Secretary of the InteriorSecretary of the Interior (Mexico)
The Mexican Secretary of the Interior is the head of the Secretariat of the Interior, concerned with the country's internal affairs, the presentation of the president's bills to Congress, their publication and certain issues of national security. The country's main intelligence agency, CISEN,...
were temporarily assumed by the Secretary of Government, Juan Marcos Gutiérrez, while President Calderón
Felipe Calderón
Felipe de Jesús Calderón Hinojosa is the current President of Mexico. He assumed office on December 1, 2006, and was elected for a single six-year term through 2012...
appoints a new secretary. Several academics and journalists from the National Autonomous University of Mexico
National Autonomous University of Mexico
The Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México is a university in Mexico. UNAM was founded on 22 September 1910 by Justo Sierra as a liberal alternative to the Roman Catholic-sponsored Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico The Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) (National Autonomous...
, the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education
Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education
The Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education commonly shortened as Monterrey Institute of Technology or Monterrey Tech is one of the largest private, nonsectarian and coeducational multi-campus universities in...
, the Universidad Veracruzana
Universidad Veracruzana
Universidad Veracruzana a public autonomous university located in the Mexican state of Veracruz. Established in 1944, the university is one of the most important in the south-east region of México and has a good projection in all México...
, and CNN México
CNN en Español
CNN en Español is CNN's Spanish language news channel. On March 17, 1997, CNN launched CNN en Español, a 24-hour Spanish-language news network for the Hispanic American and United States marketplace.-Mexico programming:...
have debated the possible impacts Blake Mora's death can have on Mexico's drug policy and politics. In addition, CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
has sponsored tweets on Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
and forum discussions on Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
through the program known as Mexico Opina to allow people to debate and analyze the causes and consequences of Blake Mora's death.
Felipe Calderón, the president of Mexico, named Alejandro Poiré Romero as the new interior minister, six days after the previous head of the agency, Francisco Blake Mora, died on a helicopter accident.
External links
- CNN Wire Staff. "Mexican minister who fought drug cartels killed in crash." CNNCNNCable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
. 11 November 2011. - "Murió el secretario de Gobernación de México, José Francisco Blake Mora, en tragedia aérea." CNNCNNCable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
. 11 November 2011 (Spanish version of "Mexican minister who fought drug cartels killed in crash")
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